Bikram Yoga

The heat is there to ultimately mirror the conditions in India and intentionally warm the muscles. The heat provides a safe environment to stretch and strengthen your muscles, healing injuries and preventing further injuries. The heat allows your body to become more malleable, to move deeper into the postures and gain more benefit. The heat and the postures allow for deep changes to be made in the body as every muscle, organ, ligament, tendon and tissue in the body are massaged and released of toxins. Sweating helps to flush these toxins from the body through the pores in the skin, reducing the workload of the kidneys and the liver and gives a healthy glow from top to toe.

The elevated temperatures allows the fresh-oxgenated blood to be pumped to all areas of the body at high speed. The room temperature traps the heat inside the body, which, instead of losing the energy as happens when working out in a cold room, it helps to improve your stretch and sweat out toxins.

The heat causes the arteries and capillaries to dilate, bring more oxygen to get the heart and the tissues in the body faster and removes waste products such as lactic acid and carbon dioxide from the muscles. The high temperature also improves the function of the nervous system and allows for messages to be carried to and from the brain and spinal cord more rapidly.

Additionally, the heat is a mindfulness aid in so far as it will never let you forget where you are. It helps to focus and concentrate the mind and allows you to appreciate how little you have control over your environment but you have full control over yourself.

Each Bikram Yoga class is an intense cardiovascular workout. Many of the postures raise the heart rate significantly and the Balancing Stick posture in particular doubles the heart rate. The muscles across the heart are stretched in opposite directions during the Triangle posture which also increases the heart rate.

Bikram Yoga will stabalize, regulate and balance your body and so if a person has more weight than required to function normally, Bikram Yoga will help to lose this extra weight. With a regular practice and hard work, weight loss, if necessary, will occur at a healthy and balanced rate. All of the systems in your body will regulate to work at maximum function making your body more efficient at buring calories. The intense exercise causes fatty acids to be added to the blood stream for to be burned as energy during the workout. The yoga will help you to lose inches, tone your muscles and build strength and stamina in the body. Many of the postures also stimulate the thyroid gland which regulates the metabolism.

Exercise, deep breathing and meditation are known to reduce stress. Bikram yoga combines all three. Concentration on the postures in the hot environment distracts from stressors. Lower stress levels allow for better and deeper sleep, improving the immune system and reducing the risk of illness and injury to the body, reduce weight gain, lowers the heart rate and blood pressure, and improves mood. The postural stimulation helps to reduce and remove the residue left by continuing elevated levels of stress in the body.

Bikram Yoga helps to balance the nervous and endocrine systems of the body, both of which influence the emotions. Bikram Yoga cultivates concentration, determination, focus, mental strength and patience; brings clarity to the mind and balances the emotions.

Many people practice Bikram Yoga daily. Come to class as often as you can but try to ensure you practice consistently. If you can come to class 3 times then consistently practice 3 times a week. If you can come to class once a week then come once a week.

It is very important to be well hydrated coming to class and to re-hydrate after class. Drink at least 2 litres of water during the day before class. Being hydrated helps the organs of the body to do their jobs efficiently, helping to flush the body of toxins, decreased body odour and gives smoother skin and hair!

Dehydration is the most common cause of over-whelming sensations in the body such as dizziness, nausea or light-headedness during the class. The intensity of the class can also bring on these feelings. The class also causes a huge toxin release from the body and these toxins can cause un-easy feelings during the class.

Congratulations! You have just worked muscles that may not have been worked in a long time, perhaps never before. Bikram Yoga uses 100% of the body and so it is normal to feel soreness in one area of the body or another. Muscle soreness is caused by a build up of lactic acid which is relieved by stretching. Come back to class as soon as possible to relieve the soreness.

You will begin to feel changes as soon as after your first class but it is a very individual practice and so everybody will see and feel benefits in their bodies at different rates. It will take about 5 or 6 classes to feel comfortable being in the room and do give yourself time to adjust and get used to it! The best way to see, feel and maintain the beneftis of the class though is to have a regular and consistent practice.