Dear Jayme and Mandi:
How can I ever even begin to thank you both? You both have single-handedly
changed my life.
I completed my fifth marathon today and my fourth Boston Marathon in 5:34.
The difference this year is that *I ran every single step without stopping
even once.** I owe 100% of my Boston Marathon success to Bikram Yoga and
nothing else*.
Bikram has significantly enhanced my Boston Marathon training by teaching me
how to strengthen my mind  more so than my quads and hamstrings. Locking the
knee, as tough as that is in every single class for me,  sure has paid off
in a big way. It has paid off physically but, more importantly, mentally.
The effects have been profound. What is most profound is the inner strength
that I have developed as result of consistently coming to class. You can be
really physically strong, but all of the Elite marathon runners will explain
that it is a strong mind that is required to pass that marathon finish line.
You can have a strong body but fail to meet your goal because you lack the
required  inner strength. I have run many, many  miles in my life. However,
consistent yoga practice is the only experience that has allowed me to
achieve that inner strength.
On marathon morning, I wrote on my left hand "think it and it will happen"
and on my right hand, I had my six-year old daughter write "BREATHE" in all
capitals. On my inside right forearm, she also wrote "Get the best out of
yourself" and on my inside left forearm I wrote "Bikram says the God is
you." These are all things you have said in class over the past six weeks
when I decided to come to class instead of repeatedly banging up my body out
on the rainy roads of Sharon. I must confess that sometimes, I would do a
five to seven mile training run before coming to class. Sometimes, I would
do my seven milers after class. This allowed to me achieve a level of
endurance that I never have in my life. This is the best simulation that I
could create of mile 22 of the Boston Marathon. For three years, I have hit
the wall at mile 22, which comes just after the Heartbreak Hills. My legs
have just given out in the past. NOT THIS YEAR. When I reached mile 22, I
though of the hot room and  your words of encouragement. I remembered the
tremendous power of my own breath. Taking in Oxygen is exactly what my
hardworking muscles were craving at that point. I did not get a single
muscle cramp anywhere! I kept my mind strong heading to Cleveland Circle and
what a special confirmation I saw: my teacher's smiling faces, encouraging
me on yet again! May God bless you both! I was so great to see you today. I
felt even stronger than I already did when I saw you both.
I head off to Disney World tomorrow at 8AM, so I do not get to treat myself
by returning to your glorious studio tomorrow AM. However, I promise to
stretch and to bathe in the Bikram magical glow over the next week. I am so
proud of what my Bikram Yoga practice has allowed me to achieve and I am so
proud of myself.
Thank you so much!
Namaste,
Dee Gilson, MD
*The Hot Running Yogini*

 

 In October of 2008, I began practicing at Bikram Yoga Stoughton. My main goal was to get healthy. I wanted to lose weight and improve my blood pressure and cholesterol. My sleep cycle was less than desirable and my energy level was zilch. I was tired of being tired. I have been practicing 3 to 4 days a week ever since. One year after beginning Bikram Yoga, my blood pressure and cholesterol were in the normal range. I have lost approximately 50 pounds and my BMI went from the obese category to the normal category. My sleep and energy level have greatly improved. The best thing is; I feel better.

Besides the overwhelming satisfaction with achieving my initial goals, there were also a few added benefits that I didn’t expect. Due to a birth defect my right leg and foot are atrophied. Over time, it had progressively worsened and even walking long distances would leave my foot in a state of numbness so extreme that at times I felt like I was practically dragging it along behind me. I had limited feeling in my foot in general, especially the toes. After about 6 months of practicing, I was shocked to realize that for the first time in my life I actually had feeling in my toes. I can walk miles and my leg never gets that old feeling of numbness and uselessness. One of my hobbies is golf and more often than not I would take a cart because walking that distance was just not possible. I now breeze through 18 holes without an issue (except for my lack of playing skills). There is no doubt in my mind that the yoga increased blood flow to my right leg and strengthened it to a point where I am able to do things that for so long seemed out of reach.

In no uncertain terms, Bikram Yoga has improved my life. I will be forever grateful.

 

 MJ Jacques - April 2010

Thank you to the entire BikramYogaStoughton staff for their kind, very patient and
knowledgeable assistance and encouragement in my classes. I only began 1/16/10. My
first and foremost goal was to bring my high blood pressure down. After three
months, I went from 158/98 to 114/72!!!!!!I am certainly a work in progress, aren't
we all, and look forward to setting and attaining more goals and challenges for
myself on this journey, one step at a time.

Thanks again. MJJacques

 

 

Tere Jones 

Today is day 41 and I’ve completed 37 classes. Here are some of my thoughts and experiences to date:

The first week I just kept thinking why did I say I’d do this, how am I
going to do 60 days, my back hurts, I don’t know if I can make the time,
blah, blah, blah, then during savasana (around day seven) I said to myself
STOP IT just get through this class, this posture, this breath.  With that,
instead of taking 60 classes at once I started taking one class at a time.
(Phew that feels better.)

 Next step… surviving each class.  Why aren’t classes getting easier?  First
my lower back hurt, then my middle back, I feel weaker, now I’m nauseous, my
hands are tingly, why is this happening, what’s wrong with that, each time I
get the same answer you’re getting deeper into the postures.  It seems to
take a few classes to move through each new physical discomfort and then I
sail through a class before something new starts.  I’m starting to believe
as each of you has said, it is a process.

Class 36 was a good class which gave me a chance to reflect on some of the
things that have sunk in, Half Moon is easier and actually feels good if you
just let it go, Standing Head to Knee just relax the back and shoulders and
the balance is easier, Locust lift from the lower back and abdomen and the
legs do come up.  

I will admit this is harder than I thought it would be both mentally and
physically, I thought the hardest part was going to be finding the time that
has actually been the easiest part.  As hard as it is to get through some of
the classes I’m finding I look forward to it each day. 

Thanks for all your support.

Teré

 

 J.D. Ohlson

Understand that for my adult life, I have looked and lived like an extra in a Hell's
Angel's movie. To tell my friends that I was doing Yoga was a scarier proposition
than any of the bar fights or back alley brawls of my tumultuous past.
  I have spent more time in trucks and on tour buses than in training, more time on
bar stools than with barbells, and more time running away from myself then standing
my ground and dealing with life. When I completed over 30 days in a 60-day
challenge, which I now have agreed to up to a 150-day challenge, everyone saw
positive physical and mental changes in me: that I look happier, have lost weight,
and especially that I look taller!  These changes were long overdue, and a welcome
sight to all.
  40 days ago I would have laughed out loud and mocked the proposition of attending a
yoga class.  Now I cannot imagine starting a day without one.  And the results speak for themselves:
  A little over a year ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and for whatever
reason, I took this setback as a wake up call. I decided to change the things in my
life and in my mind that in 36 years had led me to being morbidly obese, utterly
miserable, and now dangerously diabetic.
  On July 3rd my doctor and I determined that in the past 16 months I had lost a
little over 80 pounds, and was able to bring my blood sugar under control with the
help of 2000mg a day of Metformin HCL (an oral antihyperglycemic drug used in the
management of type 2 diabetes.)  So we reduced my daily dosage of Metformin in the
hopes that continued diet, exercise, and weight loss would allow me to wean
completely off the medication over the course of the next year.
  On July 11th, I took my first Bikram class, and my blood sugar was averaging between
100- 120 mg/dl.   On August 7th, my weekly blood sugar average was
down to 79 mg/dl, and for the first time since being diagnosed with diabetes I was
experiencing the symptoms of low blood sugar, enough to prompt an unscheduled visit
to my doctor.  On August 20th I was taken off all of my diabetes medications!
  So between my July 3rd and August 20th visits I had lost 16 pounds and my weekly
blood sugar average had dropped over 30%!  My A1C (A blood test that is basically an average of the
past three months blood sugar levels which should be below 6.0) which 16 months ago was 19.4 - had just come
back at 5.2!  The only change in my routine in this time had been the addition of Bikram Yoga Classes.
  For the first time in my 36 years, I am beginning to experience an inner peace and
harmony in body, mind and spirit that 36 days ago I never believed could exist.
  From the bottom of my being, Thank you: Jayme, Amanda, Erin, Donna, Jennifer, and
every student at Bikram Stoughton for your encouragement, hospitality, and positive
energy. I pledge to continue to do my best and offer the strongest and purest
intensity to every class.
 
Namaste,
 
J.D. Ohlson

 

"Words can hardly describe how good I feel ...the pain in my lower back is gone.  My swollen knuckles are back to normal.  My mood is terrific.  Even my shoulders are almost back where they belong.  I am forever indebted..." -