Bikram yoga

Well, Wednesday saw my 13th Bikram yoga class since 11/17/2013.  I'm still a little shocked that I keep going back but the improvements I've had in my joints in the last 4-5 weeks is well worth the torture session.
When I started my knees were stiff and I could not kneel.  Now kneeling is not a problem and my overall joint pain 75% reduced.  After suffering for so many years with chronic, ankle, toe, hand, wrists, knees and shoulder pain.  To have such a decrease and during the cold months is amazing for me.  For example I spent the day running back and forth organizing a party at work, I had to make multiple trips and carrying things etc and was on my feet for several hours, in flat dress shoes no less.  Last year this nearly did me in and I was barely able to walk to my car.  Today I may have been a little tired but I was not in pain, my knees and ankles are not stiff and swollen.
While the 90 min sessions are pure torture the benefits have been so amazing for me.  Just to have a some pain relief that does not require medication is wonderful.
As to the yoga poses yes I can do many of them.  I have trouble with some of the balancing ones as I have very little core strength, but each class sees some improvement.  I have learned that I need to push myself until it starts to hurt and then back off on the pose.  I have over stretched a few muscles a few times so I'm learning to listen to my body.  Each time I focus on improving only one pose out of the 26 and not all of them.  The last class was the best yet and I noticed that I'm getting better at controlling my breath.  Over all I enjoy this type of yoga, I like the challenge and I'm so happy with the improvement in my joints.