After our little cupcake adventure, we were ready to hit the gym.  We decided to try a more unconventional form of exercise: bikram yoga.

Bikram yoga is a form of yoga from India in which you go through a series of 26 yoga positions in a heated room. The room we were in was about 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first thing we noticed upon entering Bikram Yoga (711 W. 23rd St.) was the distinct smell of sweat. After overcoming the stench, we were greeted by the friendly staff. The class cost $15 although we were offered a special deal, seven days of unlimited yoga for $25, upon our first visit, but declined.

At first, walking into the classroom felt nice because it was so cold outside. An experienced classmate helped us set up our mats and towels, then we waited.

As we were waiting, classmates were stretching and warming up for class. We were getting very intimidated as we watched several professional yoga competitors. How is my body suppose to bend like that? Eek! We are not that flexible at all.

The instructor finally walked into the room. Everyone immediately stood up and greeted her. She introduced herself and told the class that this was our first class. Then she told us that her only requirement was that we stayed in the room the entire time. Now we were stuck, there was no escape (okay, kidding, but it felt like it.)

We were surprised by the popularity of the class. We went on a Friday night at 5:30 and there were about 40 people. Even more surprising, to us at least, is that there was at least 10 men there.

We started with some breathing exercises, which, contrary to popular belief, really aren’t that easy. During the breathing exercises we learned that every set of positions is done twice. We didn’t start sweating until we began our actual yoga poses. Then things got real sweaty, real fast.

Half of the class consisted of standing poses and the other half was sitting poses. The sitting poses involved lots of fast movement that resulted in a very dizzy Mara and Maddie. The standing work was more tolerable, but definitely still hard.

The thing about bikram yoga is it’s as physical as it is mental. Mentally prepare yourself before taking one of these classes.

If you don’t like sweat, germs, or anything gross (like men in tight clothing) bikram yoga is probably not for you. Seriously, we’re not joking. Aside from all that, bikram yoga is a challenging experience, but you feel great afterwards.

Our only complaint was that the staff was difficult to communicate with.   Maddie decided to call the studio to see what forms we needed to have for the class. She was told to stop by anytime and pick up required forms. So, we went in after school and what happened? They were closed.

Then Maddie drove all the way across town to get the forms a few hours later. And again, they were closed. This is when Maddie got angry. She called and left a strongly worded message. They soon called back and told her to stop in within the next 30 minutes. So she rushed across town to the studio and sure enough, they were finally there.

Overall, we were surprised by our experience. The class was more difficult than we had anticipated, but we liked it enough that we are planning on taking another class.

Overall Grade: B