This week…has been interesting.  It really feels like it’s been several weeks.  However, due to the odd combination of factors and events, I have been able to attend a Bikram Yoga class 3 times this week at Hot Yoga Therapy in Kernersville.  Apparently September is National Yoga Month (who knew?) and so this studio is offering free classes.  ALL.  MONTH.  LONG.  Which makes me absurdly happy – and also should work out pretty well for them since it’s certainly increasing their attendance and I for one am officially addicted.  I’ll have to figure out what I’m going to do in October…but anyway.

So dear friends, I am going to take this time to provide you with a brief education (sadly only derived from my limited experience and the ever-useful Google search) on the wonderful practice of bikram yoga.  Sidenote: it is possible that I am so all about this because I’m pretty much all about yoga in general, but for real, even if you’ve never done any kind of yoga, you should check this out.

Basically, bikram yoga/hot yoga (there is a slight difference between the two involving a lawsuit between the founder of bikram yoga & the certification of instructors etc, but I won’t go into that) is 90 minutes – altho my instructor tends to keep us for about 100, but that’s ok – in a heated, humid room.  Every bikram class practices the same 26 postures, 2 of which are breathing postures.  The room is kept between 95-110 degrees (or in that neighborhood) depending.  While any form of yoga practice has countless benefits for the body, the heat in the room accelerates those benefits.  Now, I’ve been practicing yoga for about 2.5 years (granted not with a hell of a lot of consistency, but there you go) and I did not find bikram yoga to be any more challenging than a regular yoga class – and in fact, the heat makes it easier to stretch and achieve more to go further into your poses.  However, it is still challenging – as is any form of exercise when you are really concentrating on performing it correctly and pushing your body.  You will definitely sweat a lot, and feel sore afterwards.  I love when you can feel the toxins leaving your body

In addition to being phenomenal for your body, bikram is also great for the mind/spirit.  I mean, come on: obviously you’re going to have to focus if you’re trying to breathe in a 105 degree room while contorting your body into shapes modeled on various animals that usually involve some form of balance.  For me, bikram (and yoga in general – have I mentioned how highly I think of yoga?) truly connects me to my body and makes me much more aware of the things going on around me; it helps me focus on now instead of trying to chase my mind down 30 million sidestreets.

All in all, I give bikram/hot yoga the highest review.  I’m in love with it.  I still want to vary my practice and include other yoga classes & other forms of exercise (God we know what running does for me) but I certainly encourage everyone to at least try bikram at some point.  There are a bevy of testimonials out there to give you motivation – stories of weight loss, healed injuries, mental clarity, relief from pain, increase of strength & flexibility, etc etc.  If you do decide to attend a class, make sure to read this before going.  My instructor also recommends not eating anything 2hrs before attending a session, and drinking only water during the time leading up.

Which speaking of…today is day 3 of no soft drinks   Those who know me should be very impressed right about now since mountain dew and diet coke were basically my crack and heroin.  I still drink coffee & tea (haven’t mastered the caffeine addiction yet) but I’m feeling good about the no soda thing.  And health in general.

Tags: bikram yoga, caffeine addiction, exercise, Health, Hot Yoga Therapy in Kernersville, water, yoga

This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 1:48 pm and is filed under Health, Mental. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.