Bikram Questions & Mouth Breathers.

I've gotten tweets/emails/messages from overweight people asking me about Bikram.

Keep in mind, I'm still a novice at it.  I'm definitely not as flexible as I'd like to be.  And there are certain postures that I still can't perform correctly because my stomachs and thighs prevent me from doing anything about it.

They are curious about it, interested in trying it, but are way too self conscious to actually go to a class because of their weight.  They are deathly afraid that people will laugh at them or point at them or what have you.

I started Bikram last year at 200 pounds, and let me tell you something.  No one laughed at, made fun of, or pointed at me.  No one.

Know why?  Because they were too busy caring about themselves more.  They were too busy concentrating on themselves and performing the postures correctly.

We all have to start somewhere.  We all start where we start.

The important thing is to just start.

At some point, I realized that I had to let go of certain insecurities if I was ever to move forward with my weight loss, and if I wanted to grow as a person.

If you want to try something, no matter where you are in your weight loss, just fucking do it already.  What the heck are you waiting for, written invitation?

Life is meant to be lived, not consumed by how other people view you.

Ok, rant over.  That one kinda got away from me.

One of my pet peeves is placing my mat next to a person who breathes uncontrollably through their mouth during Bikram.  The instructor tonight kept repeating her instructions to breathe in & out of our noses after the initial breathing exercise.  Breathing through your moth gets your heart rate way up, makes you gasp for breath, and sends you into panic mode because you start feeling like you can't actually breathe.

I had a mouth breather right behind me tonight.  Chris took the class too, and he had another mouth breather right next to him.

Both of them men.  Both sounded like they were smokers.

Both couldn't follow simple instructions, and it caused a distraction.

Ugh, mouth breathers.

I still worked hard.  And for the record, the class tonight was filled with people of all different sizes, different ethnicities, and different fitness levels.

Hmm.  I was kinda harsh tonight, and that's not how I want to come across.  It's coming from a good place, I assure you my intentions are good, not mean.

Want to try running & you're morbidly obese?  Try it, do it.

Want to go to a Bikram or any yoga class?  Try it, do it.

Want to join a gym?  Try it, do it.

Life is too short.  The only person watching you & judging you is YOU.

Chew on that.