It's a great honor to have been selected as May's Student of the Month, and I'm very grateful to have entered into this world of Bikram Yoga. The first day I walked in the front door just over eight months ago I told David, "I know this is going to kick my butt, but I've already promised myself to come back tomorrow". That first class did kick my butt, and I did return the next day, and I've been hooked ever since. When I first started taking class, I couldn't get my hips on the floor for Fixed Firm pose, couldn't do Triangle without resting my weight on the lower hand between my toes, and couldn't stay in Standing Bow for ten seconds, much less sixty. There's been lots of progress since then, visible progress. I love these postures (most of them anyway), especially Half Tortoise, Standing Bow and Camel.
The beginning of my Bikram Yoga experience coincided with the beginning of a very difficult transitional period in my life. Without getting too detailed, let it suffice to say that upon starting this practice, I was living out in the country in a big house on a lake with my husband and baby daughter, working full time at an insurance company, and am now in the middle of a divorce and custody dispute, living in an apartment in Richardson, still working full time. Bikram Yoga has saved me in many ways during this extremely stressful time, and I keep reminding myself that it's not only O.K., but wise to take some time out of life just for me, to help keep myself healthy physically, mentally and emotionally. This yoga feeds me on all these levels, and remains a hugely positive part of my life during what has otherwise been a scary, uncertain time.
I'm learning to focus on the present, and have discovered and rediscovered that my yoga is off if I'm distracted while in class. When I start to look around the room or let outside thoughts creep in I have difficulty balancing, but when I really focus, and concentrate on the instructor's voice and on myself, breathing, right now, I can do things I would never have thought possible a year ago. Each instructor brings something unique to class, and I've received lots of great encouragement and support, not only from Karen, who's talked with me at length about the awesome benefits of this practice, but from students like Kim, Diddy, Sharmila and Mitchell, to name a few. I've become stronger, more balanced and more flexible, not only physically, but emotionally. An added bonus is that I'm able to eat almost anything without gaining weight, no small accomplishment for this big-time food lover.
I was privileged to have attended both days of Jason Winn's recent workshop here in Dallas. Jason's postures were amazing and I learned a ton. He inspired me to set some goals for myself, not the least of which is to remain in Standing Bow for the full sixty seconds of the first set. I'm also going to push myself to be one of the first fifty people at this location to touch my face to my feet in Paschimottanasana. It's become increasingly clear to me that this yoga can be done for a very long time, maybe for a lifetime, with something new to be gained or discovered with every class. I'm fortunate to have been given the opportunity to practice Bikram Yoga, and plan to still be practicing many years from now, hopefully as an instructor myself someday.
Bikram Yoga rocks!
Jennifer Gonzales
