I have just returned from my first Bikram yoga class, where I was inspired to write this post. As I usually connect my posts to learning and education, I can understand you may be wondering how I am going to connect detoxifying my body in 140 degree heat while holding, what are often painful poses, with our school systems.
To begin, Angela has been encouraging me to try a Bikram yoga class for many weeks after discovering the benefits of this exercise regime. I rebutted these requests, insisting that playing hockey once a week and the universal gym in our garage are all I needed to keep fit. Her persistence paid off today; I relented to try.
As I lay there in the room on my mat and towel before the class, my mind wandered to school and a conversation I will be having with a student tomorrow. I know I will be saying one of the things I find myself repeatedly saying to students in a variety of circumstances; that they must try things in order to make an informed decision. As the class began and I lay there really beginning to sweat, I realized that I had been guilty of not living up to my own advice. I had been refusing to go and I never really knew what I was turning down. This was the moment I started to think about this post (in between torturous poses of course!).
Despite the heat and the pain of contorting my body in ways that it hadn’t moved previously, I lay in the room at the completion of the class and realized something else. As I looked over at my wife I realized that my motivation was far greater than the ethical drive to “walk my talk”. I went because it was important to her that I give this a try. I went because it was about my relationship with her.
In so many ways, schools are all about relationships. I consistently discuss with students the conflicts they have with other students and teachers. We talk about ways to approach these conflicts and how different approaches can impact the relationship with the other party. In my experience, I have found that students are more likely to be engaged in the topics where they feel they have a strong relationship with the teacher. Further, students who have the support of their peers are often more engaged in being in our building than those who feel isolated.
Lying there, after losing about 5 lbs of body weight from water loss, twisting my body until the pain would not let me go any further, I thought about the connections that my personal experience today had with the importance of the decisions I ask students to make everyday. Today for me this experience was all about reminding me of two things I hold close: 1) Life is about choices – always make your choice with as much information as possible. 2) Relationships are key in our lives – so do whatever it takes to make them as strong as possible.
And that’s what Bikram has to do with it.
John Tyler 
