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Why does Bikram Yoga use heat?

May 20, 2015 By Beverley Brown Leave a Comment

Bikram Yoga is practiced in a hot room for a number of reasons – too numerous to detail in this post – however I can at least explain a few.  Of course one obvious reason is that the heat allows the body to feel more flexible and therefore can help the student to get into the postures,  reducing the chance of injury.   However that doesn’t mean you should abandon all awareness of what your body can do today – mind/body connection AND awareness should be paramount!  Some days you may be more flexible than others – and that’s OK!  It’s all part of a fascinating process!

The heat also serves as a detox  – not only a physical detox as you will sweat but it also provides a mental and emotional detox too.  For a beginner it encourages the practice of controlling the mind as of course it will feel a bit different if you have never worked out in heat before.

Remember however, whatever you put your focus on will increase so it is prudent to concentrate more on you than the heat.  By focussing on the heat you will give it more power and you don’t want to give your power away to something outside of yourself!  You have a far greater inner power which is waiting to serve you  – all it needs is your acknowledgement and your attention.

The “outer” is nothing compared to the “inner” so if you feel the heat – don’t get out of the kitchen / or yoga class! – just focus on your heart and BREATHE – that is where the power is to overcome what you think is bigger than you.  By doing that, it keeps you calm and you realise that the heat is not a problem at all.

After a few classes you will begin to love it – or even better you won’t even notice it at all, as all your attention will be on the wonderful you!

The Benefits of Heat in a Bikram Yoga Class:

  • Allows the body to get deeper into the postures
  • Physical detox when sweating
  • Emotional and mental detox as the control of the mind is increased
  • Allows you to prove your inner power
  • Melts and moulds stiff and brittle fascia in the body keeping the organs working well
  • Can help to mould your body into it’s lovely new shape!
  • and more….

Bevxx

 

Filed Under: General, Newbies and nearly newbies, News Tagged With: Bikram Yoga, breathing, detox, Fascia, fire, focus, Heat, release toxins, sweat

Posture No 1 – Pranayama breathing a.k.a. Standing Deep Breathing

March 24, 2015 By Beverley Brown

Well as promised I will give some more info on the postures.  Because of timing and the already detailed instruction there is not much time to add in more in the class so I hope these blogs will help!

yoga girl doing Bikram Yoga's standing deep breathing posture

Every Bikram class starts with Pranayama Breathing – 10 sets done twice.  Bikram always told us that this actually was the most important posture of all! Why? Because it gets the heart and lungs to work together properly providing a smooth flow of life force through the body (prana = life force) via a deep breathing technique.  And life force is exactly that – you need life force to keep the body alive!  We can go weeks without food, days without water but only a few minutes without air!

The breathing will also prepare the body for the following postures as it allows for deeper concentration by working on the nervous system and therefore is great to alleviate irritability.  (Remember the old saying – “take a deep breath and count to 10…”) – now you know why!

You may have heard the expression that we only use 10% of our brains – same goes for the lungs.  This technique helps us to learn to use the other 90%!  It can be a little bit hard to master so if you are new or fairly new you may wish to watch a couple of breaths before you join in.  It takes a bit of coordination – well it did for me anyway!

You inhale by the nose and exhale by the mouth but both through the back of the throat so it should sound like a “HAH” sound.  (It is also best to inhale through the nose inbetween postures throughout the whole class by the way – a tip I learnt from another teacher as it really keeps you much more centred, strong and calm).  Take the full six seconds for each inhale and each exhale instead of taking a big gasp in one go and letting it out in one big blast too!  “Low slow flow” as Bikram would say!

All ten fingers need to be interlocked and always maintain contact with the underside of the chin another time for the”full grip” as you so often hear in the dialogue throughout the class.  When you inhale you need to open the elbows out so you can take in more air as you expand the lungs and bring your elbows up as high as you can and as close to the side of the head as possible.  The stomach should be sucked in and you should be able to see the rib cage in the mirror as your lungs expand.  (Open chest and sucked in stomach is mentioned in many of the postures and after 18 years I finally noticed that – sometimes it takes a while for the penny to drop!)

When the head goes back (slowly – not a jerk back) on the exhale, remember to relax that neck again (let go!) and bring your elbows gradually to the front so they meet on the 6th second as high as you can i.e. level with the shoulders and as far away as you can from the chest.  Make sure you exhale open mouthed to expel toxins.

It is a must to keep your eyes open so you are totally present in the body and not floating off to some other universe.  Now you may feel a little dizzy – that is quite normal as this deep breathing is not your normal type of day to day breathing.  One great adjustment which I noticed I needed to do was to stop straining my neck and consciously relax the neck and shoulders and that relieved the tension I often felt in my arms and shoulders.  Again I believe tension and indeed some pain we feel can be a resistance to just let go and it manifests as tension and ache.  This is a big subject and I will explain more in later posts but I can tell you being aware of when I was tensing up really worked for me.

Bikram dialogue has a lot of detail but you will find a consistency throughout the postures once you get more acquainted with them.  Toes and heels together – feet going straight forward not splayed out at “ten to two”!  The weight is also on the heels.  The detail makes all the difference.  Keeping your body straight (don’t lean back) and in alignment is also necessary to keep that energy flowing properly and as the dialogue says “hip muscles solid, concrete” and a little bit forward on the exhale – forever opening up those pesky hip joints!

So to summarise the key points:

  • Maintain the connection between the knuckles and chin throughout the posture
  • Use the nose and mouth only as a passage way as both inhale and exhale should be through the throat
  • Toes and heels together, feet straight forward, weight on the heels
  • Relax the neck and shoulders
  • Low slow flow by synchronising your head and arm movement – its like a cycle – no jerky movements
  • Take the full six seconds for each inhale and exhale
  • Expand the lungs and suck in the stomach and hold it in during the inhale until you can see the rib cage visible in the mirror
  • Keep your eyes open all the time or you will feel dizzier
  • Exhale as much as possible – elbows meet on the 6th second
  • Bring your elbows as high as the shoulders and as far away from the chest as possible when the elbows meet
  • Try not to collapse the chest as you start the next round
  • Know you are now well prepared for the class!

I hope this helps!  Half moon posture is next!)

PS.  If you are an athlete try a few rounds of this breathing technique before you start – it could just give you the edge!

Bevx

Filed Under: Athletes and Sport, Posture tips Tagged With: 26 +2, athlete, Bikram Yoga, detox, life force, pranayama breathing, spine, standing deep breathing

So what’s so different about Bikram Yoga?

March 19, 2015 By Beverley Brown

The Bikram Method of yoga is one of the most popular types of yoga out there.  Wherever and whenever you go to a 90 minute Bikram class you will get the same workout.  26 postures – most of which are done twice – each one specifically designed to work the body in a certain way and in a certain order.  For some people it may sound a bit boring to have the same workout each time but quite honestly it is anything but that!  Having the same postures to do each time allows you to have your own “benchmark” in some ways as you will feel the difference from class to class in each posture and can measure your own progress if that interests you.  By the way some days you will find the postures easier than others – it doesn’t matter – it’s all good!  In another blog sometime in the future I will explain why that happens.

The instructor will give a “dialogue” for each posture and there are several reasons for it.  The instruction is specifically designed to protect and assist the student in getting the most benefit from each posture.  The instructions are somewhat detailed and I actually love that as it assists new students to improve quickly so that no effort is wasted.

Of course when you first start you may only hear about 10% of the dialogue – that is all very normal!  There’s a lot going on!  Each class after that you will pick up more each time and eventually get some “aha” moments!

I’ll write more about this soon …

Bevx

Filed Under: General, Newbies and nearly newbies Tagged With: Bikram Yoga, Bikram yoga method, challenging, detox, sweat

Yoga leggings, other leggings and capris are now available in the shop

image of surf's up yoga leggings
Over 80 different Yoga Leggings designs are now available in several sizes. They can also be purchased in a plainer style in both long and capri lengths. These can be used for yoga and also as a welcome addition to any wardrobe! Click here to go to the shop and browse the many designs available.

Basic information for first timers

Welcome to Bikram Yoga!
If you have never attended a Bikram class before there may be a few things that you need to know. Bring a mat and a towel to put on top of it. If you wish to shower on site you will need another towel for that. Make sure you drink lots of water throughout the day as you will sweat. Also do not eat anything for about 3 hours before class. Wear something you can stretch in and nothing too baggy or it will feel hotter. We don't drink water until after Eagle Pose - not too long to wait and remember you can drink before class starts! Take it easy on your first class - just get used to the heat and the environment. Smile and come back next time!

Recent Posts

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Yoga Leggings and Capris are available in my online shop

image of surf's up yoga leggings
Over 80 different Yoga Leggings designs are now available in several sizes. They can also be purchased in a plainer style in both long and capri lengths. These can be used for yoga and also as a welcome addition to any wardrobe! Click here to go to the shop and browse the many designs available.

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