But of course!  

Do you hear Bikram speak of Self-Realization?  If you have the chance to take his class or do class to his CD, you will hear him speak of it.  

So how do we access this spiritual feeling in our 90 min class?  

Bikram would say we all have the key, we just have to learn how to use it...So when you enter the hot room, check your ego at the door.  Leave all expectations behind you.  Choose a spot in the hot room, set up your mat so you can see yourself in the mirror.  Then let's begin and continue our journeys' to Self-Realization!

Anyone in the world can talk spiritual lingo, and we can all try to listen and understand, however it takes doing the yoga to recognize what we need,

it takes breath to move that new found intelligence all through our bodies and to our cells,

and then it takes practice so that we can create a new realtionship with ourselves on this new level of awareness or self-realization:)

Oh, and it takes some suffering to help us recognize which thought forms we want to hold on to, and which ones we just can't stand anymore...i.e. the room is just too hot today!  Is that teacher trying to kills us?  I am so thirsty, why can't I take a drink?  HA...how many of us have had this converstaion in our heads during some or all of class?  How many more times do you think you might have it before you simply decide to let it go?  Hmmmmm...

Every class helps us to recycle not only our thoughts, but our cells too.  That is one main purpose of our Spleen.  To recycle old, used blood cells.  

When you participate in separate leg forehead to knee pose, you squeeze and massage your spleen internally, thus physiologically recycling your cells, and emotionally recycling old thoughts! 

What a powerful posture, so why did you want to sit it out the other day?  Your neck hurt?  Your head hurt?  It is our self created excuses that hinder us from Self-realization...However it is our hinderances that help us to recognize that we have them.  Wow.  So we learn when we do it, and when we don't do it!  

In a nutshell, Yoga helps us to self-reflect.  Hence the mirrors all over the hot room.  Bikram has tried to create an environment where we can't escape ourselves.  WOW.  

We are all on our own journey, and I hope you are enjoying it!  The days that our practice frustrate us, are the downs that make us crave the ups.  So if you are not enjoying your practice lately, know that you can only sink so low, then you will reach with a sure hand to come back up.  

See you in the hot room,

Love you all

xoxo

Amanda