Running with Bikram: Taking on a 30-Day Hot Yoga Challenge

 Running has been a favorite pastime of mine, even if I don’t consider myself a competitive athlete. I love the simplicity of lacing up my sneakers and hitting the pavement, enjoying the camaraderie of the running community, and chasing that endorphin high!

Over the years, I’ve tried to challenge myself to get faster and stronger, but like many runners, I’ve faced my share of setbacks.

I was stuck in a frustrating cycle: building mileage, adding speedwork, getting injured, and having to start all over again.

My hips were continuously in pain, which forced me to skip scheduled races and hindered my progress.

Occasionally, to brighten my mopey mood, I practiced yoga with my favorite yoga teacher, my sister Sharon

While I was still down in the dumps, I came across a quote while scrolling that caught my eye: 👀

Oh? Always up for a challenge, I gave this some thought…..So, if I take 30 consecutive days of Bikram yoga, I’ll get out of this rut? I was intrigued.

I found an alluring Bikram studio near home. As a bonus, if you complete the 30-day challenge, you get bragging rights to sign your name on the beautifully painted challenger wall of the studio!

What is Bikram Yoga Anyway?

In simplest terms, Bikram yoga* is one of the original forms of “hot yoga.” It consists of a routine of 26 yoga poses including two breathing exercises practiced within 90/75/60 minutes (originally only 90) in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit 🔥 with 40% humidity.💦

No matter where you go for your Bikram yoga class, these same 26 yoga poses (known as Asanas) will be practiced in the same order, for roughly the same amount of time. The lights are bright, and the walls are mirrored. Typically, there is no music. The instructor (often emphatically) coaches you through the postures, a moving meditation, encouraging you to push harder, deeper, beyond your flexibility while breathing only through your nose. If you need a break, you are to lie down on your mat instead of leaving the hot room.

The Challenge
Historically, I’ve been intrigued by Bikram yoga, probably because it is known to be a disciplined practice, both mentally and physically. I’ve taken a class here and there over the years and usually left feeling dizzy, disoriented, and freaked out to learn that you can sweat from the tops of your feet.

A few of my strong female runner friends practice Bikram yoga as a complement to their running. Always inspired by their running performances, it was another reason to give this challenge a try!

So, I bought a class package, and I kept a journal for 30 days, jotting down some thoughts after each class. Here are a few highlights:

Day 2:

• Guy covered in tattoos flung his sweat onto me during Eagle Pose.
• 30 days of this?!?
• Instructor said to me, “Sure, you can smile.”
• I wondered, is there no smiling in Bikram yoga?

Day 7:

• Nowhere near “standing head to knee pose.”
• But … I noticed when I stand up tall with my spine upright—no sinking into hips— suddenly my balance improves. Magical!

Day 12:

• Other than running, I haven’t felt this good after a workout, ever!
• Same day - my mother told me my posture looked beautiful. At 5 foot 9 inches, I’ve always been uncomfortably awkward with my height. This may be the first time I’ve ever received a compliment on my posture.

Day 16:

• I’ve learned how to tune everyone out in the room. I felt fiercely focused on my image in the mirror: “That English Bull-dog determination, Bengal Tiger Strength,” says the instructor.
• If I look at others in the class, I lose my balance.
• Biggest gain: staying focused.

Challenge Complete (Sort of):

I didn’t complete 30 consecutive days in a row. On Day 6, my aunt passed away, and I attended her funeral in New Jersey, so I couldn’t make it to class that day. I started over, back to Day 1. During Round 2, on Day 17, a loved one had a medical emergency that brought us to the hospital. Thankfully, he’s okay now, but no class that day either.

Life is full of obstacles, priorities, and obligations, I knew that attending 30 consecutive days was a crapshoot. However, I did complete 30 classes in 46 days, so there’s that. Although I didn’t get my name on the challenger wall, I’m fairly proud of the effort.

Takeaways:
Here is what I learned from my 30-day Bikram yoga challenge:

• Increased Body Awareness: My posture has improved and I no longer sink into my hips. I’m now more aware of standing tall with my core engaged. Even the slightest adjustment can unlock a whole range of movement and space. This newfound awareness has improved my running form.

• Enhanced Focus: I’ve learned to stay present while running. Before, my mind would wander to music, to-do lists, and past conversations. Now, I relish each moment, running without headphones, fully immersed in the experience.

• Improved Running Metrics: According to my Garmin watch, my V02 max estimate increased by two points. While this might not be the most precise measure, it’s the first time I entered the “superior” purple zone in all my years of running!

Recently, I ran the NYRR Mini 10K in Central Park. Last year, during the same race, I walked the westside hills because, well, hills are hard! Though they remain a challenge, I was now able to push through. I could hear the instructor’s voice in my head “… that English bulldog determination, Bengal tiger strength.”

The result? I shaved off four minutes and 22 seconds from my previous year’s time, and my age-group average percentage climbed from 50.78 to 54.87. One week later, I ran the NYRR Queens 10K. Similarly, I improved my performance from the same race, one year later (percentage from 52 to 54.2).

Are these gains earth shattering? Perhaps not. Did I PR? Not quite. But compared to last year, it’s progress in the right direction. I’ll take it!

-Melissa Slobin, NYFlyers Co-BlogManager

*Author’s Note:
Bikram yoga has been the subject of controversy due to allegations of sexual harassment and assault against its founder, Bikram Choudhury. In 2016, a jury ruled against him, and he fled the country. Many Bikram studios have chosen to disassociate with him and have changed the name to “Original Hot Yoga” and similar. I do not condone the man or his actions, but I do appreciate the benefits of this yoga series as a powerful practice.

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Flyers Groupies On The Run!

 

Let’s run together! The New York Flyers Running Club offers a variety of free group runs where you can socialize while you work out! This is a great way to meet new people or work towards a goal. 

Sure, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner is a fabulous iconic cultish novel that has served as inspiration for many runners.  But truth be told, the companionship and camaraderie for the long distance GROUP runner is what resonates for so many of us.  

This is evident at the NY Flyers various weekly group runs. And for those who’d like to learn more, here’s some information about each of our weekly runs to make certain that you don’t miss out on the fun! 🥳 Members and non-members are welcome - bring a friend!

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Sunday Morning Group Run

Meeting Place: Prospect Park, Brooklyn (Grand Army Plaza)

Start Time: 9AM (Fall-Spring), 8AM (Summer)

Group Leader: Debbie Panek

The Sunday Morning Prospect Park Run meets weekly at 9am during the fall through the spring, and at 8am during the summer.  Originally organized by the energetic and enthusiastic Stephanie Tang in the late spring of 2017, the Sunday morning run continues to provide a New York Flyers presence in Kings County. Come meet us on the grass median just above the loop, inside the Grand Army Plaza entrance to the park.

Our group fluctuates in size but is generally a small cohort of 2-4 teammates each week, usually running around 9:30-10 minute per mile paces.  Runners vary the distance they choose to run (each Prospect Park loop is 3.3 miles), and during periods of marathon or half-marathon training, folks will adapt their paces to meet their goals.  Sometimes we venture out of Prospect Park and run the perimeter of the park, around Green-Wood Cemetery, to Sunset Park, or even across the Brooklyn or Manhattan bridges to Manhattan.  Flyers from other parts of Brooklyn, Queens, or Manhattan occasionally join in the fun, and when we have visitors, post-run meals often get organized as we go!

We welcome new and longtime Flyers to join us any Sunday! Weekly reminders are posted on the Flyers’ Facebook page and now Heylo too. We’re always grateful to know if others might be joining us. 

Quotes from 2 happy Sunday regulars:😊😊

"The Sunday run in Brooklyn is something that I look forward to each week.  Running a loop (or two) around Prospect Park is great training, especially for the many races that take place there in the spring and summer. The Brooklyn group is “easy like Sunday morning….”

-Beth Brennan

"Anyone who has ever met me knows how much I hate mornings. It's a testament to Debbie's sunny personality and the enjoyable company of the other runners that I somehow manage to pry myself out of bed on a Sunday. Plus, Prospect Park only has one hill vs 38327850374502463 in Central Park."  

-Andrea Mihalko

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Tuesday and Thursday Mornings "6@6"

Place: Central Park (72nd Street and Central Park West)

Start Time: 6AM 

Group Leader: Francine Alfandary

The 6@6 group meets at 72nd and Central Park West every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 a.m. sharp, year-round, no cancellations.   On Tuesdays we do hill repeats or intervals.  On Thursdays we run the 6-mile loop, clockwise. 

The first Tuesday of every month is always Cat Hill repeats.  Other weeks we mix it up.  Our repertoire includes 200’s on East Drive, 880’s on the Delacorte Oval, a ladder work-out on the Reservoir, West Side Hill repeats, and more. We mark the start and finish of each interval with light-up pylons or cards.  Our work-outs are designed to keep everyone in reasonable proximity, despite our different paces. 

On Thursdays, many of us run 6@6 as tempo runs.  Others prefer a conversational pace. We finish each run by 7 a.m.  

The 6@6 regulars range in age from late teens to mid 80’s.  Our pace range is just as broad.  While most 6@6 regulars are Flyers, many are not.   Typically about 20 runners come out for each run.  Everyone is very friendly, cheerful and supportive of one another. The camaraderie and consistency work wonders!

Everyone is welcome at 6 a.m.!  Come for the company, stay for the run.

"I’ve been running with the Tuesday/Thursday group for two years now (thank you again Francesco!), and it has definitely made me a better, and faster runner.  Francine’s workouts are always varied, and push me further than I would ever do when trying to train on my own.  And even though I have to leave at 5:30 to get there on time, it is always worth it because I know there will be a good crowd of people running at different speeds, and it is an outstanding way to start the day and feel like you really accomplished something." - Keir Buckhurst

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Wednesday Mornings "Hump Day Group Run" 🐪

Meeting Place: Engineers’ Gate (90th Street and 5th Avenue)

Start Time: 6:14AM

Group Leaders: Lisa Konorty, Francesco Presutti, Debi Unger, John Whitfield

The new kid on the block? Not really. Some veteran Flyers will remember the old-time Wednesday group. The group’s first leader, Lisa (Scheerer) James, was succeeded by Louise Corrigan, who was in turn succeeded by Scott Stelk. A shoutout to all three of them!

The group had faded into oblivion. Francesco Presutti felt nostalgic of a Wednesday morning run starting and finishing on the east side and was determined to revive it. John Whitfield, Lisa Konorty and Debi Unger all jumped in as group co-leaders.

The Wednesday Group Run 2.0 kicked off with great fanfare on April 10, 2024, after a long hiatus. Coincidentally, it was two days after the Great American Eclipse. The attendance so far – about 10 runners in the first three month – confirms that there was indeed a demand to fill the gap of an east side run on hump day. The group has been purposely rebranded as the “Hump Day Group Run." Our slogan is: we meet to conquer hump day!

The group meets at 6:14am at Engineers’ Gate, hence its other nickname, the Six-Fourteen Group Run because – guess what – there’s no other group in the whole city that meets at 6:14am – we like to be unique! It generally runs a counter-clockwise 6-mile loop.

"Hump day" is recovery day for most Flyers, who do hard workouts on Tuesday and Thursday. While this may evolve down the road, at this point no hard workout is planned for this group. We expect to cover a wide range of paces. All paces are welcome.

In other words, all runners are welcome – no matter their pace or where they live. The proof is in our co-leaders. On one end of the spectrum, we have Lisa, who candidly confessed to Francesco, who was struggling to keep up with her up Harlem Hill during the group’s inaugural run: “This is how I run, I just cannot run easy!” On the other end of the spectrum, we have Debi, who is a guarantor for inclusivity: “If people know I'm in this group,” she said, “they will have no doubt it is open to all paces!” And we also have John, who lives in the UWS, just like Debi. Since he changed jobs, John can’t run at 8am anymore and was eager to find company for his early morning runs. West side runners like John and Debi can cross the park and get to Engineers’ Gate in time for our 6:14am group photo without violating the park’s closure!

Come along, conquer hump day with us! 🐪

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Thursday Night Fun! TNF 🎉

Meeting Place: Columbus Circle

Start Time: 6:30pm 

Group Leaders: Dave Kleckner, Kristin Siegle, Laila Selah.

The Thursday Evening Group Run (now known as Thursday Night Fun – TNF!🎉) has long been a staple of the Flyers weekly group runs.  Back in 2012, Flyer Michael Rabin re-established the run (click HERE to read Michael’s funny fake history of the run) and handed the reins over to Dave Kleckner in 2014, who has continued to lead or co-lead the group with various co-leaders.  The current Group Leaders are Dave along with Kristin Siegle and Laila Selah. 

We do our best to have the run feel welcoming, inclusive and fun for a broad range of ages and paces – from speedsters to party-pace. 🥳 Each run starts off with club announcements, introductions, matching new folks up with others to run with them if needed, a group photo posted on Flyers FB, and sometimes even a silly question of the week to help us learn new stuff about each other.

We post weekly on Flyers FB and Flyers Heylo encouraging Flyers to say if they’re coming and at what planned pace so that others might feel inspired to come join – this is especially important for newbies and others who may be concerned that they’ll have no one to run with at their pace.  Stacy Rodriguez-Renard, for example, has been great at finding running companions for herself and getting sub-groups of runners together by commenting on the weekly post:

“I was new to the neighborhood and looking for a running club I could connect with to meet people and enjoy long distance miles. Other city  clubs were too competitive for my comfort, and I didn’t feel a click until I found the Flyers on a Thursday night fun run. I first met Dave who intentionally ran my pace and shared the highlights of membership over the course of five miles. He introduced me to others and Thursday nights have become routine. It’s fun and a great stress reliever to meet up and chat the miles away.”  -Stacy

TNF, not just in name, aims to be not just about running, but about friends and FUN!  When Michael re-launched the run way back when, he instituted a monthly Third Thursday Social following the run every third Thursday of each month.  Thanks to regular revelers – such as Guy Simoneau, Matt Olsen, Carla Miragliotta, Jeff Zimmerman, Kristin Siegel, Laila Selah and others – the formerly monthly social has morphed into a pretty much weekly post-run social gathering.  Carla even spearheads celebrating the birthdays of many of the TNF regulars post-run. 

Here’s what frequent TNFer Paige Schafer – one of our extra-youthful regulars  – has to say about TNF🎉:

“I’ve really enjoyed attending Thursday Night Fun Runs over the past year. When I first began running with the group, I felt immediately welcomed. Everyone is incredibly kind, supportive, and provides wonderful conversation throughout each run -- which makes the 5-mile loop fly by! I’ve made new friendships through the TNF run and have even taken away sound running injury prevention and management advice (my ITB pain went away fast -- thank you Dave! 😊 ). Looking forward to continuing to combine my love for running with great company on Thursday evenings!” -Paige

For extra fun, we also dabble a bit in promoting some special events, like dressing up for Halloween, 🎃 winter holidays,☃️ Valentine’s Day♥️ and the 2024 Summer Olympics. 🏆  We’ve even awarded prizes! 🍫 🍭 Come join us every Thursday at 6:30pm at the Maine Monument in Columbus Circle – please bring your ideas and take the initiative to help make this weekly run even better! 

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Saturday Morning Group Run

Meeting Place: Central Park (the lamp post at the North-West corner of the intersection of the 72nd Street Transverse and East Drive)

Start Time: 9AM

Group Leaders: Ed Altman, David Gaines

This always popular Saturday Morning Group Run has been ongoing for very many years, including at times in the dual purpose of serving as the Flyers New Members Run (though not currently).  Runners generally break off into two or more groups depending on paces.  Some Flyers like to incorporate it into their long-run, adding on miles before and/or after the run, sometimes with others in the group.  While some Flyers shorten the run to 5 miles or less.  As it continues to serve as a very versatile, flexible and always friendly run.

Here are some details: We run a six mile loop on the Bridle path or the paved Central Park Loop.  Our paces vary depending on the group.  We run for approximately 1 hour.  Just show up and join us, but if you have any questions, contact the group leaders.

"I like the Saturday group runs because I know I’ll get to both run with the ‘regulars’ like Peter, Colm, and Sarah, but because it seems to be the run that most often has people who are new to running in NYC.  Almost every week there is someone joining us who is visiting or recently moved and found out about the Flyers and wants to join us for the loop.  We’ve even had running ‘celebrities’, like the recent winner of the Portland marathon Lydia Tay  and Kate Taylor, a junior running champion from Canada.  You never quite know who will show up, but you know you’ll have a chance to get to know someone new while you’re running the loop." -Keir Buckhurst

-Co-Blog Managers: Dave Kleckner and Melissa Slobin

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