My Second 60 Day Challenge this year!

Hi everyone…. I am new to this site and have been practicing bikram yoga for a year now. In March I completed my first 60 day challenge (6 classes a week for 10 weeks) and have started week 4 of my second challenge.

I found Bikram at a suggestion of a colleague who suggested I add it to my recovery regime from a motorbike accident in 2006, where I was hit by a car and ended up off work for 11 months healing a double fractured femur… nothing too serious right? 18 months later I was facing knee surgery for the third time, a permanent limp and was told that I would always find stairs, running and most activities painful. Earlier this month, I celebrated my 12 month anniversary of Bikram, no third knee surgery, no limp, no pain in the knee while running (yes… running!) and going up stairs!! It is truly miraculous. In my first class I could barely move, every pose felt like torture and I was so frustrated with my lack of flexibility in my body and no strength in my injured leg. When they say lock the knee by raising the thigh muscle … I would just smile thinking yeah right… if I had any sort of thigh muscle that would move!!! I dragged myself to each class and felt small improvements each day and felt revitalized after every class. The second last class of my first challenge, I burst into tears in the final moments of meditation, so overwhelmed and emotional from what I had accomplished.

This second challenge has brought so many small successes, I started out a year ago not being able to bend my knee in tree pose to today getting down into toe stand for a brief moment before coming all undone and falling over. Only in a bikram yoga room can you celebrate a totally spastic moment with your peers and get congratulated in the change room for finally being able to fold your leg in ways you never have before. There were a few high fives after tonight’s 6 pm class finished. This challenge it seems like the weight I gained during the accident recovery is just melting off of me. Everything seems to be clicking in place and I can’t wait to see what changes during the next six weeks.

I have loved being on this journey of yoga and love love love the place I am in now a year after starting my bikram practice. I am one of those success stories you hear about, but always wonder if they are true….. so get into the studio, do the best that you can on the day and get back to class as soon as you can for another session! 🙂 I hope someone finds my story motivating and gets back to their practice.

:coolsmile: