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Posture No 3 – Awkward pose…. Awkward as…..

April 7, 2015 By Beverley Brown Leave a Comment

Bikram Choudhury in Awkward PoseIf you have ever attended a Bikram class you will be aware that every posture comes with a full set of “instructions” in order to place the parts of the body in the optimal position.  No less with the Awkward Pose!

When doing this pose you will probably feel what it is doing to the legs but be aware it is also working big time on the arms, spine and the heart and a lot of internal areas as is normal for any posture.  By the way it works a treat on breaking down cellulite and toning up those thighs like nothing else does!  So I will include a few of the details that help you get the best out of this posture.

First part:

Firstly the feet should be 6 inches apart with the feet going straight out in front of you – like a perfect letter “H”. If you have the feet in a slight “V” shape (five to one on a clock face) you have already changed the dynamics of the posture.  You shouldn’t even be able to see the heels in the mirror – glue your feet to the floor at this stage!

Bringing the arms up will obviously be working on the heart and it is important to really stretch the arms out right to the fingertips as if you are trying to touch the mirror.  This will also ensure you are strong in the posture, great for your balance and tones the arms up like billy-oh too. “Nothing loose, nothing hanging” – as it says in the dialogue!

Exhale the breath as you need now to suck the stomach in and hold it in.  This area of the body will also give you a lot of strength when pulled in and it also has a positive effect on your organs and even your emotions – if you just let your stomach flop the posture will feel harder to achieve, you’ll just be hanging in there and wasting effort.

Now it is time to sit down until the “hips touch the chair”, spine as straight as possible and with the maximum weight on the heels.  This will assist with straightening the spine ( just like in Half Moon).  The focus should be on pushing the spine backwards.  Remember to keep pulling in that stomach until you can see your rib cage in the mirror.

By this time those pesky knees may have tried to find each other and meet up somewhere in the middle so its time to check that and ensure there is still six inches between them, also the toes (no “V” happening!), heels and even your hands.  Chest up, chin up – so you can breathe and you will feel stronger.  All the time you are trying to lean back to the back wall – almost trying to fall down backwards!

Inhale breathing and come up.

Keep your arms where they are.

Second part:

I make sure my eyes are focussed throughout this posture as I find it really increases my strength and stamina but in this part of the posture it is imperative and hence it is in the dialogue.  “Concentrate and meditate”.

Stand up on the toes as high as you can, making sure you have your concentration and focus on one spot in the mirror.  Now stretch everything up to ceiling – your spine, chest and head, upper body before slowly sitting down but this time with the weight on top of the toes with the spine straight.  Throughout this part it should feel like your hips and back of the head are touching the wall – “Bikram speak” for “straight”!

This time though, you sit down halfway until the hips touch the chair but not too low.   Then it is time to lift the knees up, lift the chest (gives you a lot more strength), lean back to straighten the spine again.  Come up higher on the toes (i.e. lift the heels up more) and continually lift the knees. Make sure that the hips have not sunk too low – they must stay at the height of the imaginary chair and not be lower than the knees.

Inhale as you come out, keeping your arms in the same position, flattening the feet for a second or two – phew!

Third part:

This time you come up a little bit on the toes and now you can do what you have probably wanted to do all along and bring the knees together! Squeezing those knees together will tone up those inner thighs as an added bonus.  Exhale as you suck the stomach in and keep your spine straight as you go down as slow as possible, taking at least 10 counts – ( I know – tell me about it! ) – all the time as if you are leaning against a wall.

Continually stretch your spine to the ceiling until you have 1/2 inch between the hips and heels.  At this point take care not the sink on to the heels, you do this by keeping your knees together and pointing them slightly down towards the mirror.  By this time your arms, and legs will be parallel to the floor and the spine straight in a 90 degree angle, as if you are like a three sided box.

To come up in control take a deep breath and keeping the knees glued together come up with your spine straight trying not to lean forward.   Always move slowly – there is power in slow movement.

On the second set if you have good knees you can do the famous Bikram motorbike riding to make sure you have control – but do NOT do this if you do not have strong knees – always take care of the knees!

As usual, ensure your shoulders are relaxed throughout the posture – there is no need to create tension where you do not need it!

Summary of the main practice points:

  • Keep the feet glued to floor once they are there and make sure they stay like an “H” – not “V’
  • Keep your focus by gazing at one spot in the mirror
  • Suck the stomach in
  • Try to touch the fingertips to the mirror – i.e. straight arms – nothing loose, nothing hanging, contract the arm muscles
  • Open the chest to gain more strength and stamina
  • Try to straighten up the spine as much as possible
  • Do not let the hips sink down lower than the knees
  • Keep the correct position of the knees depending on which part of the posture you are in

With every posture there are benefits on many levels – the main ones for Awkward Pose are:

  • Stimulates the internal organs for correct functioning
  • Tones and strengthens the arms
  • Tones and strengthens the legs
  • Works on the heart
  • Assists with straightening out the toes
  • Breaks down cellulite – bonus!
  • Great for your abdominal muscles
  • Gives lovely muscle definition on the thighs
  • Strengthens and aligns the spine

Filed Under: Posture tips Tagged With: awkward pose, Bikram Yoga, heart, posture, posture hints, posture tips, slim legs, spine, tone legs

Posture No 2 – Half Moon Pose and Hands to Feet Pose

March 28, 2015 By Beverley Brown Leave a Comment

Well, as promised here are a few more details about this posture.  I went a bit OCD so if you don’t want to read all this you can scroll down to the summary for the main points – of which there are many in this one!  These tips are not for home practice by the way – they are for students that already go to a Bikram class where the environment is specifically geared to accommodate the Bikram method of doing yoga.  It is merely for those who may enjoy understanding a bit more about the postures they already practice in class.

The Half Moon is a “full-on” posture as it really works both the outside and the inside of the body – in fact it’s like a mini workout in itself!  The first set is held for one minute on each side and the second set for only 30 seconds which feels very fast compared to the first set!

I must say this used to be the posture I would dread!  When I first started do you think I could get my arms anywhere near my head or even pointing upwards?  Not a chance!  – they were very much pointing out in front of me and I found the posture extremely hard.    It is difficult to explain how that shifted but shifted it did.  One thing I had to change however was how I felt about the posture – as I said previously I could not wait for this posture to be over and I used to fear it and do it with such trepidation!  I will try and explain more in later posts how you can change how you feel about a posture and it is not something that may happen immediately but once you do you will find a big difference.

Anyway here is a run down of the posture that may help:

The Side Bends

First of all there is a warm up as this is the first stretching posture in the series.  The hand grip should be tight with the palms together right down to the wrist.  They can sneakily come apart during the posture but every effort you make to glue the palms together will strengthen the arms eventually making the posture easier.  Stretch up as high as you can and bend a few times from left to right making sure you feel the stretch on each side of the body.  The posture is called “Half Moon” so the body should make a crescent shape!

After the warm up, its time to work on the initial alignment.  Try and keep your head glued in between your raised arms rather than allowing the head to drop and causing a droop and a bent neck. Again easier said than done in your early classes I know – but I am a strong believer if you take care of the alignment in the early classes it will be easier in the long run and again become more automatic.  Your elbows should be locked to ensure no bent arms – as you get used to the straight arms you will feel stronger quicker.  This can be an area that is difficult but one day you may find all of a sudden your arms are straight.  That is exactly what happened to me so never think what you are experiencing today is what you are stuck with.  Things can change and sometimes surprisingly quickly.

Naturally as with many Bikram postures you start with toes and heels together i.e. feet facing forward not “ten to two” and legs together not apart.  You have a much stronger base if you have your feet and legs together.  Bring the weight on to the heels.   Of course as usual with Bikram postures you need to lock the knees which really means lifting the knee cap up as much as you can.  You do this by contracting your big quad muscles – one teacher suggested almost “sucking them to the bone” to ensure the knee cap is lifted.  If your knees are bent you will put too much pressure on them and you don’t want to feel “weak-kneed” in this posture!   Of course locking the knee is not a normal daily action so it takes a bit of doing to keep it consistent but if you are a beginner just work at it second by second.  After a while it will seem very normal and will be almost automatic.

Remember to keep the weight on the heels as there is tendency to lift one up and place the weight on one foot but both heels should be on the floor and the weight distributed.

The hips are slightly forward to open up those lovely hip joints and the upper body leans back a little to open up the chest and rib cage.  When the chest is open you will feel a lot stronger physically than if you are “pidgeon-chested”.  Bikram Yoga postures are specifically designed to open up the body – again something that we may not naturally do.

Make sure your chin is away from the chest so you can breathe easily and before you start meditate, concentrate and focus by keeping your eye fixed on one spot.  Just that action alone gives the body such increased strength – you’ll be amazed!

Before each side bend take a deep breath and stretch up to the ceiling first then slowly stretch to the side.  It is much better to stretch just a couple of inches to the side and stay in that strong alignment than it is to bend over a foot and be twisted – tempting though it is when you look in the mirror!  You will whittle down those hips and waist easier too as you will feel an intense stretch on the other side of the body.  The side that is compressed is working on your internal organs.  Learn to love that feeling!

So what about the breathing?  More recently I had this clarified – take a deep breath as you stretch up to the ceiling, hold it until you are in the side position and then breathe normally.  If this is not easy for you just breathe normally throughout – but whatever you do don’t forget to breathe or you will tire quickly!

A minute does seem a long time but if you move slowly and “be” the posture rather than “do” it, it will pass quick enough.  Just keep your ear on the dialogue and adjust as necessary – there is always something to pass the time with!  Like pushing your hips “beyond your flexibility”!  There are reminders throughout the dialogue to keep you in the right alignment.  Rolling the opposite hip slightly forward and then bringing the bent side’s shoulder forward slightly so that the chest is opening more and almost facing the ceiling is the last adjustment.   In the last 3 seconds or so go a little bit past the comfort zone and push more! Inhale as you come out and stretch up to the ceiling before doing the other side.

The Back Bend

Then of course there is the back bending part of the posture.  Again the dialogue will keep you safe as it gives you step by step instruction.  As a beginner, the first thing you have to get used to is to let your neck relax and drop the head back.  It will be impossible to do any sort of backbend unless you let your head go back first.  As in many other postures your head will lead you.  So concentrate on that first or should I say relax first!  When you are in the back bend bring the arms back towards the head – as much as you can anyway.  Again this will come when you are more comfortable in the posture.  As you push your hips forward and keep the weight on the heels you will be very safe! Eyes open of course – always.

The Forward Bend

The last part is the forward bend.  Bend your knees if you need to so you can put your hands on the floor in front of you.  Loosen out the hips and squat right down if it helps you to loosen the lower back.  Move slowly and always be aware of your own body in this moment.  Once again there is a Bikram grip where you have to get as low as you need to grab the heels from behind so that the pinkie fingers touch and the elbows stay behind the calf muscles.  Quite a feat but do whatever you can and work on that each time.  Using that famous grip (fingers together with the thumbs) you stretch your body down from the lower spine but only as far as your body stays glued to the legs.  If the body and legs come apart you have lost the integrity of the posture.  So once again it is better to keep your legs bent with the body glued to the legs that have straight legs and the body away from the legs.  You are wanting to create the infamous “Japanese ham sandwich” effect!  It is the continuous pulling on the heels “without interruption – without intermission” that may eventually allow you to lock the legs.  If this is a long way off for you it doesn’t matter – as long as you are keeping your body jammed to the legs and pulling on those heels you will still get 100% benefit.

As with all the postures in the Bikram series you can always get 100% benefit even if you don’t get  to the ultimate position – the dialogue will give you detailed instruction to get the most benefit for you.  It’s not about having to be perfect in the posture but a case of sticking to the instruction.  This way improvements will be fast and you will always be getting the most benefit for you that day.

The second set should feel easier and is only half as long – yea!

That was a bit of a long essay but it is a big posture!  It will be impossible to adjust or even think about all this in one go so just work on one or two points in each class and go from there!

Summary of the main points to look out for:

  • Concentrate and fix your gaze on one spot to give you focus and strength
  • Keep breathing with your chin away from the chest
  • Palms glued to the wrist throughout the posture
  • Locked elbows and locked knees throughout the side bends
  • Lean back a little to open the chest and push hips forward
  • Stretch in alignment even if only a few inches
  • Push or “sway” your hips out to the side “beyond your flexibility”
  • Weight on the heels – both heels on the floor
  • Hold and push a little more in the last few seconds of the side bend
  • Relax the head and neck before the back bend
  • Arms back towards the head in the backbend
  • Hips must be forward towards the mirror by squeezing the butt muscles and keep the weight on the heels for a safe backbend
  • Eyes open – always
  • Get the proper grip on the heels and continual pulling in the forward bend
  • Keep your body together with the legs even if you have to keep your knees bent
  • Do the posture with “your smiling happy face”!

Some of the benefits of the Half Moon posture are:

  • Great for slimming and toning the waist, hips, abdomen, and buttocks
  • Encourages the internal organs to function properly
  • Aligns the skeletal system
  • Strengthens the arms
  • Good for focus and determination
  • Opens up the body
  • and more….

Next up will be Awkward Pose in a few days time.  I will try and make it shorter!

Have a great weekend everyone!
Bevx

Filed Under: Posture tips Tagged With: back bend, Bikram Yoga, bikram yoga in jersey, forward bend, half moon pose, half moon posture, posture hints, posture tips, side bends, slim, stretch, tone up, workout

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

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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!

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