One of Bikram’s stranger aphorisms is, “If you can, you must.” Teachers spout this one at standing head-to-knee pose, meaning, “If you know that you CAN kick out, you MUST kick out. Don’t be scared of falling and embarrassing yourself before the hottie on the next mat. Don’t coast in an easier version because of a weak day. Don’t reserve your strength. Give all to every moment and opportunity.”

In that context, the converse of this phrase is also true: If you must, then you can. The imperative is to do it if you are able. The blessing is that you are then sure you are able. It is a no-brainer. But while this may be true for standing head-to-knee, in life off the mat, “If you must, you can” may be as strange as an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” Because if the must is terrifying, then the can is no longer a no-brainer.

I just faced a must that terrified me, but I had no choice; I had to do it. Some people are afraid of spiders, others of nuclear war or terrorists. Some are afraid of a Bikram yoga class. My particular terror falls on the more benign end of this range, but scared is still scared.

As I endured what I feared, I kept repeating to myself, “If I must, I can.” I also thought of Bikram’s aphorism about balancing stick: “It’s just ten seconds, you can do anything for just ten seconds.” So in my own private nightmare, I knew that I must endure, and I knew that it would end, and therefore I endured. And I was fine. This blog is proof.

The simple discipline of, “If you can, you must” trained me up to withstand in the “If you must, you can.” A strange but somehow classic Bikram benefit.

Namaste,
Yoga Lily