06/08/2020
We’ve been lucky enough to have the lovely Flick teach classes in our studio! We can’t wait to have her back again! 💚
Super Human: Flick
From: Scotland
Started practicing Bikram Yoga: My first Bikram Yoga class was in New York City in the Upper East Side studio, over five years ago. My lovely step mum took me there. She left and I stayed.
Favourite Posture: My favourite posture is Triangle Pose. On the days when I can drop my hips very low and find a perfect, steady balance when I look up to the ceiling, I feel so strong, confident and invincible.
Why practice Bikram Yoga:
My first (hellish) class in New York City left me feeling humbled, drained and elated. I was back at the studio the next day. And the next day. And then I looked for studios everywhere I travelled in every country. When I finally made it back home to Scotland, I immediately signed up at Bikram Yoga Glasgow. Over time, and after a few job changes, I started working there, cleaning up, reception duties and doing social media. I’m at my happiest helping people discover who they are, how wonderful their bodies can be and how healing Bikram Yoga is.
Everyone comes to Bikram Yoga with their own stories. Mine is nothing dramatic and my reassessment of my life was slow, gradual, steady - an awakening rather than a conversion. My job was stressful, I had a number of old injuries from martial arts, which I started at the age of 8. My first competition was at age 9 and I continued competing until I was in my 30s. All my major joints had been hyperextended several times, I had a severe hamstring injury that never healed, and a damaged knee that meant I was only five years away from using a walking stick. Repeated injuries and blows to the head and face led to early signs of potential sight problems, and I also developed stress-related health conditions such as anaemia and stomach ulcers. I wasn’t an easy person to be around, and I brought all of this into the Bikram studio.
I was competitive, driven and impatient, and in yoga, most of that energy went into trying to achieve the full expression of the postures, whilst making excuses for the postures I couldn’t manage. Of course, I had completely missed the point of the practice but over the space of two years or so, I found myself becoming less concerned with being a ‘perfect’ student and more interested in getting into the postures correctly: trying the right way, in other words.
I also spent more time talking to people who came to the studio, listening to their stories and taking inspiration from my teachers and studio owner and director, who continue to be great role models for me. I finally left my job and became a full time artist, developed more creativity and compassion in my daily life, and spent more time focusing on the welfare of others as part of my Bikram studio work. It finally dawned on me that I was a happier person.
I couldn’t say exactly why I went back to that second class in New York. The power of the postures and that feeling of immense achievement is wonderful. But I also love the fact that every single class is a challenge.There is always more to learn, more to work on, improvements to rejoice at, a steady measure of progress, and seeing this incredible yoga defy all logic to contort my body into postures I never thought were physically possible for someone of my small size. I have never yet found a comfort zone in a Bikram Yoga class. I’m not sure one exists, to be honest! But I also love it when my friends share with me their own achievements: the first time they reach head to knee after several years, or the first time they held standing bow for a full 30 seconds, I know how hard it has been, and the dedication it has taken for them to achieve their goals.
Ultimately, Bikram yoga allows me to be myself completely. My competitive spirit is channeled into a longer term vision of my practice, a marathon rather than a sprint. The intense focus on the postures in the challenging environment means my problems automatically disappear from my mind. After a class, everything gains a more realistic perspective - doing Bikram yoga has never made a problem worse. The group energy and the genuine warmth and affection I feel for people in the studio is wonderful, as we all recognise the struggles of getting in and out of postures. I have unlimited patience with people who really want to learn - and even more for those who don’t!
Finally, I had taught martial arts over many years and had always loved watching people develop and transform their bodies into something strong and positive. The idea that teaching Bikram Yoga could be my work for the rest of my life fills me with excitement. I trained to become a certified Bikram Yoga teacher last year. After five years of practice it felt like the most natural thing to do, and an obvious step in my progress as a person and practitioner.
Thanks to Bikram Yoga Teacher Training, I get to share that journey and joy with other people, and I hope to do so for many years to come.
