Bikram > Marathon Running

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I went to Bikram yesterday. Since this is a tapering week for the LA Marathon, I thought that I would get in some stretching. I had gone out for a hard hill run with some coworkers on Tuesday and was a little bit sore yesterday so I thought that some yoga would help me relax.

I don't know why I keep thinking this because Bikram is hard. Okay it isn't impossible but it isn't a walk in the park. In fact, I find running so much easier than doing Bikram. Maybe I am just really bad at it. If I had a choice, I think running a marathon would be a lot easier than doing Bikram for a couple of hours. I heard that the Bikram studio that I go to actually had a yoga-thon to raise money for the Red Cross in which people participated in multiple sessions back to back for many hours. That just sounds like hell to me.

So I've been to Bikram three times now and I always learn something new every time I go. I guess there are a lot of common yoga etiquette that I am not yet savvy to. I've only commit a few of the below faux pas. The other ones I picked up because someone else committed them. There are a ton more rules and etiquette, here are some other ones. I'm sure I'll mess up a million more times before I get use to these things. The below was just what I picked up yesterday. I tell you, I'm terrible at this.

1) Do not wear/leave your shoes/sandals/socks on the carpet or yoga floor.
2) Do not breathe loudly through your mouth. You inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
3) Do not lie down facing the back wall when everyone is in pose. 
4) Do not stop to drink water in the middle of a pose unless you are about to pass out.
5) Do not get up to leave in the middle of a pose unless you are ill.
6) Do not start packing up and heading out when the teacher is still present.
7) Make sure your cell phone is in silent mode.

In conclusion, Bikram is just harder than running. I guess that's why I run so much more than I go to Bikram. I'm sure I'll go back because one can only run so much.