110+ degrees aerobic strength-training deep-tissue stretching exercise.

My friend's response,

"I've heard two things. 1) That it's like a cult. 2) That it kicks your ass.

#2 is true, in my experience.

Your heart beats fast and you need to keep focused. It's easy to get light-headed so your movements must be careful, steady, and deliberate. The sweat can pour off of you like a Sierras cascade.

The euphoria afterward is difficult to describe. Like endorphins after getting pierced or tattooed, like post-orgasmic bliss, like the feeling upon reaching the summit of the mountain.

This came up tonight when I confided in Mrs. Hairball, "I am horrified by the thought of being high while doing Bikram."

It would be high,

squared.