gathering information

so, the past couple days i have been reading and reading about bikram yoga and Bikram Choudhury himself. I have his latest book, from the seattle public library, published in 2007...simply titled, Bikram Yoga. and i have been online scouring the internet for interviews and articles, youtube vidoes too. the book does give a different spin on some of the things i have read in articles that refer to Bikram as the "bad boy" of yoga, that are all similar to the Mother Jones article i posted before. it seems to me, that to a certain degree, the media like to highlight drama and controversy more than give a full and non-opinionated story. i know, big shocker to you all, huh? the book at least gave a different perspective, and from the man's own words, on who he is and what his yoga is...and where it came from and why he is the way he is. he states that his guru, Bishnu Ghosh, charged him with this karmic duty, to bring yoga to America and that everything he does is to do just that. and by doing so, also bring happiness and health to us sad and unhealthy, complaining all the time even though we have the best opportunities in the world, Americans. he begins his book by saying that he "will tell you the truth." something most Americans have a hard time swallowing. he will not tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. and that entering his "torture chamber" is hard, sure, some call it suffering. "but would you rather suffer 90 minutes in a bikram class or 90 years without a truly healthy body and without realizing your true potential?" so far, only 40 pages in, i can tell i will read through the book quickly. not something i often do. i am easily bored by books.

i have come across explanations for all the cars and the copyright lawsuit. both of which, i can understand. still though, i am unsettled about the claim of his comment on women's breasts that i read in the Mother Jones article. crude teacher or comment taken out of context?

still as i read on, there is a lot of great advice and mantras. i am compelled to read on. i am also compelled to go to more bikram yoga classes. i just feel so great, i sleep great, i don't want crappy food or alcohol (which is, for me, not a small miracle...these are the ways i have "taken care of myself" for years...the way i give myself love and relax), i breathe with more awareness, i walk with more confidence. i also realize i can be an extremist, and this is only after one week of going to class everyday.

speaking of...with jamie being gone (oh, and his granny is doing better...yes!) i missed class yesterday. so, it was me and Rodney doing power yoga in my living room. i missed the heat. the sweat. the concentration and solitude of being in the bikram studio. i am hoping that i will be able to go today. and tomorrow. then jamie is home on tuesday.

onto more reading....

oh and dina....i miss you! glad you are doing yoga over there, and that you got Ian to go! i hope to have jamie come with me one of these days.

and I will leave you with this quote from Bishnu Ghosh, "it's never too late, it's never too bad, and you're never too old or too sick to start from scratch once again."

xoxomelissa