A Tale of Two Yogas ~ Guest Post by Lala P

I’m so happy to share this eloquent post about living through yoga, written by my Bikram buddy – also Bikram-certified teacher – Lala P. Enjoy!

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I always liked to think of myself as brave and open to change, but my actions told me otherwise.  So in an effort to finally fuel the fire that was brewing and stop creating barriers for myself, I gave Ashtanga the time it deserved.

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What I found was more than anything I could ever imagine in just a short period of time.

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First, my Bikram practice has not suffered as I had feared, and I finally stopped feeling the struggle between the two disciplines.  I did have to let go of my Bikram routine to make room for Ashtanga, but the yoga did not desert me.  I chose whatever practice felt I needed at the moment.  It was that simple, I just had to let go of what was safe to get to a better place.

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Second, my struggle with doing a home practice slowly disappeared.  In the beginning, yoga at home felt cumbersome and tedious.  I had to lead my own practice!  What, can’t someone just tell me what to do?  It didn’t feel genuine at times, too.  Eventually, it got better and I became my own teacher.  Some days are harder than others, but that’s yoga.  And life.

Third, I found a sense of ownership in my practice – meaning my practice did not depend on a studio or even a time slot during the day.  I felt this freeing feeling that told me I could practice anywhere, anytime that I was willing.  I started with really late night practices as I am a night owl.  Somewhat contrary to the early practice traditional Ashtangis have, but hey, any yoga is better than no yoga, right?  In all honesty, I found the deep darkness of the night and silence helpful to my newbie self – the same way the hot room is comforting and peaceful.  Eventually, the time of day ceased to matter.  I practiced when I needed it.

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Fourth, I needed to give Ashtanga the time and fully immerse myself.  While I have not yet taken a traditional practice (daily except on moon days and rest days), I am slowly developing a discipline for Ashtanga that I have for Bikram.  And when I gave Ashtanga my all, the changes it created presented themselves to me in a way that I could recognize.  Such as my fifth discovery…

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Fifth, my body is getting stronger in a different way.  Usually, my first two Sun Salutations A feel like I’m climbing a mountain while carrying 50 lbs on my back.  By the 4th and 5th, my arms have woken up and my form is better.  By Sun Salutations B, I’m excited to go deeper.  Strength is visible quite immediately in Ashtanga just as the way flexibility is immediate in the hot room for me.  Flexibility comes later in my Ashtanga practice the way that strength comes later in my Bikram class (hello, stamina for the last 4 postures!).  It goes without saying that strength and flexibility go hand in hand and it couldn’t be any truer for me right now.

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I could go on and on, but I will stop here.  Of course, any yoga is helpful, whatever is accessible to a person but I am drawn to the discipline and strictness of these two practices.  In the end, yoga is yoga is yoga.

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And through yoga, I rediscovered an old path.

Balance.