Mona Shadia: I had been reading about Bikram and getting more serious about trying it, but I stuck to my weekly (regular) yoga class at the gym until I found this deal.
LW: We visited the studio early in the day before our first practice to check out the new place, and the heat was radiating out the doors. The girl at the counter took one look at the chai tea in our hands and said we would need to drink an extra eight glasses of water for every cup of tea or coffee before our class hours later. It was noon, and I was on my third cup.
I began to panic, imagining myself passing out from dehydration. Images of an ambulance pulling up to the curb, lights flashing and me tied to a stretcher, ran through my head all day. I imagined reporting the next day on the Fire Department responding to a call for medical aid rescuing two inexperienced women from a yoga studio.
MS:
I worried I was going to faint; I knew it was going to be tough. But I love a challenge, so all I could do was tell myself that I would be able to do it.
LW: Our first day was all about surviving the heat. Bikram is very different from other forms of yoga in that it has mirrors everywhere, and as I moved through the postures I learned a new meaning to the phrase "beet red." About an hour in, I began measuring the distance to the door in multi-colored yoga mats. A few leaps, and I could be out of there, possibly without anyone noticing. I'd wait until they were all stretching forward or careening back, and go for it. But then there was Mona. I was sure she would be shocked to see my empty turquoise mat when she came out of camel pose, so I stuck around.
