it's not the heat, it's the humility
Last December, one of my friends celebrated her 69th birthday by doing a back-to-back Bikram double. Whenever an acquaintance begins a sentence with, “I’d love to do the kind of yoga you do, but…”, I whip out the story of my 69-year-old friend who not only practices Bikram regularly but pulled a double out of [...]
Posted by Tracy James on Tue, Apr 24 2012 in Personal Blog » 1 Comment
I love how spring arrives with a rhythm. It’s so sure of itself, so committed to working its transformative magic. Slowly, every living thing resets its cadence to step in line with the season. The world greens up and saturates my eyes with the fresh colors of life, I wake in the morning to a [...]
Posted by Tracy James on Sat, Mar 24 2012 in Personal Blog » 3 Comments
William Broad is promoting his book, “The Science of Yoga.” To that end, he wrote an article for the New York Times in January called, “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body.” In early February, he was interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air (see “The Risks and Rewards of Practicing Yoga.”) Finally, a few [...]
Posted by Eric Jennings on Tue, Mar 6 2012 in In The News, Personal Blog » 1 Comment
With one breath I hold myself in this moment. On the finest edge of a deep inhale borne of sturdy blood and bone, I set my bow.
Posted by Tracy James on Wed, Feb 15 2012 in Personal Blog » No Comments
During my last class of 2011, on New Year’s Eve morning, our instructor invited anyone who wished to do so to hold the second set of Ustrasana (Camel Pose) for a full minute rather than the regular 20 seconds. In most activities, the difference between 20 seconds and 60 seems minor. But in Camel Pose? [...]
Posted by Tracy James on Thu, Jan 12 2012 in Personal Blog » No Comments
As I’ve approached this final day of my challenge, I assumed my last post about it would involve some kind of neat and tidy summary of my experience. (As if there’s anything neat and tidy about Bikram yoga!) I was obviously anticipating again. A summary suggests the end of something…a summing up…and I’m struck by [...]
Posted by Tracy James on Fri, Nov 25 2011 in Personal Blog » 2 Comments
After going into Savasana last night during my 22nd class, I listened as Rebecca R. explained that Bikram designed this yoga to be a 90-minute moving meditation in order to teach westerners how to meditate. By working the same sequence of postures over and over again, we can see the many ways in which we [...]
Posted by Tracy James on Sun, Nov 20 2011 in Personal Blog » 2 Comments
I recently attended a class led by guest instructor Tu Nguyen. It was a quietly driven class, hard and exhausting but beautifully meditative. He demonstrated Pranayama (Deep Breathing) for some new students and it seemed like minutes passed with his every breath. He breathed so deep and long that the entire room was still and [...]
Posted by Tracy James on Tue, Nov 15 2011 in Personal Blog » No Comments
Holy guacamole – I am so feelin’ it! Over the last few days, it seems like my greatest challenge has been to stand still or sit down and take a rest. I recall Eric once saying that an advanced practice isn’t just evidenced by an ability to do the postures deeply or indefinitely. It also [...]
Posted by Tracy James on Fri, Nov 11 2011 in Personal Blog » No Comments
10 classes now under my belt. Writing about my challenge has been a revealing process. On the one hand, since I always take a few moments to capture and jot down my thoughts after each class, I find myself still thinking about my practice after I’ve left the room. Writing also keeps me plugged in [...]
Posted by Tracy James on Mon, Nov 7 2011 in Personal Blog » No Comments
