The honeymoon is over baby

After such a tough challenge in Mumbai I was relieved to find my yoga practice became.. well a little less intense! So much so that I started to feel I was on a little Bikram Yoga holiday.

Club Stretch / Bikram Yoga Dubai is a small, very modern, relaxed studio near Jumeirah beach and as Tasha Hawkins (Bikram Yoga teacher) describes it, “like a big family”. With a maximum capacity of about 30, the studio has quite a unique feel, sporting a curved wall at the rear, little rock garden at the front and wait for it.. timber flooring!

Far away from the torturous heat panels in the ceiling of the Mumbai studio I found myself able to relax a little, and if I’m totally honest, maybe a little too much. “How is 42 degrees different?” you may ask. Put it this way, I felt I was being cooked under the heat panels. Any relief you feel once you lie down in Savasana at the end of the standing series is quickly sapped as you find your towel and the floor beneath you also being cooked!

In the last week I’ve been conscious of needing to move out of my comfort zone again and take my practice to new levels. At the start of each month I set little goals and visualise my postures at the end of the month. It’s funny, as soon as you put the thought out there, you’ll recieve and I can happily announce, “the ‘honeymoon’ is definately over!” Thanks to Brian Ward (Studio owner) and Kevin (visiting owner/teacher from Colorado), I find myself being pushed again. I’m back on the wagon and the challenge is as tough and rewarding as ever!