This article could well be called why the pull or why the push or even why lock the knee.

It’s not actually the performance of the action that I will talk about here but moreover what the performance of the action will create.

Posture focus – Standing bow Pulling pose

 

During class you will be instructed on a variety of different contractions and relaxations of different muscles all over your body. The first benefit would be that in the action of the contraction there is a strengthening that occurs to the musculature and then combine that with the usual stretching associated.  So getting strong and flexible hand in hand. Great

But now the good bit!

When a posture is held there are a number of different choices made as to how to conduct one’s self in the posture. These are very sublime choices and are occurring every single moment the class is running.

The choices you have are about the level of intensity you wish to apply to the posture. You could work at 2% or 5 % as a newcomer or you could be really quite an adept yogi and be working at your full capacity for the whole class.

Another choice will be choosing which part of the posture to do and which part of the posture not to do. Ie in each posture there are many simultaneous contractions going on. As a newcomer you may only attend to a few of the contractions but once again as an adept yogi you would have every single required muscle turned on and working.

What you will start to find is that to apply yourself and be able to find all the correct contractions and relaxations, in essence energising the posture, an extraordinary amount of concentration will be required.

The more you apply yourself the more you will need to use what Bikram calls English Bull dog determination. Will power, patience, courage, fearlessness, concentration, faith in your abilities, determination, endurance (I’m talking mental endurance here).

The action of the kick will start to transform you at a deeper level. The action of the kick will get you in touch with your inner strength. The action of the kick will show you how powerful you can be. You will start to open up and have a tangible awareness about who you really are and then the consequences of that will flow into all other areas of your life.

Your life will be changing because you are learning how to apply yourself and kick, or pull, or lock.

It is throughout the class that these choices will present themselves. Every single moment. You might take some moments and apply yourself and then not others. But as you become more practiced you will find you become stronger of body through the nature of the physical labour,  but best of all you will be able to apply the kick more and more and that is what is going to bring about the transformation in your life.

Now you know…why the kick.

See you in the hot room