**I wrote this blog post last week literally hours before my car accident. Who knew I’d need my own advice so badly that day…**
Let’s start at the very beginning. It’s a very good place to start.
Alright you’ve decided to brave the heat, the smell and your own inner defeating voice – you have stepped into that Bikram room for the very first time. It’s dark, some students are lying on the floor, some are doing headstands and you find the closest spot to a window in the back so you can observe and hide. As you put down your mat and towel you fight the urge to turn tail and run. It’s hot man. Like…really…really…hot. Not only is it hot but it is humid. If you’ve never experienced an east coast summer you may never have been exposed to quite this level of moisture in the air. 
If you’ve only ever been in dry climates, it might even feel like you’ve got someone pressing on your chest a little. You vow to NEVER visit Washington DC in August if this is what it’s like. (For those of you who don’t know DC hits as high as 80-90% humidity with temperatures near 90 in the summer.)
You almost decide to leave but then the lights come on, the teacher comes in and everyone stands still like freakishly flexible soldiers. The teacher should (good teachers) find new students in the class. This isn’t to embarrass you—it’s so they know to pay special attention and help with your postures if you need it. No one else in the class is going to pay attention to you once the practice starts so don’t be shy and don’t be afraid. You’ll be encouraged to watch each posture before you try it—almost every posture is done twice so you’ll get your chance.
Okay ready? Now here’s the first posture the teacher calls out: Pranayama – Standing Deep Breathing. Stand facing the mirror and lock your hands together with your fist under your chin and elbows touching. As you breathe in deeply through your nose you will lift your arms like a bellow as you push your chin toward your chest—you should be breathing in through your nose so that you sound like you are snoring. Keep breathing until you almost feel like your lungs will burst and then exhale; gently pushing your head and neck back, breathing out through your mouth like you are trying to fog up a mirror and your elbows will come back together. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat…..
Yup. The very first posture is a series of deep inhalations. That’s it. Easy except that with the almost oppressive heat and humidity, breathing might seem like the last thing you want to do. It also seems kind of lame right? I thought this was supposed to be an intense workout and all I’m doing is standing here breathing for three minutes? But I’m going to tell you that this is one of the two most important postures you will do in the class. 
This exercise is the beginning of getting acclimated to the room. Breathing, deep and slow breathing, has been shown in clinical studies to reduce stress. It stimulates parasympathetic activity in the nervous system and decreases sympathetic. If you remember from my post about sweat—sympathetic activity is tied to the production of apocrine—“fear sweat”. So by practicing this breathing you are helping your body to switch off that fight or flight response and thus reduce your anxiety. In this case you are eliminating any of the anxiety you might feel if you are not used to the heat and getting yourself mentally prepared for the next 90 minutes. That’s why getting in the room in time for this initial set of breaths is so important.
The theory is that this controlled slowing of breath causes stimulation of the vagal nerve—which extends from the cranium down through your neck and is how your brain receives input from the organs. The gentle neck movement is also meant to help stimulate activity in your lymph system so that the body is sure to increase delivery of blood to the lungs—blood if you remember from grade school bio, is how we carry oxygen through our body. If you’ll remember it’s the stimulation of the vagal nerve which helps your body get the health benefit of an induced fever but without the heightened parasympathetic activity. Heat and breathing–the ultimate balance to maximizing your immune system!
Finally if you are asthmatic, or suffer from serious problems with your lungs like I have, this posture may help. There’s relatively little research and some studies conflict, but these breathing exercises are thought to help asthmatics. I would definitely argue that they do from my own personal experiences. The heat and the practice of taking these deep breaths literally changed how I breathe. I used to feel like I was always gasping for air—that the only time I got a full breath was when I yawned and those always felt almost painful. After my third Bikram class I realized that my daily breathing even outside the room had changed and I felt like for the first time that I was actually using my lungs properly. I started thinking of my lungs during this posture as any other muscle—and by filling them to almost an extreme; I was strengthening them so that they would get stronger. This is why I think I can run long distance now but again, this is all my own personal conjecture.
But there you have it. The very first posture is done; your breath is under control, now just keep coming back to it throughout class. Controlling your breath is the core of this practice—if you start to lose control of it you are pushing too hard and need to stop, regain control, and then start again. This pretty much applies to the rest of life too. So there’s your starter to Bikram and now how about a great starter for a spring meal…. I had some eggplants leftover and reached again for my favorite new cookbook to try another recipe. This is loaded with spring flavors but rustic enough for those chillier nights when the weather can’t quite let go of winter. The eggplant thickens the soup so it’s just as rich and creamy as a cream based soup but TOTALLY VEGAN. You’ll swear this has starch or cream to get this thick but nope! Not at all.
Broiled Vegetable Soup
from Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Plenty”
- 3 medium eggplants
- 2 red peppers, stalk removed with seeds
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- 3 medium tomatoes
- 2 red onions, finely diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Handful basil leaves, torn
- 4 oregano springs, leaves picked
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can lima beans
- 1 sliced lemon, sliced paper thin
- salt and black pepper
Line a small baking tin with foil. Prick the eggplant in a few places with a small pointy knife and place under your oven broiler. Grill for 30 minutes.
Place the peppers in another small foil-lined baking tin under the grill. Turn the eggplants over with tongs. Grill for 15 minutes, turning the peppers over once during this time. Don’t worry if the eggplant skin begins to crack and char or if the peppers start going black.
Place the whole tomatoes in a small tin, underneath the other vegetables. Continue grilling the vegetables for 15 minutes. Then remove them all from the grill. (So total this takes 60 minutes.) Cover the peppers with foil and leave to cool down; once they can be handled, peel them and tear the flesh into pieces. Cut a long slit in each eggplant and scoop out the soft flesh, avoiding most of the burnt skin; roughly chop the flesh and set aside.
While the vegetables are grilling, put the onions and olive oil into a large pot and sweat on a low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the onions are soft and golden.
Add the eggplant flesh, grilled peppers, grilled tomatoes, half the basil, the oregano leaves, garlic, stock and some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
Blitz until smooth using a hand blender, or a regular blender. Add the beans and mix well. Reheat the soup, then taste for seasoning. Serve hot, topped thinly sliced lemon.
Filed under: Appetizers/Small Plates, Cooking, Fitness, One Pot One Meal, Soups Tagged: bikram, eat your vegetables, eggplant, gluten free, health, healthy, kosher, meatless monday, mental health, omg, omnomnomnom, parve, refreshing, science!, skinny soup, spring, tomato, vegan, vegetarian, yoga
