In Bikram's torture chamber

So my friend is in town training to be a teacher. I took a class with her recently. It ranked up there with one of the hardest classes I've ever taken, in many ways similar to my first class 2 years ago.

Classes are held in this enormous hotel conference room transformed into a studio. I was on the 7th row, not able to see myself in the mirror at all, among 400+ trainees, in a room that was at least 115 degrees, possibly more. Apparently the heating system of the hotel is erratic and it can't maintain a steady 105F and 40% humidity. The room was also heated unevenly. And as luck would have it, we were on the hotter side of the room.

Radisson hotel conference room transformed into a yoga studio

I made it through the standing series. During savasana, my head started to spin. I managed Cobra, but from Locust onward I was pretty much done. I was dizzy, nauseous, my lips were numb, I could hardly breathe.

In the back of my mind I kept hearing what the teachers tell first day students - stay in the room, take a knee, breathe. Forget the 6 count breathing, I was doing 2 count in and 2 count out, trying to focus on each breath. This one breath, now, and not the 25 minutes still left in class. I didn't want to have to leave the room.

My friend had brought in some ice and she leaned it against my arm. I grabbed it and put it under my neck. One more breath. Many of the trainees were sitting out and leaving the room. Then came Camel. I tried but was immediately on my back again.

At some point the class was over. I was able to do the last breathing exercise somehow. My body was tingling. Last time I felt like this was during my first class. I laid there, utterly spent and grateful.

It was a humbling experience. Though daily practice never gets easy, you develop mental strength and focus to stay with it. That's an important part of the practice for me. This made me have more compassion toward students who end up leaving early or sitting out postures.

Teacher training is 2 classes a day for 9 weeks, lectures, anatomy classes, etc. I am considering it. In the meantime, I am going to see my friend tomorrow and take another class. Hopefully the heating systems has been fixed.