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I find camel difficult also. Congrats Joyce! So far I’ve managed to master savasana ;-)
Does anyone else find their balance better on one side than the other?
DagnyTaggart, I know what you mean! When people beside me put in less effort I seem to loose concentration also. Oh well, just focus on the positive energy in the room I guess.
lalala, I’m going for the 30 day challenge too! Today will be day 6.
I attend Bikram yoga classes here in NYC as much as possible, and cannot stop singing the praises. Even after one session, I feel so amazing and clear headed, and find it helps me stay on track with healthy eating and avoiding alcohol (yuk). I’m aiming to muster the strength to go at least 5 times a week, anyone have any motivational tips they use for themselves to help commit to going regularly? I love it, but am looking to kick my attendance into high gear.
Lily: if i don’t go to class for more than a day or two i can feel the stress creeping on and i start to get a little nasty, so that motivates me to go back. i try to remember how great you feel when you’re done, and remember that yoga is about doing what your body wants and not the instructor, so i can stop at any time. the instructor is only inviting you or suggesting a practice.
Raw_Chocoholic: definitely! my balance is always better on my left leg. good luck on the challenge!
DagnyTaggart: I just realized that you said mazel tov and that made me laugh! i’m going to start a thread about dealing with passover raw so come find it! i agree completely with what you said about other people ruining your focus. i hate when people grunt or chat to eachother or just plain give up in class. even on my first day i laid down quietly then got back up and tried again.
My husband came along with me last night to class and he did very well. He actually liked the class and felt really good afterwards. He does play rac ball and skis with me but is not an exercise freak like myself. He’s coming with me again tonight. The funny thing about last night was that the teacher wanted to separate us for the first class so I wouldn’t be so distracted with him but I was still peaking glances across the room to make sure he was still alive and hanging in there.
The hubby has gallstones and IBS issues so we’re helping the yoga may allievate them. He also wants to drop some weight. He’s not ‘fat’ but could loose about 15-20 lbs. I really hope he’ll stick with it.
It’s really expensive for us both to be going but you can’t really put a price tag on your health. I’m thinking if we stick with the this healing and revitalizing yoga, we’ll avoid doctor bills and expensive medications when we’re old and gray… Like the teacher said last night, 90 minutes for 90 years :-)
Joyce, my boyfriend finally made it to bikram with me for the first time last night. Like you, i was really surprised and proud of him! he’s an athletic guy – but it’s mostly windsurfing, which is a pretty stiff sport. he didn’t do everything – i saw him just lying there during camel – but he did most. and the instructor was kind of flirting with him, so that gave me the necessary anger to fuel my thursday night workout. ;) i feel a bit of pride in myself for taking this steak-eating european investment banker and making him into a green-smoothie drinking 26-asana doing healthy boy.
DagnyTaggart – that’s super that your boyfriend did well in the yoga! It’s great having someone to go with! My husband had a tougher second day and I got to place my mat next to him the other night. He’s really tight in the legs and had trouble with a few poses. But he did his best and made it through just fine I thought. He bought a 10 class card and a matt :-)
Yeah my hubby used to love ordering cheeseburgers but now he’s a vegetarian. I’ve gotten him drinking a green smoothie in the morning. It’s loaded with 4 dates and carob but heck it’s the only thing green he eats all day (black been burittos and cheese pizza are his new best friends)...Rome wasn’t built in a day, I keep telling myself.
European investment banking seems like a good field to be in these days with a super strong Euro and a historically weak US dollar!
So here I am doing my third week of Bikram yoga (6 days the first week, 5 the second week and hopefully 6 days this week). Yesterday and especially today, I notice my sciatica has greatly improved if not gone away. Wow! It’s so nice to see positive results from such an effort and commitment. My knees have ups and downs but they feel like they are slowly improving as well. Even my digestive system seems to be showing signs of slow progress. My kale salads aren’t tearing me up after lunch :-)
Anyone else see any improvements in themselves from this yoga? Also I feel more calm and peaceful. I still have a ways to go, but I do notice the yoga is making me feel more sane, especially at work.
Hmmm, I’ve noticed some colon cleansing and I’ve actually gained 2 pounds! Hopefully it’s muscle . . . Flexibility is increasing rapidly though. My instructor was surprised it had only been my 8th class :-D
I think I remember in his interview on ‘60 Minutes’ that Bikram mentioned making the occasional trip to McDonalds for a cheeseburger, as a way to say that his yoga was all he needed to remain healthy. Does anyone else remember this?
Yup, Bikram likes McDonalds. If you go on his website under “In the news”, you’ll find the 60 Minutes interview. He’s quite a character and seems rather controversial. I’ve heard from a few certified instructors who went to LA for his boot camp teacher training said he also drinks coke. If you read his book for beginners, he also states how he loves chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. From what I gather he claims his yoga turns the body into a perfectly healthy vessel that can process and digest anything while taking the good and eliminating the bad (my super simple laymen terms).
Does this work for Bikram and his devout students and teachers? It seems to work, but I’m no expert. He’s 70 or close to it and has the body of a young greek god so he must be doing somehting right. His wife Rajashree is simply beautiful and everyone talks about how wonderful she is as a person. She looks radiant from her photos. I highly doubt she eats cheeseburgers. Every Bikram yoga instructor I’ve met in Vermont radiates health, happiness and a good balance in life. (I did this yoga 7 yrs ago as well) I love all the teachers in at the Burlington studio. They are so incredibly fit and they glow with an aura of amazing health and vitality. And they are so upbeat, cheerful, friendly and encouraging. I have asked many what they eat and most eat some meat and the occasional junkfood here and there. None seem to obsess over their diets or go to extreme measures to eat healthy although they probably eat better than most SAD people. But for the most part, the teachers I know don’t go to McDonalds :-) (In fact, most Vermonters, especially Vermont transplants wouldn’t dream of it.)
I personally will never eat meat or walk into a McDonalds. But I’m hoping my Bikram practice will keep me happy, healthy, fit, slim and able to digest the occasional cooked veggie foods and treats that are such a big part of living in this wonderful uptopia nestled in the Green Mountains. I’m raw for a good 6 days a week. At this point in time it seems to be working well with the yoga 5-6 days a week. If cooked food really is ‘poison’ then my body and digestive system will be strong enough to take what it needs and elminate any toxins. Bikram heals and makes the the entire body and body systems strong and healthy….We are all different and that’s just my story for now :-)
http://www.bikramyoga.com/
Supposedly there are clinical trials going on with Bikram’s yoga since he has cured so many people of chronic diseases, physical injuries, etc…I’d love to read more about some of that stuff.