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.

I Completed My Own Triathlon - Run Yoga Yoga

Yesterday I completed my own version of a triathlon, it was hard, amazing, exhausting and motivating. In the morning I ran the Dallas Tour Des Fleurs 10K around White Rock Lake. I then went and took the regular Bikram Yoga class and stayed for the Advanced class; that is basically 3 ½ hours of hot yoga! Run Yoga Yoga – That’s my tri.

Running the Tour Des Fleurs was fun, if running can even be described as fun. I didn’t really trained to run the race, not for any particular reason except I have been going to yoga more which leaves less time to run. I ran 2 ½ miles the day before to get ready and that seemed more difficult than it should considering I was about to run 6.2 the next day.

The starting area was a bit crazy, there were volunteers holding up time marker signs so people could line up according to their pace, I was in the last group “10:00 minutes and up”.  That’s ok I thought, you might not be fast but at least you got up and made it.

It was close to the start time and everyone started to scoot forward. As I stood there I overheard a group’s conversation. One of them men obviously was going to seminary school, he said to the group “God willing, we will end up right were we need to be.” Then he said, “The key is broad generalities.” This made me laugh a little because that is what makes fortunes and religious quote so accurate, they are broad generalities that can apply to many situations. Not that they aren’t true, but take this guys first quote, of course we will end up where we need to be! As I twittered his comment I saw the crowd moving forward faster…and then we were off to a slow job… then we were off and running!

I ran a fairly good pace for me; I was running about an 11:30 – 12:00 minute mile. I should explain though, I run intervals so I run 5 minutes and walk 1 minute, it averages to just under 12 minute miles. Not bad for a beginner.

As I rounded the last curve and saw the finish line, my only thought was “you can do this.” I repeated this to myself the last ¼ of a mile. As I ran towards the finish line and sprinted in, my chant got louder and faster…I ran as fast and as hard as I could, and then it was done. I had crossed the finish line! The time of the finish clock was 1:16:something and I estimated at least 2 minutes were from where I started to the start line so all in all, I ran just under 12 minute miles.

My shirt, shorts and socks were soaked with sweat. I took my shirt off and rung it out, sweat was still streaming down my body, no need to put THAT back on! I looked at my phone to check the time, I had just enough time to shower and head to yoga.

Bikram Yoga

My determination on if I have a good class is based several things: my ability to complete all the postures, my ability to be graceful and how I end the class. This class was a good class, I completed all the postures. For today, that is considered good.

I made it through all the postures and managed to maintain some sense of good posture through the standing series. Savasana was of course spectacular. The floor series was as good as good could have been expected. I mean really, I had just run 6.2 miles.

Two down, one more to go – Advanced Class

Bikram Advanced Class

The advanced class is noting to sneeze at. It is still in a heated room albeit slightly cooler than regular class, it is still over 100 degrees. The class goes through all 84 asana postures and in a much faster pace than regular class, plus, it is two hours or more. This after running 6.2 and taking regular class was a true struggle. I made it but it wasn’t exactly pretty.

Why do it then? It is great for preparing yourself for the yoga competition. The yoga competition has 5 compulsory postures and two optional, advanced postures. It is up to the competitor to find the two optional postures, which is done through the advanced class. It is also just a wonderful way to expand ones practice and go beyond the basic Bikram Yoga postures.

A little more than half was through the class I was physically done. My mind had taken over and all kinds of things made me want to run from the room. My mouth felt hot, I felt like I just wanted to breathe in cool air for a moment. My skin itched, my head hurt, my joints were starting to crack, you name it, it bothered me. It was a true mental challenge to ignore all of that and stay in the room. I needed to stay so I could see all the postures, the last time I took the advanced class was well over a year ago so a refresher on the postures and what I might do for competition was greatly needed.

As class wound down and we went into final Savasana, I suddenly felt desperately hungry. I laid there as long as I could, allowing my body to soak in all it had done.

What an amazing sense of accomplishment. I had just run 6.2 mile, take 90 minutes of regular Bikram Yoga and 2 hours of Advanced Bikram Yoga. That is a true tri, that’s my tri.

I love my trainer, she makes me do exercises I hate doing

I didn't go to yoga today, today is my day to train with my gym trainer, Jessica.Up until recently I was going to the gym three times a week to train with Jessica to reduce my overall body fat percent. I started in January and have successfully trimmed my body fat to a reasonable amount. I would still be going three times a week if it weren't for the yoga competition coming up. So instead I allow myself one day to lift some weights and hang out with Jessica for an hour.

It's always fun training with Jessica, she is just as sarcastic as I am and we always have fun making each other laugh. We are the only two having fun and cracking up most of the time. Usually everyone in the gym is so serious. Give it up people! It is working out, not WORK, you are allowed to have fun and enjoy it. Now that is not to say I ENJOY all the things she makes me do. On the contrary, I very much dislike most of what she has me do, that is why I need her, so I actually DO the stuff.

She gave me a list of exercises to do several more times a week since I will only be going once a week. Have I done those? uh, no. I did part of them one day after I ran 3 miles. Do I feel bad about it? Uh, no. I have been to yoga for the last 5 days straight and the last two days have been great, be it, hard classes. So to me, I don't care where I get my toning and fat burning; it can happen in the gym or on the mat. I'm just glad I exercised at all today!

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