Featured Students: Sara and Denis

In January 2008 my husband Denis noticed the Bikram studio in Langford and wanted to go. We attended a couple of classes and then I was away on business for a week. While I was gone he went to yoga every day. This both surprised and fascinated me. One of my New Year's resolutions was to exercise together so when I got home we jumped into the Bikram inferno together. As Steve likes to say "what doesn't kill you does make you stronger." At first we went about 3 classes per week as we learned the postures and allowed time to re-coop between sessions. After about 5 months we increased it to 5 times a week. We have both experienced results that we had intended to achieve and ones that were unexpected.

Sara and Denis

I have struggled with headaches since my teenage years and regularly have tight neck and shoulders. Since doing the yoga I went from taking a day off a month to go into hiding to having one in 4 months.

In 2004 I suddenly got these really bad allergies in the spring and summer. I'd constantly have sneezing fits and be stuffed up with puffy red, itchy eyes. It took a lot out of me. Each year I'd try to stick it out and avoid taking pharmaceuticals but eventually I'd give in and then I found when I took them too long they no longer worked anyways. After doing Bikram yoga for only 4 months I went into the allergy season with hope and ended up not having to take any drugs. I still had some allergic symptoms but they were mild and I was amazed!

The biggest miracle though, has come for my husband, Denis who had struggled with back pain for many years. He has disc degeneration, scoliosis, arthritis and to top it off he works outdoors going up and down ladders doing exterior finishing which is hard on him. On the weekends he would come home and need to rest because of the pain in his body. Living with this pain coloured his outlook on life and he it was hard for him to enjoy his time off. Since he started the yoga I have noticed him shift out of these habits and he has become more energized. We now go on hikes or outings and he is upbeat and fun-loving.

Some of the unexpected benefits have been our level of day to day happiness. I find we are both more patient and humorous in dealing with problems. I am an artist and I have an increased level of focus, commitment and creativity for painting, teaching and promoting my career.

Overall we are stronger and more flexible mentally and physically; doing postures deeper than we ever could have imagined. Currently, we are doing the 30 day chalenge!

One of most satisfying things is looking over at my determined husband or touching his hand in the airplane pose (Full Locust) and knowing that we are on a shared path of good health that we both love and cherish.

Of course we could never have achieved all of these things without the selfless dedication of the instructors. It is inspiring to be in the presence of people who have devoted themselves to transforming the lives of others through this gift of Bikram's hot yoga.