12 Things I Learned from Sweaty Naked People
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 01:39PM Shedding clothing, along with inhibitions, is highly encouraged in hot yoga.
In my hot yoga NJ studio and thousands of others across the country, people of all sizes, shapes and smells stand mat to mat testing the limits of our skimpiest clothing, nonchalantly sweating like racehorses while we focus intently in the mirrors, shutting out all distractions including the hot yogis around us (translate "hot" any way you want).
This is not easy, especially in forward bends. (Best line ever after hot yoga class: "My head was so far up that girl's butt, I feel I should take her to dinner.")
During my hot yoga teaching these 13+ years, I have touched many, many sweat-drenched students, bringing students deeper into a pose. By holding on, I have learned a lot about letting go.
As your hot yoga teacher, I hear what you say ("I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome," "Weak shoulders run in my family," "I've done ballet since I was 4 and the doctor says I will need hip surgery at 25.")
But your words don't tell me the whole story. Not by a long shot.
The body, on the other hand, tells all.
Everything you have ever felt or experienced, every heartbreak and every act of heroism, is right there in your body. You hide pain between your shoulderblades. You carry the weight of sadness in your ribcage. Your fear of risk is lurking in your gut, and you literally wear your heart on our sleeve.
In hot yoga, you have an opportunity to release a lot through your body; just keep your heart and your mind open...
12 Things I Learned By Touching Sweaty Naked People:
1. You have a mindbody: Your body expresses your current state, and your mind has the ability to change it. Whatever you think you are, you will eventually become. Don't try to separate the mind and the body. The winning combination is to feel them as one; then you are unstoppable.
2. Dis-ease is disappear-able: Your body cannot hold two complete opposites; you cannot be in dis-ease when you are feeling wonderful, like when you see your most beautiful Standing Bow Pulling pose. The more feel-good practices you do, the better your body will feel. Return to hot yoga often.
3. You have a SmartBody. Every part of your body has its own intellect. What goes on in your muscles, your breathing, your pulse is actually highly intelligent, as your body constantly moves towards health.
4. When you stretch, you open. Physical stretching can be a powerful way to release obstacles in your life. When those obstacles pop, stuff will come up, right there in hot yoga class - everything from childhood sadness to recent heartbreak. Stretching isn’t always comfortable at first, but your body respects your valiant effort and it responds.
5. Comfort equals death. Are you really all that comfortable in your comfort zone? Allow yourself to stretch a bit, and then a bit more, and you will be rewarded with a new realization: perhaps you are really more flexible - and powerful - than you think.
6. Everyone sweats, smells and emits noises from their body. And thank goodness for that. It's just another way to release what you don't use or need in your body and open up even more.
7. Your body doesn't lie. Each part of your body is a hologram, a complete Akashic Record of the life story you have created. You can change that story anytime with the help of hot yoga, no matter how deeply your old wounds are buried because....
8. Your body doesn't know your age. No body is ever too old, too tired, or too late to rebuild itself. And the moment you decide to start over and do the work, your body will respond. Work your body correctly and you become ageless.
9. Your body is always trying to tell you something. Maybe your back isn't sore from sleeping on a too-soft mattress; maybe it's because you're not getting enough support from your family. Yes, your MRI shows weak knees, but maybe you're weak in the knees because you have difficulty standing up for yourself. Strengthen your body and watch the old boundaries in your life start to soften.
10. People come in all sizes and I promise, yours is beautiful. Yes, you want to be thin (me too). But some of the most interesting, graceful and frankly beautiful bodies are those that are most expansive. The way your body feels to you has nothing to do with the number of your bathroom scale. In my art class, everyone's favorite model is Liz, a woman in her fifties who is obese by today's standards. There's a reason Renoir loved women like Liz. When you are comfortable in your body, you are gorgeous.
11. That perfect Gumby standing beside you is human. I promise, you are in the perfect body; you just haven't felt it fully yet. But if you want to be Gumby, hey, you're as human as the next guy; if he can do it, you can do it.
12. Your body is a gift. Your body is your vehicle and it will carry you just so far; one day you will have to discard it so you can travel even farther. Who knows when that day will come? Appreciate your body while you can. Act happy to have this body and soon enough, you won't be acting. Start today.
