I have, over two years time doing Bikram yoga 3-4 times a week, become very comfortable with camel pose. Today was no exception. I went into the pose, without fear, because I have come to trust my teachers to not leave me there for more than 20 seconds. I came out of the pose and laid down for savasana. The teacher said (as they all do time and again), “If you’re sick or nauseous, dizzy, or just feel weird – don’t worry, you did it right!” I always smile thinking how newbies think they going to get some sympathy for how they feel coming out of camel and they’re just told they did it right.
Camel is not only a physical pose. It’s a deeply emotional one. It brings up a lot of stuff, both physical and emotional and brings it to the surface. I once cried for no reason coming out of camel – be it something I was holding onto and needed to release, or just a huge amount of pent up stress going its own way – I couldn’t say. Today coming out of camel was pretty uneventful, but when the teacher said, “You did it right”, I laid down in savasana thinking how pushing through all the bad, hard, camels over the years has really taught me to weather the hard things in life. There are things occurring in my life today that I did not do a good job with managing before I started Bikram. Managing camels has taught me to manage fear and remain diligent until the storm passes, instead of throwing myself into an emotional wringer and making myself and everyone around me miserable. I have a close family member battling cancer right now. Instead of falling apart and having everyone take care of me, too, I think of being in camel, and push on through so maybe I could be of assistance to my family.
When hard things come, camel teaches perseverance and trust, builds endurance, and manages fear. So, today, when my very wise teacher, Mark, said, “You did it right”, I laid down and thought to myself, yes, I did, didn’t I?
And so, as another day goes by, my Bikram class is so much more than yoga, and….I have written.
Below: I follow both of these blogs. Like A Flower Petal Blooming describes exactly why I say “Bikram is so much more than yoga” and Hell Bent describes the function of camel perfectly! Another yoga information site is Jen Reviews. Her latest post on 18 Amazing Benefits of Yoga, According to Science is so informative that I am sharing it with my health club clients! Namaste!
What a lovely post! “Managing camels has taught me to manage fear and remain diligent until the storm passes, instead of throwing myself into an emotional wringer and making myself and everyone around me miserable.” A great learning, right? I’m very sorry about your family member’s illness, and your post shows how to deal with very tough issues in a very healthy way. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you so much for your kind words and for reading and commenting!
~Linda ~
lindabartosik@aol.com
I have attempted yoga and for one reason or another stopped. How amazing when we are able to use our bodies to rid emotions that are negative.
Inspiring! You make me almost want to try Yoga, Linda! 🙂