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Home » The Famous Blog » What Bikram Yoga tells us about Brilliant Blogging

What Bikram Yoga tells us about Brilliant Blogging

March 6, 2012 - Last Modified: July 20, 2022 by Anne-Sophie Reinhardt

Bikram Yoga Blogging

Let’s face it. We’re all crazy about blogging. We love it, we hate at times, but for whichever reason, we’re stuck with it. If you’re anything like me, you fear this notorious blank page and thoughts like “will I be able to fill this page today?” are part of your daily bread.

I stumbled into blogging as a career almost at the same time as I stumbled into a Bikram Yoga studio.

Surprisingly, it was only a few months ago. I know, I know, I am quite late to the game, but I have the best excuse. I was deeply involved in an eating disorder for 14 years, so I didn’t have the time and/or energy to see what was going on around me.

But let’s focus on the interesting stuff.

What is Bikram Yoga exactly, you ask?

Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. You practice it in a heated room with a temperature of 105°F. Some say it’s torture, others say it’s heaven. I am still undecided as to where my opinion falls.

However, there are certain elements of this special form of Yoga that remind me a lot of brilliant blogging and there are many areas worth shining a light on by linking it to our beloved profession.

1. Breathing

Let’s go back to that blank page we stare at so many times a week. It can be quite overwhelming at first, especially when self-doubt plagues you. And who doesn’t hear the occasional voice in the head saying that today, you just cannot do it (as I am experiencing it on this lovely Thursday, to be quite frank)?

When your nerves get the better of you, what do you do? You try to breathe deep breaths.

And that is exactly how you start every single practice of the 90-minute Bikram Yoga class. By breathing consciously, you start arriving in the room. By concentrating on your breath, you focus your thoughts and you can start your routine.

By focusing on the breathing, you crush the scattering of your thoughts and you will be able to express yourself much more clearly.

Try it!

2. The routine

The most hardcore Yogis, attend one Bikram Yoga class a day, 7 days a week.

This means that they are repeating the same sequence of motions over and over and over again.

Just like having a perfect practice of Bikram Yoga takes going through the same sequence of motions, creating a successful blogging routine is vital.

You think of a topic, you start brainstorming, you do some research, write your actual post, do some SEO, publish it and market the heck out of it and then you do it all over again. Or something along those lines.

Despite repeating these steps, does it ever get boring? No. Why?

Because your thoughts are different every day. Your mood is different every day. Your inspiration is different every day. Your heart speaks differently every day and your creativity varies from day to day.

What makes Bikram Yoga so intriguing is that this routine, this predictability of movements, allows your mind to meditate for 90 minutes. During those 1.5 hours, I muse upon my life, come up with my best blog posts and my greatest enlightenment. My movements create a framework, an anchor, within which I can unleash my thoughts.

The same can be true when creating a successful blogging routine. Within the frame of your predefined processes, you can let your creativity explode. By having guidelines which you can fall back upon, you form a space of adventure, experimentation, inspiration and ultimately, fun.

3. You learn from the best

If you have ever done any kind of Yoga, you know the people who can do it all, who seem to effortlessly glide into every posture and won’t move an inch until the trainer says so (whereas you are struggling not to lose balance and still take the usual plunge to the floor. I am talking about the arrow posture to be precise). In Bikram Yoga, said people are kindly asked to practice in the first row. The purpose of this request is not to discourage the rest of us, but to spur us on. By showing us what can be done, you start to work harder on yourself immediately.

However, while orienting yourself on what the best are doing, you still have to listen to your own body and stick to your limits.

The parallels to the world of blogging are apparent. Trying to set foot in the blogosphere is intimidating and looking at all the big names, you can start to feel insecure and unworthy.

Looking at those A-list bloggers (don’t really like the term, but it describes what I mean) as the goal of what can be achieved, will help you on your own quest towards blogger admiration. At the same time, however, it is not advisable to simply copy those who are mastering the art of blogging, but to use their work as a means to teach you and to help you grow.

At the same time, you should always stick to your style, your truth and yourself.

4. The commitment

If you want to improve your Bikram Yoga experience, you need to commit to practicing regularly. If you skip classes too often, you start to get stiff and the heat in the room affects you just like it did during your first time. (I was lucky enough to test this theory on myself this week and it sure holds its promise…)

When doing Bikram Yoga so often, your practices vary. Sometimes your practice is good and sometimes it just sucks. Sometimes you look at the clock every single second and sometimes the time flies by.

However, when you commit to it and you have formed an emotional relationship with your goal, you can make it through any class.

The same is true for blogging.

Sometimes it seems like a strenuous task and you would do anything in the world but create yet another blog post. There are days when everything you come up with is garbage and frustration can lurk around the corner many times. But when you’re committed, you will push through it, by reminding yourself that the outcome is always worth it.

5. Patience

I am not a patient girl. Not in the least. I want to see results yesterday. I like to work hard on myself, but I would do anything to speed up certain things.

If it doesn’t do anything else, Bikram Yoga teaches you patience. There are many challenging postures that I will have to work on for a very long time before I master them. And sadly, there is no fast-track to this stage.

Only by repeating the postures over and over again, will I become better and more secure and ultimately more muscular. Only by stretching certain parts of my body repeatedly, will I see results. However, the more I do it, the faster I will achieve my goal.

Wanting to write like a pro, takes the same amount of patience and tons of work. In order to maintain a successful blog, you need to commit to practicing and refining your skill on a daily basis. Writing 1000 words every day should be a habit like brushing your teeth.

By writing every day, you will find new ways of expressing yourself and of surprising your reader. You will become so much more efficient, your vocabulary will expand and you will be amazed at how much better you and your writing will get.

6. The inhibitions

Standing in a heated room with about 50 other people in something close to a bikini can tend to make you feel exposed. Sweating like a pig can add to that sentiment. I have to admit that it takes a certain amount of will power to attend these classes, but the reward at the end is double the fun.

The best blog posts are those when you strip away all your inhibitions and just let go. The ones you know are controversial, but still have to be said. The ones when you feel a little bit uneasy clicking the publish button. But the reward, the discussions, the feedback are twice the ones you would normally get.

Step outside your comfort zone, let lose, shake off all the insecurities and write what you REALLY want to say. THOSE are the posts that everybody wants to read.

And just like with blogging, you sometimes ask yourself, is this Bikram Yoga not just the silliest thing in the world?

The solution for managing client information, class schedules, reminders, staff payments, and the vast amount of information that yoga studios deal with every day is Wellyx yoga booking software.

Image © fxegs – Fotolia.com

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Filed Under: How To Blog

About Anne-Sophie Reinhardt

Follow @anneso87

Anne - Sophie Reinhardt is a world traveler, an anorexia survivor, podcaster, blogger, digital entrepreneur, speaker, wive, lover of books, aspiring yogi and social media enthusiast. Her blogs My Intercontinental Life and Fighting Anorexia are focused on everybody who wants to live a purposeful, free, healthy and passionate life.

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{ 23 Responses }

  1. John says:
    Another useful thing to remember is that you are where you are, both with your Bikram yoga and with your blogging. Don't beat yourself up because you wobble in Tree Pose or you have too few subscribers to your blog - it will come to you in time with practice, persistence and patience. Don't spend too much time looking at your neighbor's perfect Bow Pose or their latest, mind blowing article, that has just gone viral. You are where you are, be patient, it will come. At the end of each day, when it's all done, make sure you take the time to relax in Savasana as well as to remember all the little moments of progress you have made as a blogger! Great article, well done.
  2. Rachelle Smith says:
    This article really helps me out. It is good to hear advice like this from someone else and not always just trying to cheer myself on. I have started yoga at the end of March, consistently this month (four times a week for a month challenge :) ), and I absolutely love it! I decided to start a blog to share my experiences and hopefully give some inspiration to others and get their stories as well. It's hard starting off...gaining the confidence to start, hoping people will read what you write, and also, trying to do more with your life. I love writing and I have been told I can't make a living doing that... swell huh? Well, to try to keep from babbling further, for my yoga and writing, you summed up everything well. In my yoga how I need to be, and in my writing (I miss writing poetry). Thanks for the article. :)
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Hi Rachelle, thanks for commenting. I am so excited for you for starting to do yoga and blogging about it. What a thrilling change in your life! I am sure you'll inspire many to start their yoga journey themselves.
  3. Edd says:
    Well said Anne, it is indeed a fitting analogy. Blogging like yoga takes time, patience, practice and persistence. But once you perfect it, you want to keep coming back to it again and again. The most important thing here to have the passion for blogging.
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Hi Edd, I couldn't agree more with you. The key to so much in life is passion and once you've found it, there's nothing stopping you. :)
  4. Ricardus says:
    Loved the way you incorporate Yoga into blogging. All the essential tips are necessary for blogging. :)
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Thanks so much, Ricardus. Glad to hear you've found it valuable.
  5. Anne-Sophie says:
    Hi Dev, I am glad you liked the post. I hope you will be able to use these suggestions and write even better blog posts in the future. I think we can learn so much about blogging and that is why this is so exciting, isn't it? I love to learn and the cool thing about blogging is that you can learn from everyday situations and really up your game.
  6. Zinedine says:
    Patience and commitment are crucial to success not only in blogging but in whole life!
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Oh, I totally agree with you, Zinedine. Few people possess these characteristics though, don't you think?
  7. Ryan Biddulph says:
    Hi Anne-Sophie, I love the analogy, especially the note about breathing. When you breathe slowly and mindfully, you instantly relax. Blocks dissolve, including creativity blocks. So the brilliant blog idea hits you, and you publish the post, and help so many folks. I meditate for 20 minutes, 3 times day. These periods help me follow my breathing, and become more aware of my thoughts, and feelings, and how these ideas either help or hurt me. When breathing slowly, I become mindful of what is, and simply release the blocks which prevent me from churning out good content at a daily rate. Thanks for sharing with us! Ryan
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Hi Ryan, I totally agree with you. Breathing is the key to so money things in life, but we often forget how important it is to do it mindfully. I applaud you for meditating 3 times a day. That is amazing and I am sure you see the merits of taking this time for yourself all around you. I am not quite there yet on the meditating part, but I am hoping to find the inner peace to sit down and just be.
  8. Abhi Balani says:
    I was in the YOGA team when I was in school. I never thought, I'll remind those days by connecting it to blogging. Great post.
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Hi Abhi, thanks for your comment. Yoga is great. Are you still practicing it? Ironically, the idea for this blog post came to me during a yoga session. :) This just proofs how awesome Yoga is.
      • Abhi Balani says:
        It's hard to say but I've discontinued YOGA, from a while. But I'm going to start it ASAP. Thank you for reminding me again.
        • Anne-Sophie says:
          Very cool. Hope you can get back to the routine soon.
  9. Dan Keller says:
    Very clever. Patience and Commitment are vital if you want to see any level of success from blogging.
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Hi Dan, yes, there is no way around it. If you don't commit 100% to something and stay with it even during the hard times, you won't see any results. This is not only true for blogging but for so many other things in life.
  10. Pepito Torres says:
    Great tips for blogging, maybe some people dont know what true blogging is all about.
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Hi Pepito, I think so too. Most people don't take blogging seriously or believe it's super easy and goes without really putting much effort into it. But the opposite is the case, right? Blogging is hard work and that's why so many people fail at it.
  11. Dev says:
    Fantastic post and great analogy, Anne. These all great points and plays a important role in Blogging. Keep up the good work.
    • Anne-Sophie says:
      Hi Dev, I am glad you liked the post. I hope you will be able to use these suggestions and write even better blog posts in the future. I think we can learn so much about blogging and that is why this is so exciting, isn’t it? I love to learn and the cool thing about blogging is that you can learn from everyday situations and really up your game. Anne-Sophie recently posted..The Beginner’s Guide to Marketing your Content

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