About the Challenge & Me

Hi!  I set up this blog to chronicle my experiences as I attend 60 Bikram Yoga classes in 60 days at Bikram Yoga Pasadena in Pasadena, California.  The “60-Day Challenge” runs from February 1, 2012 through March.  Each class is 90 minutes long, so this means I’m committing to 90 hours of yoga in two months.

For those not familiar with Bikram Yoga, I should explain that this does not mean I’ll be sitting in lotus position while murmuring “om.”  Bikram Yoga is a kick-ass workout carried out in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.  During the ninety minutes, an instructor takes the practitioners through a series of 26 poses that work every muscle group in the body.  Along with a couple of breathing exercises, the workout is the same every time.

This may sound like it could get boring, but it doesn’t.  Somehow, those same 26 poses present different challenges every single time you go through them.  Although I’ve been practicing for only two months, I’m fairly certain this stays true forever.  I’ve spoken with people who’ve been practicing for years–decades, some of them–and they are still challenged.  It’s a special kind of workout that can provide benefits to both raw beginners and seasoned practitioners.

In two months, I’ve already enjoyed a return on my investment in Bikram Yoga.  I’ve been attending classes four to six times a week (except when I injured my shoulder and took a week off).  My goal with the “60-Day Challenge” is to “step things up” and see what happens when I attend class every day.  I’d love to lose weight, but my real goal is to strengthen my whole body, both mentally and physically.

As you can see from the photo, I’m overweight.  I’m not an athlete, having lived since birth with a “custom” foot and ankle that have precluded me from participating in most sports.  So here I am at age 59, undertaking my first serious athletic challenge.  Bikram Choudhury himself has said, “never too late, never too old.”  I believe him, but I’m looking forward to proving it to myself.

–Megan Edwards , February 1st, 2012

It’s now Day 61.  I did indeed attend 60 classes in 60 days, but since I was out of town for seven of those days, I had to “pull doubles” seven times.    The effort was more than worth it, as you can tell if you read my posts about my experiences.  The photo at the left is my official “after” picture, but I do not consider myself “finished.”  The 60-Day Challenge is only a beginning…

–Megan Edwards, April 2nd, 2012

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