bikram yoga

I have been to bikram yoga a number of times now, but there is not a studio nearby. And now I am wondering about the carbon footprint of heating such a large room to such an intense heat. And of course there was that horrible week of 46C inMelbourne when 37C would have been a relief

tried out bikram yoga last week. it will definitely push you to your limits but well worth it :) i felt great afterwards and it was just one session!

i will definitely try to make more time for this activity.

I attended my second class today. This is it…I found what I am going to do until I am old and grey. This class, especially if you are a beginner, will push you to your limits….but the rewards are life changing. I have worked-out all my life and the benefits from Bikram Yoga far exceed what other types of exercise gives you.

Some of the benefits are:
* Works every organ, gland, nerve, tendon, ligament and muscle in the whole body every Bikram Yoga session
* Expands your capacity to breathe deeply and fully
* Prevents injury and may prevent or improve chronic illness
* Promotes better sleep, you may even need to sleep less
* Fabulous body toning effects
* Weight loss or gain depending on your body’s needs
* Improvement in posture and body awareness
* Improve the healing and regenerative powers of your body
* Improvement in T-cell function and your immune system
* Improvement in your lymphatic system
* Lengthening and strengthening of muscles
* Increased flexibility
* Improvement in peripheral circulation
* Improvement in metabolism / digestion
* Gives the body a cardiovascular workout without negative impacting forces
* Nervous system is exercised
* Endocrine and exocrine glands are massaged and stimulated to better function
* Muscular and skeletal network are enhanced
* Weight bearing exercise will help prevent osteoporosis
* Improves heart and lung function
* Improves back conditions of pain and misalignment
* Improves flexibility of your spine in its range of motion in all directions allowing the improvement in function of your central nervous system. Better nervous system communication means a better functioning body and mind
* Helps cultivate a sense of well being and a more peaceful mind
* Integration of both sides of the brain to improve memory, learning, body coordination and balance
* Builds mental strength and teaches you to hold your mind in a focused and meditative state

Just drink enough water the day before, or you might be sick to your stomach and dizzy the rest of the day, as I was. On three separate occasions. Also, if you hate heat, and are just doing it to lose weight, so not worth it.
That said, it was oddly addictive, and I’d totally do it again, though I don’t know why. Perhaps I’m a masochist.

Well I finally “got around” to trying Bikram. Very interesting style of yoga postures. And yes, very hot. I generally felt great throughout the class.

I went to my first class yesterday afternoon.. I thought I was going to die. So since I didn’t die I went again this morning. It was awesome. I am going to try to go for 10 days in a row, we’ll see!

I know this will rock my socks off once I committ but 6AM every morning is so intimidating! It really is an inhumane time of the day.

I haven’t done Bikram in about 2 years. The studio was just too far and the class schedule just didn’t work for me between my job and the needs of my family. But prior to that I’ve attended about 20 classes. I can honestly say that it was the hardest type of workout I’ve ever had. It also left me feeling better than any other exercise.

You WILL notice improvement almost immediately and almost every time you attend class if you go regularly. You will also immediately notice loss of progress if you skip.

I’ve done weight training, aerobics, cycling, tae kwon do, swimming, racquetball, basketball and running in the past. I found I began to loathe these activities. Most were more pain than gain. With the rest, I just couldn’t deal with the egos.

Bikram is different. If you can get through the first two or three classes, you will find you look forward to each time after that.

It doesn’t matter how fat or inflexible you are. You go, you bend and stretch, and you take your body to its limits wherever that may be. Almost always, that limit is a little farther than you thought, and you come away feeling good about your progress.

You WILL stumble and fall at first. You WILL feel like you might faint. You WILL feel anxiety and panic as you rapidly gasp for air because you are taking your body into positions that prevent you from taking deeper breaths. If you don’t, you probably aren’t trying.

You need not feel self-conscious. If anybody is looking when you happen to stumble or sit out, they are only thinking to themselves “I remember when I thought this was impossible too”.

If you are overweight, if anyone happens to notice, the are probably thinking, “jeeze, this was impossible for me at an average weight. I couldnt imagine how hard it would be to do these things with extra weight.”

If you need to sit down and catch your breath, everyone knows you are contemplating walking out because they all wanted to do that. But they know that those who do, almost never return.

One of my significant memories from Bikram class is around my fifth or sixth class when I was able to do everything and hardly break a sweat. I noticed the new guy next to me clearly seemed to be very athletic and in much better shape than me. He was also clearly struggling to keep his balance. He was drenched in sweat. He was struggling to catch his breath. He had to sit out more than a few times.

I certainly did not believe I was more fit or even more flexible than him. I realized that the reason he looked tortured while I was not was due the differences in what was going on in our heads.

To him, balance was a verb that meant counterbalancing forces to maintain an unstable equilibrium, while to me it is a noun refering to a state of stability. He was fighting himself and the will of gravity. I had learned to let gravity tell me when I had found the balanced state I was looking for by relaxing and letting it carry me there. Being balanced was then as easy as standing.

Experienced students know that it doesnt matter where your limits currently are since the limits will soon be moved. There is no shame in reaching your limit. It’s something to be proud of. Its what everyone is doing there.

When you are done, you feel like you’ve had the best massage of your life because every major muscle (including core abdominal muscles) have had any tension stretched out of them. You feel awake and oxygenated because you have focused on your breathing, which you know you did correctly because you didnt get dizzy and have to take a break this time.

Now that I have plenty of free time, this is high on my list of things to do again.

bikram yoga, although done in intense heat, is very beneficial and feels so good afterwards.. i found that my mind was more relaxed when i was finished, and my mood was also better.. if i ever went into the yoga class with something bothering me, my problem was gone when i was done.. i noticed that i was more flexible as a result, and i started becoming more aware of the types of food i was eating..

It’s different I MUST SAY! I think I was the fattest person there and kinda felt super uncomfortable at first. I can barely reach under my feet with my legs extended, and my fat belly seems to get in the way! I can’t keep balance! I need serious help on this! And it made the bottom of my feet hurt alot! I guess its difficult for one tiny foot and ankle to support all this weight for 60 seconds! HA! Anyways, I felt really good afterwards! I woke up this morning without stiff legs and back like I usually do! I’m going for my second class tonight at 8pm!