Mothers
As I was waiting for class to start yesterday morning, I spent a few minutes on my mat thinking about my mom (it was Mother’s Day after all). I remembered when I brought my mom to Bikram, I think it was maybe 2006? She already attended room temp. yoga pretty regularly. I thought she may like the extra flexibility that the heated room gives.
BOY WAS I WRONG! She hated it. She STILL talks about how much she hated it. Sorry Mom! She hated getting sweaty and working hard (aka not easy and relaxing).
I’ve had one other person outright hate the class: a fellow teacher. My teacher friend was fine with sweating and working hard. She didn’t like being “yelled at” (FYI, she totally never got yelled at).
Is there surefire way to predict who will like Bikram? I’ve brought my share of friends to Bikram with me. I don’t make people come to Bikram with me. People are just interested! Most people that come with me say they liked it. Yet, most people never come again.
Are all my friends that say they liked it just trying to be polite and really hate it on the inside? I agree that it takes someone a little crazy and intense to want to sweat to death doing yoga in a heated, humidified room!
Hot room confessions 
I’ve brought multiple people with me to yoga (my mom, my aunt, my dad, my stepmom and my co-worker) and none of them lasted more than 2-3 classes (my dad, a runner with no flexibility and degenerative arthritis lasted the longest!). After practicing yoga consistently for months I bragged to them about the calming affects of yoga and the peace it brought me. Unfortunately their expectations were a bit too high after my explanations so their first times were miserable. And because of that miserable first time they stopped going and never put in the time necessary to really understand why Bikram is so awesome.
You’re right- it takes time. Most people have a pretty challenging and miserable first class!
I rarely find takers when I invite people to try. In middle school I conned a friend into making our year long project yoga related, and she came to class with me for that year. Some of my aunts have tried, and I think my dad even took class with me once. None of them stuck with it though. About a month ago, I invited a friend, someone I didn’t actually know that well… I invite everyone I meet. I was shocked that she said yes, and blown away when she was instantly addicted. She is just starting out and really developing an awesome, dedicated, consistant practice.