Stay in the Room
My first introduction to hot yoga was about 20 years ago when one of my roommates from college, a volleyball player from Phoenix, brought me to a Bikram yoga class. With less than fair warning, she and I entered the room that was a balmy 105 degrees F. Being in decent shape, I considered myself well-prepared for the 90-minute class. After all, I was a distance runner. I had run marathons and countless miles over challenging terrain… and this was just yoga.
The wave of emotions and internal chatter that ensued was humbling in itself. I swung from feeling competitive, to agitated, to mild disdain for my dear roommate, to resolve and finally to surrender. Bikram is a form of hot yoga in a heated room at 105 deg. that is structured into a system of 26 postures, repeated twice, focusing on regulating breathing while sustaining challenging poses. Instruction is minimal other than to inform students “there are limited water breaks, and the goal is to “stay in the room”.
I survived my rough introduction to hot yoga and somehow was hooked. I can’t quite explain the draw for me. Perhaps initially, like distance running, it was hard, and I like doing hard things. I told myself it was the transcendental experience and the benefits to stretching my tired muscles. If I’m being completely honest, it was simply another way to get an intense workout and so I did it, with some regularity.
The real learning for me took place over the last few years. The style of hot yoga I mostly do these days is hot vinyasa flow which is no less difficult and includes more movement in the same heat. The challenge that this type of practice presents has brought me face to face with some important truths and I’ve learned valuable lessons relevant to my work with athletes and beyond. I’ve realized hot yoga is a great metaphor for life.
Yoga practice. Not yoga perfect. Yoga, like doing life, is not something you perfect. Every day you enter the studio, is a new day. You may have crushed the balancing postures the day before, but today you’re off-kilter and can barely stand still and centered on both feet. Check your ego at the door and stay curious about where you are today.
Explore your edge. Just as in competitive sports, you must be willing to explore and push your limits. If you’re afraid to look foolish or slingshot your body ungracefully out of a posture, you will not try anything new. Therefore, you will not grow. Fear of failure or mistakes doesn’t serve you on the competitive stage nor in the yoga studio.
Lean into discomfort and soften. This is a huge lesson. First, know the difference between uncomfortable (tension/soreness) versus pain signaling injury. Discomfort is one of the few guarantees in life and it will come in a variety of flavors. I was surprised to find that through yoga, I would confront, not only physical discomfort, but emotional, intellectual and spiritual discomfort, as well. I’ve learned what it means not only to sit in the presence of that discomfort but literally lean into it, then intentionally release my resistance. There is something powerful in choosing to stay present to your experience rather than mentally check out. It takes fortitude and mental discipline. The lesson is, sometimes we need to stay in our discomfort and observe our resistance long enough to see what it reveals.
Stillness is the way. This one always felt like a foreign language to me. The word “stillness” is not one that particularly resonates. Busyness. Motion. Activity. That vocabulary is much more my native tongue. I’ve learned about the power of stillness, specifically from the beginning of the dancer pose, where you hold your foot or ankle behind you (quad stretch), keeping knees together, extending your opposite arm (palm open) straight up over head. A good instructor invites you to pause here as this pose represents the “calm in the chaos”. That language resonates with me or at least the intention does. It is what I encourage my athletes to strive for. Can you achieve calm in the chaos of competition? Can you be the most composed on the field, court, pool deck?
Child’s pose is always available. Child’s Pose is a resting posture, a purposeful pose to ground and observe what your body needs. This is an important message about giving yourself grace and accepting that you may not win every time, but there is always something to learn, and you are always in control of how you respond to your circumstances. Sometimes the response is not “try to muscle through” or force something that’s not there but rather accept where you are and what you cannot change. Then ask, “what’s needed now/next?”. Do that.
Breathe. This is the most important lesson of yoga. In my opinion, it’s the most important lesson for athletes in mental toughness training. Our breath IS our superpower. It connects us to our body, and our body and mind to the present moment. The present moment is the only one we can control. Mastering the tools of present moment focus is the game changer in sports. It is not an overstatement to say, breath control is the key to best performances and establishing and restoring confidence when it matters most.
Stay in the room. If you take a hot yoga class, there will likely come a time when you want to run out of the room. Like in life and elite sports, sometimes you can feel like things are too big, too much, even overwhelming, but if you can stay constant, consistent, and composed you embrace an opportunity to develop your character, your mental flexibility and your mental toughness. So, even when the heat is turned up, your heart is racing, and you don’t think you have one ounce more to give, explore your edge, lean into the discomfort, breathe, and stay in the room.
