See Bikram on the Today Show, Inside look at Teacher Training too!

Check out the video taping of Bikram on the Today Show. I love how the Dr. says he would worry about dehydration. UH, that is why we tell people to hydrate well before class. Plus, it's 90 minutes, not a lifetime. Ninety minutes of suffering or 90 years of suffering, you choose.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Any Publicity is Good Publicity, Right?!

Bikram

As long as they are talking about you, your product or your service, it's good right? Even if it's bad, the world is still talking about you, making buzz, generating interest, getting your name out. At least this is what the old feeling is of publicity.

To some degree this is true. Bikram Yoga is case in point. I tell people I teach Bikram Yoga and they kind of look at me funny. I immediately follow it up with "it's hot yoga." OH! they say.....then the conversation stops because most people don't know much about yoga and especially about hot yoga.

Lately though when I mention Bikram Yoga I get different looks and some say, "oh, I read that article, wow." Yea yea, ok, so there was an article written about Bikram and his teacher training in San Diego. And sure, some of it was sensational and scandalous. But isn't that just good marketing? Bikram has the world talking about him and his yoga.

Soon after the article came out there was a blog post discussing the poor way people talk about yoga and how many people view yoga.

"The sad thing is that anyone encountering any of the above could easily get totally uninterested in yoga and all the majority-white, narcissistic American Apparel models that allegedly dominate it. And they would be missing out." ~ What's wrong with how we talk about yoga

I read both and thought both had interesting points. But what I like most about it is people are TALKING about yoga and TRYING it. That is the best part. 

Namaste

Details article: The Overheated, Oversexed Cult of Bikram Choudhury

Blog Post : What's wrong with how we talk about yoga

Bikram Choudhury Gave an Inspirational and Comedic Lecture in Dallas, Tx

I saw Bikram Choudhury on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. Such an interesting man! There were over 400 people there, teachers, yogi's, fans, curious guests and everything inbetween! Bikram came out in a white Italian silk suit with a white fedora hat, which he didn't take off but for a second. He had some simple yet profound things to say, silly things to say and extremely important things to say. I am sure I missed some, his accent was hard to understand at some points, even so, he was amazing to go and I am so honored to have been able to meet him!

One of the early and most resonnating things Bikram said was "the most important thing in your life is what?" and everyone just sat there. Some said life, some said kids....Bikram says YOU. You are the most important thing in your life. This not meant to be self centered or pompus, rather, a statement that means you need to take care of you before you can be there for anyone else. Bikram is most important to Bikram, he takes care of himself so he can help others. If he didn't take care of himself or care about himself, he would not be able to help millions of other heal themselves.This might not be the way others would express the point of taking care of you to be around for others but regardless of how you say it, the goal is the same and I need to remind myself of this every day.

And of course there was lots of talk of the healing aspects of Bikram yoga, that we suffer for 90 minutes in the heat to feel wonderful and have a new body afterwards. It is so true. Every class is hard, every class is a challenge and yet, we all do it, and we all love it. It is the torture we do to ourselves that cleanses us and makes us new again. Bikram referenced a toilet and why people use toilets. It was so funny. He squatted down in Awkward pose, which does look vaguely like someone hovering over a toilet, and said Bikram yoga was like a toilet for the body. You take in crap all day and you sweat it out in 90 minutes to be pure and clean again. So funny and yet so true.

If Bikram is ever near you, I recommend going and seeing him, even if you do not practice Bikram yoga. He will entertain you and perhaps give you some insight into why thousands of people flock to Bikram yoga and why it is considered one of the hottest fitness regimes.

Alisa Mathews, Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup 2008 Champion was there and demonstrated some of her amazing postures.

Bikram Yoga: Standing Separate Leg Stretching

Even good Bikram yoga classes are HARD.

I’ve taken Bikram Yoga class for the last three days and can honestly say they were all 100% better than Saturday’s class. That is the funny thing about Bikram Yoga, some classes are good and some are bad. Sometimes you can do all the postures and sometimes you can’t. What I find ALWAYS the same, they are always hard. And if they are easy?! Well, that just means you didn’t try hard enough.

Today I tried hard and sweated my you-know-what off. It was a good class, hard class, painful class and wonderful class. The best part? Has to be water breaks and when they open the door because the room has gotten too hot. It is like heaven washing over you as the cool air rushes in and clashes with the hot air. Then they close the door and it is gone just as quickly as it blew in. Ugh, more postures. Ok, deep breath…..you can do it. That is my mantra most of class, almost every class. Today was no different.

There are many times through class when I just want to sit down. I’m tired. I had a long day at work and the stress of the day, things I didn’t do, need to do, etc creep into my mind. It’s mind over matter though so I just keep telling myself, “you can do it, it’s just X number of postures to water, or to Savasana, or whatever.” I felt fatigued but not physically drained when we got ready to do Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada-Paschimotthanasana (aka Standing Separate Leg Stretching). As I stood there on the left side of my mat, looking at myself in the mirror, watching sweat stream down my body all I could do is breath and tell myself just a few more postures and then you can lay down in Savasana, you can do it. And I did. I even made it through both sets of Triangle. Savasana never felt so good!

There are many health benefits to Standing Separate Leg Stretching, I particularly like the “good for psychotic depression.” It could be good for this because you are completely bent over and your head is touching the mat so all the blood is rushing to your head. Hard to have psychotic depressive thoughts when you brain is full of fresh blood. It is good for so much more, see below…


Health Benefits of Standing Separate Leg Stretching:

• Good for psychotic depression, loss of memory, constipation, abdominal obesity
• When chin is forward it increases circulation to the adrenal glands
• Increases circulation to the brain
• Pushing stomach in strengthens the diaphragm
• Good for hyperacidity
• Releases tension in lower back muscles

How to do Standing Separate Leg Stretching:

• Stand with your feet together on the left side of your mat
• Arms over head, hands in prayer
• Move your right foot out about 3 feet and at the same time bring your arms down parallel with the floor
• Bend your body down and grab your ankles with your hands
• Pull your body down and touch your head to the floor

Photo is courtesy of Bikram Yoga Dallas

Balancing Stick in Bikram Yoga Increases Blood Flow, Great for the Heart

Sometimes "bad" classes happen, the good news is there is always another class waiting to be great! 

I went to Bikram yoga class yesterday, not my best showing and I got there so early I had to sit on the front row! I am always puzzled as to what makes a good class and what makes a bad class. It seems like my mind thinks about this in class when I have a bad class. And I define a bad class by the inability for me to finish all the postures. For some reason yesterday was a bad day, I felt light headed and weak after the first 4-5 postures. Sitting out in the standing series is always bad for me, when I try and get back up I most always feel dizzy and the room seems to spin a bit.

I did fine through Head to Knee but felt weak during Standing Bow Pulling and sadly I sat out part of Standing Bow Pulling. I did manage to do both sets of Balancing Stick though I’m not sure how graceful I was. I suppose now is a good time to explain Balancing stick.

Balancing Stick or Tuladandasana is often called a mini heart attack so you don’t have a real one. It seems like such a simple posture and yet, when you are done, your heart is typically racing. So great for improving blood flow!

Health Benefits:

• Increases blood flow all over body at the same time
• With shoulders up and chest down, all arteries of the heart receive blood flow
• Clears blockage in arteries, preventative for future   cardiac problems
• Total spine stretch, relieves stress from the spine
• Good for varicose veins
• Builds strength in lower extremities
• Works all muscles of the spine and lower extremities

How to do Balancing Stick:

• Stand with your feet together
• Raise your hands over your head, elbows locked
• Clasp your hands together with pointing fingers sticking out
• Lock the left knee
• Step out with the right leg, lock the knee
• At the same time, raise the left leg and drop to torso and arms
• The leg, torso and arms should now be parallel
• Your body should look like the letter “T”
• Repeat on the other side

Usually by the time class gets to this posture, my shoulders are burning a little and my arms are certainly feeling a bit week. This makes the posture even more challenging because your arms are constantly working. It isn’t so much the balancing part that is hard for me, it is the lifting of the leg and the stretching out of the arms…and maintaining good form. And the pose is just 10 seconds!

I muddled through the rest of the standing series with less than stellar form. Savasana was my heaven for the day. Today I am going to Bikram yoga again, I plan to eat more before class and go in and be the yogi I know I can be. Give 100%, get 100% benefit.

Photo courtesy of Bikram Yoga Dallas.

Bikram Yoga Standing Bow Pulling Pose

Balancing series in Bikram Yoga Improves Flexibility, Circulation, Strength and Balance.

Standing Bow Pulling Pose, or Dandayamana-Dhanurasana, is the second posture in the Bikram Yoga balancing series. I see why it gets the name too, when done to the extreme, the body really does look like a bow.

Every posture in the Bikram Yoga series has medical benefits and this one is no exception. It is wonderful for increasing the circulation to the heart and lungs and improves a number of things in the body. If you haven’t tried Bikram Yoga or this posture in other yoga, you are really missing out on some great health benefits.

 





















Standing Bow Pulling Pose: 

• Stand with your feet together. 
• Hold your hand out, palm up, reach behind you and grab your ankle.
• Raise your other arm straight in the air.
• Stretch up and then forward while stretching your leg upwards.
• Your standing leg knee should be locked.

Things to remember:

• If you start to fall, stretch your leg upward more.
• Your upper body and arm should be in alignment.
• Chin should be on shoulder.
• Upper body should be parallel to the floor.
• As long as you try the posture the correct way, you are getting the benefit.

Benefits:

• Increases circulation to the heart and lungs
• Improves elasticity of the spine
• Creates marriage between strength and balance
• Activates digestive system

My pose from my first competition, not quite as good as Joseph, photo above

Click here to get more information on Bikram Yoga poses.

Photo courtesy of Bikram Yoga Dallas

Bikram Yoga: Standing Head to Knee, Humbling to Many

Standing Head to Knee Requires Lots of Determination and Patience and Even then it can be a Humbling Posture


The 6:30 pm Bikram class yesterday was not nearly as crowded as the class on Free Yoga Day, for that I was thankful. I was pleased to see the lady from Free Yoga Day that wasn't able to actually attend class, she came in a bit late and had already taken one yoga class down the street and had walked around the lake! She and her husband came back though and they made it through class, though I asked them afterwards how they liked it and hte husband looked a little drained and mumbled "it was hard." I hope they come back.

My class was good, I mustered through all the postures with a small amount of grace. The studio had my birthday wrong in the system so they all thought it was my birthday, which was fantastic because when someone has a birthday, we sing happy birthday during the second set of Triangle, making it a wee bit shorter time. We love birthdays. Rather than corrected the instructor in the middle of class, I played along, heck, it got us a shorter Triangle! And I get another birthday song in 10 days, super cool.

I'm on a mission to take class as much as possible between now and November 8th. The Texas Asana Yoga Championships are being held in Houston, Texas this year on November 8th and I plan on competing.  I've competed the last two years and really like the focus it brings to my practice since I know I am going to be showing off my abilities. I don't compete to win first or second place, there are far better yogi's, I compete to challenge myself and to expose others to yoga. So few people actually get to see what yoga is all about and this is a great time to share what I love.

The competition is comprise of five complusory postures and two advanced, optional postures. The first posture is Standing Head to Knee or Dandayamana-Janushirasana.I'll go over the other postures in future posts.

My first competition Standing Head to Knee

Benefits of Standing Head to Knee:

• Helps build concentration, determination and patience
• Very good for the cardiovascular system
• Improves balance

How do to Standing Head to Knee:

• Stand with feet together
• Lock out your right knee
• Raise your left leg, cup your hands under the foot
• Raise your left leg so it is perpenticular to the floor
• If you can balance there, drop your elbows down to the calves
• If you can still balance, put your head on your knee
• Repeat on other side

Second competition Standing Head to Knee

I often do well through "dropping my elbows to my calves" but the head to knee part always makes me lose my balance. There is a trick to it, besides have uber determination. The hip of the lifted leg tends to poke out as you lift the leg, the idea is to keep the leg paralle and push the hip forward to even out the hips, this balances you better to be able to drop the head. Very hard. And even if you get your head all the way down...you still have to come up with grace and ease and come out of the posture with as much purpose as you went into it. I love this though, I like to stand with my foot cupped in my hand and watch my standing leg not move. Somehow the fact that I stare at my leg makes my leg want to move, requiring even more determination. It is so amazing what the mind and body can do when they work together, you really can stand there with the knee locked, and the leg not moving. But your mind has to be in agreement with the leg.

Photo of Joseph Encinia Courtesy of Bikram Yoga Dallas

Bikram Yoga Free Yoga Day - Labor Day 2009

Karen and me before class, Bikram is in the back!

I just finished Bikram Yoga with 58 other people at Bikram Yoga Dallas as part of 

Free Yoga Day in the Dallas/FTW area.

I got to the studio early to make sure I got a good spot, I suspected today was going to be busy but I had no idea the room would be SO packed. I was debating where to put my map when Sherri, one of the instructors was getting up from taking the earlier class and commented to me that seasoned yogi's should be on the front row. "Come on Carolyn, come up to the front row," she says to me. Sure I think, does that mean I am a seasoned yogi? But I haven't been practicing because I have been training for a marathon and century ride. What if I can't do all the poses? Goodness gracious, a million negative thoughts went through my mind in a millisecond. After that had passed, I cheerfully moved my mat to the front row.

One thing that happens when there are new students, and a lot of them, they tend to not know what to do and place there mat in a place where they can't see themselves. I noticed this and the increased number of people that were coming in so I helped a few people move their mats so they could see better. Plus, since so many people were coming in, we all had to squish together more to get everyone to fit.

Ok, so class hasn't started yet and I am already drenched in sweat! Great I think, today is going to be a big water day. I got get another bottle of water, just to be safe. And yea, Karen is teaching class. Karen is one of the owners, along with her husband, David, of Bikram Yoga Dallas and she is an awesome teacher. We start the class with a brief overview for the new yogi's and of course, the statement of staying in the room is the only goal gets a little chuckle. But that is true for new yogi's, staying in the room is all you need to do for the first class. Getting use to the heat and humidity can be very difficult and many people can't clear their minds and let go enough to stay in the room.

We lost three girls at the first water break after "eagle pose". I think everyone else stayed in the room. There were 59 yogi's all doing the same postures and giving 100%, it was quite amazing. And even with all the heat, humidity and extra people, people were trying all the postures, very few times were people sitting out, which is really impressive.

Being in the front and not wanting to disappoint Karen made me try even harder today. I know, it is about me and that statement didn't say I didn't want to disappoint myself. But I wasn't planning on being disappointed, my goal was to stay in the room and do the best I could, I didn't really want to be on the front row! I haven't been practicing consistently so my postures are not as polished as they once were. Today though, I pushed myself to a full 100% if not more and did all the postures. Today might be the first day to a renewed practice.

While I was in the room today, I was thinking about the meditation contest from NamasteBookClub, trying to think about not thinking. From time to time my mind would wander and then I would hear Karen or see someone else and my mind would refocus, almost like when my eyes get blurring and refocus. My mind was blury and then sometime would make it very clear and I would be in the moment again, thinking. I think that is meditation, being in the moment but having the mind a little cloudy. I'm going to try that later today.

 

Karen and I AFTER class, all sweaty! 

 (I'm the one on the left.)

The Yoga Community is Like a Family

I have met some wonderful people and found great resources over the last 30 days; that is about when I started my twitter account and decided to start this blog, Bike Run Yoga. Bike Run Yoga gave me the perfect reason to seek out other yogi's online and connect with people from all over the world. One of the great resources I found was NamasteBookClub on twitter. This group is a combination of yogi's with varying types of practice, skill and expertise and they come together once a week to chat online about a book or a specific topic.

Today was my first day to join the online chat. I hadn't read the book but that didn't matter, many people in the chat either hadn't been able to read the sections previously given or haven't been able to locate the book. That was fine, it was a very free flowing conversation that went from targeted conversation to more abstract thoughts. One person made a comment from the book about the idea of you are already what you are suppose to be and your practice is about opening your mind to see the real you.This got the chat going.

As I mentioned in the chat, I liked this idea. Practicing yoga tends to make me more patient and compassionate. Based on thought process in the book, Yoga in America, I am ALREADY patient and compassionate, I just need to remove the obstacles in my mind. This is great news since I was told not too long ago that I was not compassionate and I have always been told I wasn't very patient. I am particularly pleased to know I am already these things and practicing yoga will help bring these things to more clarity. Wonderful! I love practicing yoga!

Most people in the chat agreed in some form or fashion with the concept from the book. Many gave accounts of there own and that was extremely interesting to read about. I liked the ability to "listen" and respond and not feel silly saying I really had no idea what they were talking about. I consider myself a very novice yogi and sometimes can feel intimidated around veteran yogi's that have been practicing for years and are fully into the spiritual side of yoga.  Not the case in this chat, everyone was very nice and it felt like a very welcoming environment. I "listened" or read what others were saying for a bit and decided I really needed to read the book, participating in a book chat when you don't know anything about the book is not the best use of ones time. 

During the chat they also made two announcements, the NamasteBookClub blog was moving to NamasteBookClub.wordpress.com to provide better resources and features and there is a new meditation contest for twitter. I had to admit on the chat, I have never meditated and am not even really sure how to do it correctly. Sitting and NOT thinking seems like a very hard task. Even in yoga when I am suppose to be concentrating about the moment and being present in class, focusing just on myself...my to do list for the day is going through my head, or the things I forgot to do at work, or the comments someone made during the day, or a passing thought of an old memory and boom...then I hear the instructor and bring my mind back to class. Rarely though am I 100% in class, something I must work on daily. So meditation where you don't think seems virtually impossible but I'm willing to try.

To be more prepared for next week, I am off to Amazon.com to buy the current book. Tomorrow I will practice meditation in between enjoying Labor Day and Free Yoga Day at Bikram Yoga. Can't wait till next Sunday for the next NamasteBookClub Chat.

I can't wait to see Bikram Choudhury in Dallas!

I am so excited to be seeing Bikram Choudhury in person on September 26th in Dallas. I have heard so many things about him, good and bad, so I am sure this will be a very exciting and thought provoking talk.  There was a recent article about Bikram and his controversial desire to patent his style of hot yoga, I hope he talks about this issue in his talk on the 26th. Patenting his yoga, his desire to have yoga in the Olympics, and his recent franchising of Bikram Yoga all in some way impact my future ability to enjoy this great form of yoga.

As a Bikram yogi for only 4 years, I consider myself a novice at best and am eager to learn all I can. Several years ago I was fortunate enough to be able to go to a retreat in Austin, Texas at The Crossings to see Rajashree Choudhury, Bikram’s wife. It was an amazing few days, Rajashree taught class, critiqued poses, gave alignment advice and gave a nice talk about Bikram Yoga. It was so inspiring! To be taught by a champion and expert Bikram yogi, wow! I left the weekend wanting to take teacher training and open a studio in Austin some day.

I hope that feeling is the same when I see Bikram. Learning from my instructors at Bikram Yoga Dallas is wonderful and I certainly have learned a great deal from them but to hear from the man himself, well, that is just priceless. If you want to see him for yourself, you can come! Bikram will be in Dallas, Texas on September 26, 2009 at the McFarlin Auditorium on the SMU campus. Tickets are available through their website, click here for more details.

If you can’t make it, look for details of his talk on this blog afterwards. I have a feeling I will be inspired to share his great teachings immediately after! (That or run to my closest studio to take class.) Namaste

What I learned about Hands to Feet Pose at Bikram Yoga

In yesterday’s post I included Hands to Feet Pose as part of Half Moon Pose; those of you familiar with Bikram Yoga might have been snickering. It’s ok, I don’t claim to be the most knowledgeable about Bikram Yoga, I just love it and am share it with others. So forgive me!

I’m on a tiny vacation at a magic convention so no yoga today. Yes, that’s right, a magic convention. I am a semi-retired magic assistant, yoga pairs well with this profession for sure! Yesterday I was in Austin, Texas performing the Stocks of Zanzibar; you can see picks by clicking here.

Yoga has really helped me be more flexible, which has definitely helped me in my hobby, if you will, as a magician’s assistant. For reasons I can’t share, being able to bend your body in sometimes odd and certainly seemingly impossible ways bodes well for magician’s assistants.

Bending the body in a way that seems impossible is what Hands to Feet Pose is often seen as when I explain it to other people. I usually get, “huh, let me see if I can do that.” And then you watch people try and bend over, some can bend over and touch their fingers to the ground, some can’t, but rarely do you find someone that can lock their knees, clasp their ankles and put their chest and face to their legs.  If you can do it, that is amazing, congratulations. I can only do it after practicing yoga for a consistent amount of time.

When I do Bikram Yoga, I don’t watch others so I have no idea if other people do this pose correctly or not, I just assume they all are doing exactly what the instructor is saying. I recalled this feeling recently when I found a YouTube video of Bikram Yoga Dallas and this pose was part of the taping. I watched and was amazed; many people couldn’t lock their knees, clasp their ankles and put their face and chest to their legs. Let me explain, I was amazed only because I thought everyone did this pose the way the dialog says, I had no idea people struggled with it like I do! It was a bit of a revelation. The whole time I have been practicing I just assumed everyone else could do it and I was the only one that couldn’t. It made me laugh a little that I could be so silly.

This is a hard pose, stretching the back of the legs happens first and for me, this can be very uncomfortable, like your ligaments are being pulled from the knees. This is so good though for the trimming and toning the legs, buttocks and hips. As you stretch down to get yourself closer to your legs, you stretch the spine, increasing flexibility all over. You also have to suck in and tighten your stomach to really bend and reach, this helps flatten the stomach. Totally bent in half, with no gap, light or air, that is what they say in class and that is the goal.

If you want to try it yourself, come to a Bikram Yoga. Most studios are participating in some free yoga event in celebration of Yoga Month. Bikram Yoga Dallas is offering free yoga on September 7th at 7:30 am, 9:30 pm, 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm. I’ll be at the 9:30 class, come by and say hi!

Photo courtesy of Bikram Yoga Dallas

Half Moon Pose - Bikram Yoga

I am the type of person that likes structure and organization, some of my closest friends think I am a bit OCD when it comes to these type of things, maybe they are right but I think my need for uniformity helps me in my Bikram Yoga practice.  I’ve practiced Bikram Yoga in many studio’s throughout the United States, including the studio in Honolulu and they all possess their own personality. Some heat the room to the stated 105 degrees, some have carpet, some have wood floors, some have lines on the floor and some do not, some are more strict with the dialog, others are more conversational, one I went to even let people skip ahead so they could leave early; that might have been the strangest one yet. I think I like my studio the best but of course, I have practiced there more and it was the first studio I have went. 

My first day at the studio I was greeted by an exceptionally friendly lady named Christina. She explained the class and helped me set my mat out. The mat goes halfway over the line and you space yourself so you can see yourself in the mirror. There is no talking in the room, everyone just sits or lays down and some people stretch before class starts.  I didn’t really know what to expect, I had never taken Bikram Yoga and no one recommended it to me, I happened upon it because I saw the sign on my way to work and I found a coupon in a neighborhood magazine.  I had worked out in a gym in Austin, Texas and had decided I didn’t want to do that anymore but I needed some sort of exercise and Bikram Yoga was my choice.

It was hot and the humidity made it really hard to stay in the room. There is a fight or flight reaction that kicks in when you are breathing hot air. It can make you feel like you are not breathing at all, causing somewhat of an anxiety attack. This is perfectly natural and the goal for the first class is just to stay in the room. I am sure I was told that but I do not remember. All I remember is thinking, “I’m limber, no problem.” Oh, wow, was I wrong!

The first pose is Half Moon Pose, which really is more like four poses in one because you have to your torso in literally, every direction it can go. Half Moon Pose starts with your hands tightly clasped together above your head with your elbows locked, arms close to the ears.  You then tilt your upper half to the right, keeping the shoulders in line, like you were between two panes of glass. Now the other side. Now you let your head fall and then your arms and you bend backwards as far as you can, then go deeper. Raise up and bend all the way forward, grab your ankles and touch your head to your shins, with your knees locked. See? Four poses in one.

It sort of reminds me of a paperclip, when you bend it back and forth, side to side, it eventually breaks in two! And that is how I felt the first time I did this pose. When I was in a young child I could do backbends and touch my toes from behind with no problem so doing this pose seemed like it would be easy. What I didn’t realize is after 20+ years of doing zero stretching and sitting at work, my back has become so Unlimber it barely goes backwards and forwards just seems to remind it how much it hated the other way! And oh, how lucky, we don’t just do it once but twice!

Don’t despair though, it gets easier and it is so good for the spine. To do the pose correctly, you really are working several areas, the stomach, butt, hips, thighs, arms and spine. And boy can you feel it the next day. Rather than lament on how terrible the soreness is, I like to appreciate the areas that are sore and remember that with each yoga class, those are the spots that are getting more tone, healing or getting more flexible.  If done correctly, not perfectly, but correctly for your body, you will feel energized and find your spine has increased flexibility. You will also notice more toning in the stomach, buttocks, hips and thighs.

Give 100% effort, get 100% benefit. Each day is new; you should never feel bad that from day to day your practice might seem different. Your body will tell you what it needs, as long as you give it your best effort, you are doing it correctly.

If you have never tried Bikram Yoga, find a studio near you and see if they are participating in Yoga Month and giving a free week or day of yoga. If you are in Dallas, I will be at the Bikram Yoga Dallas studio on September 7th for Luke’s Locker sponsored Free Yoga Day taking class in the morning and hanging around at the studio in the afternoon.  Please come by and say hi!

Photo courtesy of Bikram Yoga Dallas

Standing Deep Breathing: Bikram Yoga

Bikram Yoga is a structured series of 26 postures (asanas) and 2 breathing exercises (pranayamas) completed in a specific sequence each time. The room is heated to approximately 105 degrees with humidity around 40 – 50%. Is it hot? Yes! And oh, how great it is too for your muscles! The heat can be hard to take at first, once you allow yourself to take it all in, you notice the heat helps the muscles to prevent injuries.  Bikram Yoga is suitable for all ages and all levels of skill. Whether you have never taken yoga or are a seasoned yogi, you will find benefits practicing Bikram Yoga.

The first posture is really a breathing exercise, Standing Deep Breathing. The breathing exercise is done by clasping your hands together under the chin, inhaling as you extend your arms up and exhaling as you bend your head back and the arms come together at the elbows. This exercise is done in a very methodical and consistent manner, giving the students plenty of time to work on the posture and focus on breathing. In my own practice I find it to be difficult to clear my mind enough to breathe consistently and pay attention to the instructor. Part of yoga is to clear your mind and focus on the task at hand, letting go of the other forces. This is perhaps the hardest part about Bikram Yoga for me, my mind seems to always be jumping from thought to thought and this leads me to a very sporadic practice.

Standing Deep Breathing has many health benefits. The repetitive expansion and contraction is good for the lungs and respiratory system. The consistent and deep breathing, which expands and contracts the lungs, help the lungs reach maximum capacity. This exercise is very good for those with asthma and helps increase overall body circulation. For myself, I have noticed I have the ability to calm my breath during other workout programs and even at work just by incorporating the deep and slow breathing of Standing Deep Breathing.

All of that from just one exercise! Just think what doing the 26 postures and ending breathing exercise would do for you! Stay tuned all of September for a review of each posture.

Try it yourself: You have wonderful opportunity to try Bikram Yoga for FREE on September 7th. Check your local Bikram studio for details. Namaste

If you want to come meet me, I’ll be at the Bikram Yoga Dallas studio on September 7th, taking the morning class and hanging out for the afternoon classes. Come say hi! 




photo courtesy of Bikram Yoga Dallas

Celebrate Yoga - September is National Yoga Month

I've been practicing Bikram Yoga for about 4 years now and absolutely love it. I happened upon it  by chance, or maybe it was fate, either way, Bikram Yoga has helped me enjoy fitness, become more centered and pushed my body to do things I never thought possible. In celebration on National Yoga Month, I will be blogging each day in September about Bikram Yoga, each pose and my experiences. Please come back each day to learn more about this wonderful yoga and why it is all the rage.

To start off the month, I would like to share a few great ways you can get involved in Yoga Month. There are wonderful things going on everywhere so if you don't live in these cities, just Google Yoga Month or Free Yoga and get involved!

YogaMonth.org: You can get a free week of yoga through this group

Yoga Warriors Against Cancer: September 12th in Charlotte, NC

Bikram Comes to Dallas: If you ever wondered about Bikram Yoga, come see the man himself September 26th in Dallas

Free Day of Yoga: Enjoy yoga for free in the Dallas FTW area on September 7th

Global Mala Yoga for Peace: September 20th, Los Angeles - free!


Evolve Music and Yoga Festival: September 4-6, NJ

Yoga Aid: September 13th and 14th

2009 Bike Run Yoga Challenge: Get a FREE T-shirt!

Bike Run Yoga is my idea of the ideal Tri. The real concept though of Bike Run Yoga is more about doing events you love, not what MY ideal triathlon would be. (Although the thought of what my ideal Tri would be is how the company got started.) Also, it doesn't mean those three activities have to happen in a typical triathlon event process. It is about participating in events that show off what you love to do, to challenge yourself, to promote a healthy life style and to most importantly, have fun!

My friend Ginny and I just completed our century ride and I got to thinking about all the events I had completed or was planning on completing this year and how great it would be to have a Bike Run Yoga t-shirt that has on the back a list of all the events, like a concert tour shirt, to really celebrate all my accomplishments. It is tough to complete one event be it a marathon, triathlon, duathlon, century ride, yoga competition or other event. It is even tougher to dedicate the time and energy to complete multiple events in one year. How great would that be to be get a free t-shirt that commemorates all your efforts and shows off all the events you completed in one year?

Bike Run Yoga wants to help you celebrate your 2009 achievements! Come join us in the the 2009 Bike Run Yoga Challenge! Complete the challenge and get a FREE personalized event t-shirt that lists YOUR events for 2009.  Anyone that meets the requirements below can win. You still have time in 2009 to get a free shirt!

What does that mean? It means, complete all the requirements and get a t-shirt that lists all your events for 2009 on the back; the front will be the Bike Run Yoga logo; The events will be listed on the back with the name of the event and the event date.

Requirements:

1. Make a commitment to the challenge (this means post a comment here and tell me you are doing the challenge)
   
2. Follow/subscribe to Bike Run Yoga blog (that's THIS blog)
3. For 2009, complete 12 events (Tri, duathlon, run, ride, swim or yoga event)
4. FYI for 2010 - must complete 24 events
5. Must be a finisher at the event (we use the honor system for verification)
6. Submit your events,email address, full name and shipping address to Bike Run Yoga no later than January 5, 2010

Once your events are submitted, a Bike Run Yoga celebration t-shirt will be custom made for you and shipped to you in 4-6 weeks.

As an example, here is a list of the events I have either completed or will complete by the end of 2009. Join me in this exciting challenge and show off your

Tour Dallas April 4
Big D ½ Marathon April 5
San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon May 31
Too Hot to Handle 15K July 18
Hotter N Hell 100 August 29
Tour Des Fleur's 10K September 19
Susan G Komen 5K October 17
Light the Night Walk October 18
Texas Yoga Asana Championships November 8
Thundercloud Turkey Trot November 26
San Antonio ½ Marathon November 15
White Rock ½ Marathon December 13

Questions? click here to email me.

Staying Fit Should be a Lifestyle, Not a Task

I believe staying fit shouldn't be a task or chore checked off a list each day, it should be a lifestyle. On a typical day I go to the gym, yoga class or ride my bike around the lake but today my exercise program consists of housework. And I'm ok with that, know why? Because daily activity can burn as many or more calories than a dedicated workout session.

I belong to 24hr Fitness and was fortunate enough to receive a BodyBugg free from the gym for getting training sessions. I used it for almost 6 months and found out some interesting things. I wore it almost every day, all day and found working at my desk was almost as active as sleeping, which was nill. Little things like walking while I brushed my teeth helped increase my overall calorie burn. This might seem obvious but how many people just stand there and stare at themselves in the mirror? I took the stairs instead of the elevator, I parked a little farther from store entrances, did every day house chores and did my regular workout routine. Yard work or vaccuming and cleaning was just as good burning calories as working out in the gym.

Now, not all general chores will equate to a gym workout. Total calorie burn depends on what chores you are doing and what exercise you are doing. But the end conclusion is a dedicated time to workout isn't necessary to have a healthy lifestyle. And working out doesn't have to be dedicated to just going to the gym or yoga class. Obviously I'm not buildng much muscle pushing a vaccum or cleaning the bathroom today but I am burning calories so I don't have to feel too guilty I skipped yoga today.

I've stopped using the BodyBugg. I found it was irritating the skin and since I exercise outside quite a bit, I was getting a very funny tan line. I know, vain reason. In the end though, I know what I need to know. I know how many calories on average I burn in a day, with our without exercise so I am better equipped to manage my calorie intake along with my exercise program. Here are some other things I learned - Working out at the gym results in modest calorie burn, cardio of course burns more, running burns more than cycling and Bikram Yoga? Couldn't get a good read, too sweaty!

Hope you find a way to integrate working out, whatever that means to you, into your every day life. Being healthy and fit should be something you are, not something you have to "do".

Namaste

Just Staying in the Yoga Room is Sometimes Enough

I made it to Bikram Yoga today, a big feat considering my last few days. I am in my recovery week, gearing up for the Hotter N Hell century ride this weekend so I'm suppose to be taking it easy anyway but circumstances have thrown me for a loop recently. After having a bad ride on Sunday that got cut short after a lady yelling at me on the trails and feeling under the weather on Monday and earlier today, I managed to pull myself together enough to go to yoga. I'm glad I did, even if it wasn't the best class I ever had.

Class started off well, the first three poses were pretty solid. I started to feel nauseous during balancing stick, not a nauseous like I'm going to throw up, but a nauseous like my stomach was going to be "sour" the entire class. And I was sweating more than usual and that kind of worried me. So I took it a bit easier over the next few postures and made it to the floor series.

The spine strengthing series though, is all tummy down and that was putting excessive pressure on my stomach, only making it worse! I battled through that, did half tortoise and skipped camel. I know...you aren't suppose to skip a pose. But in my defense, I was already in a comprised state. No sense pushing the envelop.

I stayed in the room and finished class so I consider that a win and a decent class. Not a great class but a decent one. A few things probably can be attributed to my class performance. One, I haven't been eating well. This happens when my life gets a little crazy, either I forget to eat or I just don't want to eat. Neither is good for having a good yoga class. Two, I wasn't in a good mental state. I was hoping going to yoga would clear my mind and give me some mental peace but I have a hard time focusing sometimes and my brain gets in the way of my soul cleansing.

Even so, I made it to class, I gave it all I could and I stayed in the room. Like I said, I am considering that a win. Tomorrow is a new day, a chance to start over and be better. Perhaps a better me is just a Bikram class away.

Namaste

Today was a 60 Mile Bike Ride and Bikram Yoga

I’m suppose to be training for Hotter N Hell (HNH), a century ride in Wichita Falls, Texas in two weeks. It is suppose to be the hottest, most grueling century ride with gusting winds and relentless sun. I rode the full 100 miles last year and didn’t think the conditions were that bad, then I read it was a mild year. So I am trying again this year and started training, if that is what you can call it, after I finished my marathon earlier this year.

My friend Ginny and I are planning to ride together. Neither of us seem to be very dedicated to any century ride training schedule we found online even though we both searched and found several we thought we could live with. Life tends to get in the way.

Today in an effort to get myself ready for HNH, I decided I needed to ride 60 miles. I planned to get up early, ride to the lake and find my friend Rhonda from Team in Training, she was my running partner in training and she became a mentor. I knew they would be down at the lake running so I thought I would ride down and find her and ride my 60.

Here is a tip for you, when you set your alarm, make sure it is AM not PM! Ugh! Amazingly I got up on my own at 7 am so I hurried and got myself ready and was on the road by 7:30 am. I made it almost around the lake before I saw Rhonda. They were running 6 miles and almost done, I was riding 60 and had just started! So off I went.

The lake was really busy, Lukes, Team in Training, other running groups, families, casual walkers, hey all seemed to be out today. I managed to ride in and amongst the people without falling which I consider to be a big feat. (I tend to fall a lot.) I rode about 45 miles before I decided I wanted to stop but I had already told everyone I would ride 60 so I kept going. Every few miles I calculated how I would finish, ride around the lake twice, ride down Lawther trail, or take Lawther twice and go around the lake once. This managed to occupy my mind for some time.

On the home stretch, only 7 miles left and I’m headed back from Lawther. That last little bit seemed like eternity and my legs were burning but I made it. Sixty miles, three electrolyte supplements, four bottles of water and one granola bar.

You may be wondering if I just rode 60 miles why I would decide to go to Bikram Yoga. It makes me feel good and I’m a little crazy. Bikram Yoga is one of those things I can do even when I don’t want to and come out feeling great and glad I went. I love feeling clean sweat running down my body, it tells me I am taking care of myself. I love watching myself in the mirror going farther in poses, going deeper and watching my body do things I never thought it could. It is hard, painful, sweaty and darn hot but it is also one of the best forms of exercise I do. It is 90 minutes of me doing something just for me.

After 60 miles on a bike and 90 minutes of Bikram Yoga, a well deserved Mexican dinner was in order. I just got back from Los Amigos in Grapevine where I celebrated the birthday of my good friend Deanne. So yummy. If you have not been there, you should try it before urban development takes over.