Guest blogger! Farrah on her 60 day Bikram Yoga Challenge: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem!

I would like to introduce a great friend of mine, my buddy, one of my inspirations, Farrah Simmons from San Antonio.  She is my accountability friend and partner in doing the 60 day Bikram Yoga Challenge, and I am so inspired by her story — Yvette

“No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem”

I was introduced to Bikram Yoga on a very very cold and icy day by my dear friend and mentor Yvette Ulloa.  Yvette mysteriously rolled into San Antonio during THE coldest, iciest, and we even saw an inch of snow that week!! When Yvette mentioned yoga I brought her to my gym which offered yoga, I guess you would call it a Mega Gym you know the gyms larger than Costco!!  After class Yvette said wow interesting it’s similar to Bikram but without the discipline?  I admit I was confused and intrigued and there began my Bikram journey.

Farrah and Yvette on a cruise to Cozumel!

After minimal research I found THE only Bikram Yoga studio in San Antonio,  http://bikramyogasa.com/ and a few days later Yvette and her husband Dave and myself and my husband Travis took our first official 90 minute Bikram Yoga class together.  I was really looking forward to trying something new and to a 105 degree class considering the weather we were having.  Our yoga instructor gave us our first marching orders, just stay in the room!! Ok that’s it ??  That first class I felt like 90 minutes turned into 900 minutes!! Not only did I lay down about 75% of the class, I was facing the wrong direction and trying to fight off an immense urge to puke up my peanut butter oatmeal I had for breakfast!! At the end of class the instructor had said the best thing I could do was return to do another class as soon as possible.  What?! So Yvette and I returned the next day and to my astonishment I had improved 100%!! I was actually able to attempt all of the poses nausea free!!

A few weeks later Yvette and I agreed to do Bikram’s 60 day challenge together.  Bikram says give me 60 days and I will change your life.  How can you say no to that?  So I literally traded in my gym membership and gym shoes for a yoga mat and bare feet.  The first 10 days for me was an experience that I will be forever grateful for.  The first lesson I had to learn which is something that the instructors say in almost every class is leave your ego at the door.  Again, the room is 105 degrees and baggy t-shirts and pants are not conducive to the heat nor do they help your body when getting into some postures, bikram yogi’s have this love and confidence for their bodies and wear as little as possible to class, so that meant I had to fake it till I make it.  As awkward as I felt walking into class with my skimpy outfit I soon noticed and felt no judgment as everyone was so focused on themselves I was able to begin to walk in that confidence with my body.

Living the life in Cabo last year!

The next lesson I learned was about teaching my mind to listen to my body not the other way around.  Day 2 I had to completely give up coffee, soda, and became so aware of what my body really needed to nourish it.  Day 4-10 my body went through a cleansing process unlike anything I have ever experienced.  My major breakthrough moment was one class the instructor had said before you tell your body to get into a posture you must first ask it.  From then on before any food passed my lips I asked my body for permission to eat it.  Not only has my body been craving raw organic and water rich fruits but my appetite for the first 10 days was almost non existent.  So as my body was detoxing and I was barely eating my conscious mind during class was telling my body to take it easy and take as many breaks and rests as I need because my conscious mind was trying to tell my body that it was weak.  My body spoke to my sub conscious mind in class saying that it was stronger and healthier than it has ever felt before and it was just fine to exert so much energy and work to it’s fullest potential in class.  So I guess the next obstacle I had was to stop the chatter going on between my ears and just be present in the moment and completely surrender for those 90 minutes.  So I did.

Today I finished class #16 and not only do I feel physically better but I have such a greater awareness, for example the other day I went grocery shopping after my yoga class and I was in just such amazement of being able to walk into a grocery store and pick out and purchase anything I wanted.  It was as if I had never been to a grocery store in my life LOL?? I could chose to buy filtered bottled water or any type of exotic and organic fruits and vegetables, meat that has been cleaned, cut and ready to prepare?? Wow such luxuries that I took for granted before, people in other countries could only dream of such a store to exist and we have one on every corner??!!  I did not realize how over stimulated my environment is with cell phones, emails, music, traffic, and most of all how loud the chatter in my mind really IS!!  I look forward to those 90 minutes of just focusing on my breath, and learning to be still.

I look forward to the next 44 days, the lessons learned, the obstacles I have yet to overcome and sharing the experience.

Thank you Yvette and thank you Bikram for the amazing opportunity to experience this journey.

Farrah Simmons (connect with me on Facebook!)

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