Testimonials

a discovery thanks to a gift from her brother Pablo. The main difference between his yoga and mine, the Hatha of all life, are more than twenty degrees centigrade. And then there’s the intensity, the number of postures, the rhythm, which goes to full length … A couple of weeks ago I accompanied her to her school to see how it was given to me. As soon as I got up, I skipped the first two warnings: do not drink coffee or eat anything several hours before class. I did pay a lot of attention to moisturize myself. I got dizzy just to imagine an hour and a half at more than 40 degrees of temperature and with 40 percent humidity. Then, very little clothing and coconut ready for a new and intense experience, which certainly was.

As soon as I arrived, the teacher made it very dark. I imagine that for me not to make many illusions and lower expectations. You get there taking your chest with your half marathons behind you and you give yourself a bath of humility of the good guys. This is what Alberto let me loose: “It’s going to be hard, I’m going to give the class to the strongest. All you have to do is resist the 90 minutes without leaving. ” Glups. I swallowed the urge to ask: “With that” hard “what do you mean exactly?”. As soon as I heard that the only objective was to “hold” inside that giant sauna, I visualized myself escaping through the window at ten minutes to look for a fountain. During the first half hour they do not let you drink because the body has to be conditioned and you can sit like a shot.

We entered the first ones so that I could acclimatize. Sitting on the mat, I began to breathe while people were putting on. Especially the girls had a pint of “pros” that were scary. And above, the first positions were of balance. Exactly what is worse for me. I tried to look at a fixed point so as not to fall on my head and the mirror returned a super unstable image compared to the others, which gave the impression of being bolted to the ground. I do not know how they did it, but they did not move a millimeter. What aunts What a difference between your poses and mine. I had Clara in front of me, and I gave her looks of help, but she was very focused on her own thing, which, on the other hand, she was very good at.

While trying not to stamp me and to keep a certain dignity, the professor talked nonstop. He almost did not have time to breathe. Up on a small platform, he did not stop for a single second of an hour and a half. It was like a general haranguing his troops. I did not know anything. It is assumed that with practice you end up hearing, not just hearing, this litany, which is repeated literally in all the Bikram classes of the world. It is a monologue that guides you through the 26 postures (always the same ones) that are done twice. I just gave my head to try to copy the rest as I could. That was not little. When we went to the ground I came a little up and I was noticing how the heat helped me to get farther and farther in the stretches. At that time I was already sweating with jets, although I was also beginning to enjoy it. The heat was not a problem as I was afraid. I liked it; It’s relaxing, like the Asian countries where the atmosphere lowers your vital tone a little, it loosens you in a good way.

The inventor of this discipline created in the 70s, Bikram Choudhury, justifies the 40 degrees as a way to recreate the climatic conditions of India, the cradle of yoga. However, the most purist yogis see in the Bikram another eccentricity of the West, where we are always looking for something new, to give a twist to the known. Many elite athletes who compete in triathlon, crossfit or other demanding disciplines use it in their training routines to compensate for their efforts and help them improve their brands while avoiding injuries. In fact, they arrive thinking that it will be a walk and then they check that the lady on her right does it “inexplicably” much better than them. There are some who do not even pass the first round. Of course, I can attest that the thing is not smooth. He is a rodman and you play sport with all the letters. As soon as I got out, they shook me to the little fingers. Of course, I was happy to have given everything and tried to do all the postures. The sensations were very good. I also noticed it on the skin, it seemed like I had done a thorough cleaning. And what surprised me most was that the lumbar pain that had been stuck to stitching for several days evaporated miraculously with the liter and a half of water that I should lose in that class. Article published in La Razón.es

of what exactly Bikram Yoga was and what it really meant.

My distrust and ignorance It was absolute since I did not know where I was getting because I was really exposing myself, I even doubted if everything was a fad, passing like all fashions, or “if everything was a kind of sect of strange people with saffron-colored robes”. The first contact could not be more positive; As soon as I entered the door, Alberto, an uncle with a good-natured face and above all sincere, informed me widely that he was going to find me and encouraged me to try, but the most important thing, at least in my case, is that I tried to sign up for the practice at all costs and to pay the fee immediately; I liked that at first, it did not look like a negotiate of those who try to get hooked from the moment you cross the door and how much proliferate today. Over the weekend I met the other member of the Bikram Yoga Spain Studio team “Guille” and I was convinced that the people who ran the Studio looked like “good people” there. My first day of class was with a teacher I think Argentine (I remember that his name was Gonzalo … I do not remember it well) …… the first day and successive were an ordeal, you do not know what you’re doing there, you have the conviction that you’ve been wrong , that so much heat can not be good, all the negative thoughts and feelings that you have never imagined appear in your mind. My great success in those critical moments, at the end of the so-called “trial week” (which I was eager to finish since I was convinced that I would never return, I thought that the release of that error and torture was near), was to grant the benefit of the question to which the professors that touched me that week repeated me. Jonathan Martin, founding partner of Bikram Yoga Spain Studio, teacher and “alma marter” of this whole subject, and Iván Guisado, a regular teacher at that time, constantly repeated during his week in his classes something that sounds like a practical joke while you live by first time “focus on the mirror”, “breathe slowly through the nose”, “90 minutes of Bikram practice for 90 years of comfortable life” … and above all the affirmation “try not to think about the heat” how do you can not think about the heat if we are at 41º of temperature and 40% humidity ?, all this, yes, at a motivating and frenetic pace with the “teacher Jonathan” (“You will suffer as never in your life … ..me you go to hate … but you’ll get out of here and you’ll feel incredibly well “), and to Rock & Roll with the “master Ivan” (“mastercard between the knees … and the men fall but the yogis get up …”) … ..in short, everything very modern. I thought they were all crazy; I wondered where I had gotten myself and what exactly I was there in the middle of all that paraphernalia. But arriving at the end of the famous week, I do not know how, unconsciously … .. one day I saw myself reflected in the mirror of the practice room, I breathed slowly only through my nose and through my mouth when I had to do it, I started not to think about the heat (how?) then mentally getting into the savasana breaks in an imaginary ice cold fridge … .. yes, yes, as it is, I have not gone crazy … I think) …… and Click! … .. the class much better than the previous days, after the shower I found myself great, I slept incredibly well, and the next day I was like a motorbike … After checking in the following days that it was not a mirage … I thought, what if all this works? What if these people are not so crazy? … “There were also no saffron-colored robes anywhere”; All this made me rethink my initial conclusions and think … .. The only thing I felt were tangible, palpable and perfectly explainable things that for a rationalist like me was more than enough. Then came the 1st Challengue … (30 classes in 30 days) … Pouf! that was not for me … I finished it. Then the 2nd Challengue, where is a senior like you? Do not push your luck … and I’m done. I still do not see my ribs in the mirror (one of the indications that are repeated in the first pranayama breathing exercise of the practice) but in the end it does not matter much … I will never see them again.

My distrust and ignorance was absolute since I did not know where I was getting because I was really exposing myself, I even doubted if everything was a fashion, transient like all fashions, or “if all this was a kind of sect of strange people with tunics from Saffron color “.

The first contact could not be more positive; As soon as I entered the door, Alberto, an uncle with a good-natured face and above all sincere, informed me widely that he was going to find me and encouraged me to try, but the most important thing, at least in my case, is that I tried to sign up for the practice at all costs and to pay the fee immediately; I liked that at first, it did not look like a negotiate of those who try to get hooked from the moment you cross the door and how much proliferate today. Over the weekend I met the other member of the Bikram Yoga Spain Studio team “Guille” and I was convinced that there the people who had the Studio looked like “good people”.

My first day of class was with a teacher I think Argentine (I remember he was called Gonzalo … I do not remember it well) …… the first day and successive were an ordeal, you do not know what you do there, you have the conviction that you have been wrong, that so much heat It can not be good, all the negative thoughts and sensations that you have never imagined appear in your mind.

My great success in those critical moments, at the end of the so-called “test week” (which was wishing to end already I was convinced that I would never return, I thought it was close to the release of that mistake and torture), was to give the benefit of the doubt to what the professors who touched me that week repeatedly repeated.

Jonathan Martín, founding partner of Bikram Yoga Sp ain Studio, teacher and “soul marter” of this whole subject, and Iván Guisado, a regular teacher at that time, constantly repeated during his week in his classes something that sounds like a practical joke while you live it for the first time “concentrate on the mirror” , “Breathing slowly through the nose”, “90 minutes of Bikram practice for 90 years of comfortable life” … and especially the statement “try not to think about the heat” how can you not think about the heat if we are at 41º temperature and 40% humidity ?, all this, yes, at a motivating and frenetic pace with the “teacher Jonathan” (“You will suffer as never in your life … ..you will hate me …. but you will get out of here and you will feel incredibly well “), and at the rhythm of Rock & Roll with the “master Ivan” (“mastercard between the knees … and the men fall but the yogis get up …”) … ..in short, everything very modern. I thought they were all crazy; I wondered where I had gotten myself and what exactly was there in the middle of all that paraphernalia.

But arriving at the end of the famous week, I do not know how, unconsciously … .. one day I saw myself reflected in the mirror in the practice room, I breathed slowly only through my nose and through my mouth when I had to do it, I started not to think about the heat (how?), mentally getting into the savasana breaks in an imaginary ice cold fridge … yes, yes, as is, I have not gone crazy … I think) …… and Click! ….. I finished the class much better than the previous days, after the shower I found myself great, I slept incredibly well, and the next day It was like a motorcycle …..

After checking in the following days that it was not a mirage …… I thought, what if all this works? What if these people are not so crazy? … “There were also no saffron-colored robes anywhere”; all this made me rethink my initial conclusions and think …

The only thing I felt were tangible, palpable and perfectly explicable things that for a rationalist like me was more than enough. Then came the 1st Challengue … (30 classes in 30 days) … Pouf! that was not for me … I finished it. Then the 2nd Challengue, where is a senior like you? Do not push your luck … and I’m done. I still do not see my ribs in the mirror (one of the indications that are repeated in the first pranayama breathing exercise of practice) but in the end it does not matter much … I can not see them anymore e never.

ask you after a hard class if you are well, those who by their practicing experience give you good advice, those who give you any selfless recommendation on any subject (food, body pain or “spirit”), in short what you need is at your fingertips you just have to ask, all these people are full of strength, energy, good “roll” , of generosity, they are like a giant wave in which you either get on or up and you can not get off … you do not want to get off … … that one day you do not feel strong and you get the hang of it ? ….. What can not you do the Challengue? … what does not dare you? s? …….. they go and they put you in class …… they support you at every moment … they ask every day if you are well … they care about you. In the end with them you always finish what you start and you surprise yourself …… those people never fail you.

A few days ago one of those people who regularly practices (a Bikram Yoga classic in Bikram Yoga Spain Studio) I think I summed it up perfectly with your message on Facebook: “Without the energy of the study it is difficult to reach 60 practices …”, I would add that “that energy exists, it is tangible, you feel it, you breathe it, it becomes clear, and it is generated by all those who go there daily. ” That energy also generates discussion, controversy, conflicting opinions on everything human and divine among the so-called “Famillia”, formed by the usual practitioners or by anyone who wants to be part of it, but always with a healthy debate and good vibes . I am tempted to quote their names; but surely I forget some of them because they are several and it would not be fair … ..they know perfectly who I mean. These people make Bikram Yoga Spain Studio not only a Studio for the practice of Bikram you go to do your practice and you go but a Studio loaded with a very intense life to which if you want you join. That, at least to me, I like.

The other “PEOPLE”, also capitalized, that is part of this “microclimate” are the teachers who teach the Bikram Yoga classes.

With some you feel more comfortable in practice than with others; with some you identify more than with others … but with none you will feel that you have lost 90 minutes of your time, none will leave you indifferent, everyone brings you something different … .. “maestro Jonathan” (rhythm, motivation and strength … will take your effort to the maximum of the form that he wants and without you noticing, do not resist! … ..you can not miss his classes and his body- according to some, I personally believe that it is not so much- sculpted based on effort, determination, sacrifice, willpower, corn tortillas and cornstarch …… .don’t ask him how he has achieved it, he will never tell you the truth of his secret. “Good afternoon, I am Jonathan …….”); “Maestro Ivan” (you will practice a “Bikram Rock & Roll” modality loaded with intensity … ..their mantras are authentic lessons of life: “men fall but yogis get up …”); “Teacher Ananda” (it is the eternal smile of Bikram, with it will take away your body); “Master Eladio” (good for the body-good for the mind … if you practice the weekend with him -need two days to notice the real effects- your body will not be the same … you will literally be like a “sandwich” of cream”); “Master Laura” (rigor, know all the “small details of the practice of Bikram” … .. his meticulous indications will surprise you positively and improve your practice and determination); “Maestro David” (agility, professionalism … can be sore, injured … but always intense … .. “dramatic fall”, always start your class saying that it will give you all your energy, do not lie, certainly do not deprive us of your final “om” is essential); “Maestro Liliana” (Mexico at the rhythm of Bikram … always intense and motivating, will not let you give up … “” Japanese sandwich “) …; “Teacher Keila Velón” (a luxury of practice … ..Bikram Yoga at the highest international level, corrects you, teaches you all this in a simple way and also … ..is close and sympathy in person) …………. I forgot one, sure … but not consciously.

I think I do not know another study to be able to compare. I am sure that in all there is a lot of energy and wonderful people … sure, but I only write what I know and as a friend of mine says “If something works well do not change it”. He is right, and for that reason, I shout with sincerity BIKRAMNIZATE IN BRIKRAN YOGA SPAIN STUDIO.

Finally something comes to my mind that says a friend of mine, who is almost always right, and that I believe can be applied to the real cause that simply explains success: “People in life always receive the same thing we deliver “…… Jonhny …… .don’t touch it … do not change it! ..

That’s how I feel it and that’s what I tell it.

That you are good and thank you all. Namasté.

own this long journey of 11 hours by plane, more then 6 hours of waiting in scale, finally 2 hours of final flight, all after 3 years that I will not visit my affections, emotions, feelings, contradictions, doubts, fears, memories, etc., at the same time I see that I have become a colder, harder and more pragmatic person, I prefer to avoid expressing what I feel and feel, m I’m saving it, like a self-defense system, but yesterday in the postures, I began to cry like a child, as I did not cry for a while, I took everything, I was making such an effort not to cry, not to leave my margins , for not being with my weakness, in my most sensitive part, for controlling my temper, for not deepening, but yoga surpassed me, it touched me in the most intimate part of my being, there where I do not want to go so as not to think about others and not immerse myself to be vulnerable to anything, or anyone.

Then I went out how to say? clear, relaxed, at peace, fresh, pure, spiritual, true, a feeling that I do not know how to express it, I just feel, I feel that I have found and filled with myself, I do not know if you can understand me, but it was fantastic and profound . Also say that I will miss this month the classes, the energies of the center, the desire, the strength, the enthusiasm, the dedication, in short everything.

Only the Supreme knows how important it is and what it means this trip for me in this moment of my life, that I wish from the heart all wonders; from the moment of boarding to land and my final destination, meanwhile, I have to say that between crusade and crusade and hoping to return to Spain, believe it or not, I will miss you very much.

CV (08-30-2013)