Yesterday I went to my first Bikram class since wrecking my Meniscus. I don’t know why I was so scared of going. My knee is pretty messed up, but Bikram is my happier place, I should have gone back sooner, I realised this half way through class.

I began class struggling through standing breathing exercises since locking my right knee is impossible. I then went into side bending postures beginning on my knees, which really tweaked my back, so I stood for the second go around & was able to get into the full position on both right and left. Backbending and forward bending were moderately simple as well. As I pushed through, the standing series including 6 sets of chair pose because going up onto my toes is also impossible, I used the chair for standing head to knee. For the bow, I did a deep lounge & reached/leaned as far back as possible to get the similar kick pull motion.

As we went into triangle postures, I thought to myself, “Don’t be a pussy”. I know, novel, right? But seriously, there are much worse things I could have going on than just my bum knee. I could have 1 lounge, which would make much of Bikram’s Hatha style class extremely difficult, or no eyes which would be super weird to even begin to connect your body and mind. So I decided, I am not going to be a pussy, I am just going to do it, no excuses. I went into every posture except for full bow. Final savasana, felt like a champ and gimped out of class.

I had a sense of pride, happiness and accomplishment. Something I have not felt since injuring myself. This feeling I will hold onto & strive to achieve again, it is a simple reminder, that if you put your mind to it, you can do it. It’s simple, it takes one courageous note to yourself, a change of mindset and you can do nearly anything. It’s beyond compression and an expressional beauty.