Peter is a person with many skills and hobbies. He has a social media management business, he is a Recreation Therapist, a music producer and a DJ, but most of all he is a loving and friendly member of the community of Guelph, Ontario. Peter loves Bikram Yoga and has also benefitted a lot from it!Tell us about your first Bikram Yoga class … when did you go and why?
My very first Bikram Yoga class was in the summer of 2010. I went because a Naturopathic doctor highly recommended it for my Rheumatoid Arthritis.
What was your impression of Bikram Yoga after that first class? Did you love it or loathe it?
I cannot remember the experience that I had in that first class I went to in 2010. All I knew was that it was too hot, so I simply stopped going. I started back up in the summer of 2011, but I knew that before I went to that first class again I was going to be doing it for a very long time. Something inside me told me that I would be, it just took me a year to admit it to myself. The second time around I went into it with a lot of respect and with a promise of dedication and trust. The benefits that I received from the beginning were simply outstanding in every way as they continue to astound me on a daily basis making me feel like I have six senses.
How often do you practice these days?
Right now I am practicing 3-4 times a week but my ultimate goal is to try and practice 5-6 times a week. I am very excited about the February 4 x 4 challenge. It’ s 4 days a week for thirty days. I am trying to get to the point where I am going every day, so this will surely challenge me to go more often.
What are some of the most important benefits you receive from Bikram Yoga? Has it helped to improve your life in any way?
Having had Rheumatoid Arthritis since I woke up with it one day in ’98, the damage it has done throughout the progression of those years in my hands, feet and knees has been slow but steady. Bikram Yoga has started to what I truly believe and feel is the reversal of the damage that has been done up to this point. I feel that every posture is not only realigning my body, but it is strengthening and conditioning my joints back to optimum health as well. Each day I can feel parts of my body letting go, physically and mentally releasing old tensions and old ways of thinking while allowing me to go deeper into the postures and deeper into meditation.
What do you find most challenging about practicing Bikram Yoga?
I find that the preparation is the most difficult thing about Bikram Yoga. For me it is that voice in my head that I am trying to control that tells me "don't go to yoga today." The only thing that helps with that is more yoga. Also, getting enough water and electrolytes and eating enough nutritious food on a daily basis can be difficult sometimes as well, but working on an efficient routine really helps. That is outside of the studio. The most difficult thing for me inside the studio is different on a daily basis. It all depends on what is happening to me physically and mentally that day.
What’s your current favorite posture?
My favorite posture at the moment has to be Standing Bow Pose. It has given me so many benefits in the past and it continues to give me flexibility, strength and it builds my concentration unlike any other pose right now.
What is your most dreaded posture?
My most dreaded posture has to be the U-turn from backbend to the forward bend in the Half-Moon Pose. But, to be honest, it was hard for me to choose because I don’t even feel like I am present in class most of the time. There is something about the mixture of the heat and the constant chatter from the teacher that helps me to go into a trance like state while still reaching for depth in terms of concentration and form in each and every posture.
What are some of your New Year’s resolutions for 2012?
My resolutions for 2012 are to go to yoga more and to also get my loved ones, including friends and family, to come out to try Bikram Yoga and to see for themselves that the benefits are out of this world!
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