February 2003
Bikram’s Yoga has held a few surprises for Angelina Doherty. Her first surprise came when she was babysitting for a friend who had been practicing at Bikram’s. “She was soaking wet with sweat when she got home,” Angelina explained. “I was really surprised anyone would come out of a yoga class like that.”
After trying Bikram’s herself and getting hooked on the “exercise component” of yoga, Angelina was pleasantly surprised to discover that Bikram’s had a “spiritual and psychological component” as well. “You work on getting a healthy body and peace of mind at the same time,” she said.
That was especially evident to Angelina after she took on the “Yoga Challenge” of practicing 60 consecutive days in a row. Being a self-proclaimed “type A” personality, Angelina said she realized during the “Challenge” that you can learn as much from the “subtleties” as you can the “intensities.”
The “Challenge” also helped her to work through a lot of tension, which she believes freed up creatively in her writing. In fact, writing before each class during her “Challenge,” Angelina finished an entire screenplay.
Another surprise: Angelina discovered that the more time she invested in Yoga, the more time she had in her life. She believes the phenomenon stems from the fact that Yoga helps people to focus and therefore to be more efficient with their time. Taking advantage of that phenomenon, Angelina extended her 60-day Challenge to 75 days—and has hardly missed a day since.
Given her exemplary practice of hard work, dedication and growth, it’s no surprise Angelina was chosen Student of the Month.