Bikram
yoga improves muscle strength, flexibility and balances our relation
to the divine
Hot
Yoga's Rejuvenating Potential
by Danna
Schneider
Bikram yoga is
a unique experience, to say the least. We've all thought of yoga as
a body-bending, flexibility and mind-relaxation exercise, but what's
Bikram yoga all about, and why is it supposed to be such an intense
experience as so many say?
Bikram yoga is
a specific style of yoga founded by Bikram Choudhury. Otherwise
known as "hot yoga", Bikram yoga, named after it's founder, is
fairly advanced yoga moves done in a one hundred and five degree
room with humidity at fifty percent, so you will most definitely be
sopping wet when leaving.
The origin of
this type of yoga is spiritually derived from Hinduism and
regionally from Yoga College of India. Bikram yoga consists of 26
asanas or postures and two breathing exercises.
The word asana
translates to the word "seat" which refers to the spirit in relation
to the divine. Asanas are intended to lead back to sitting in
meditation. Asanas are meant to improve your muscle flexibility and
strength.
These moves,
called asanas, are supposed to be practiced together with pranayama,
or slow breath work for maximum benefit. Your breaths should be
through the nose, not the mouth, and should be slow, not forced, and
totally natural. To receive maximum benefit from practicing asanas,
all tension and tightness in the body should consciously be let go.
A glass of
water before practicing asanas enhances the experience and asanas
should not be done on a full stomach. The practice of Bikram yoga is
meant not only to improve muscle strength and flexibility, but also
to establish a balance of our physical beings in relation to the
divine.
Yoga is a path
to attain a balance of the body, mind and spirit. Yoga can, if done
correctly, be a means to control the ongoing complaint in all of our
lives, stress. Optimum health is the ultimate goal for everyone of
us. Health does not just refer to our physical beings but also to
our mental attitudes and spiritual growth.
Bikram yoga
addresses all of these factors of our well being. When I visited my
daughter in California, she signed me up for my first experience
with hot yoga. Being in my fifties, I was a little concerned about
the prospect of being a complete amateur at any kind of yoga and the
possibility of being the oldest participant in the class.
Well, I wasn't
the oldest in the class and the instructor was patient with his
teaching. I was happily surprised at my ability to do so many of the
postures. My self realization during the hot yoga class was my need
to "stress" or hurry up at all times.
I needed to
remind myself to relax, breathe slowly and through my nose. The
heated room was something I thought I would not be able to tolerate.
It did add to the yoga session and is probably one of the reasons I
did not have aching muscles or pulled tendons the next day.
During some of
the postures, I was keenly aware of my need to improve my balance
and my sense of my physical position in space. For ongoing
achievement of balance, I have been practicing the art of yoga via
an instructional DVD in my home.
Particularly
useful to me, in addition to the improvement of balance is the yoga
reminds me to slow down and relax the tension in my body. The
concept of the heated room in Bikram yoga is to diminish the risk of
injuries and to allow you to go deeper into each posture.
The
perspiration experienced during hot yoga enhances the release of
toxins. The postures consist of warm up poses that can be done prior
to a yoga class. There are standing poses and seated poses. The
twist yoga poses have the purpose of strengthening your back, toning
the abdomen and helping with digestion.
Inverted poses
help you with your circulation. There's supine and backbend poses
and finally the finishing poses to end your yoga session with
relaxation.
Bikram yoga is
designed to assist you to lose weight, tone muscles and increase
blood circulation. Since this form of yoga helps lower stress
levels, it can improve mental clarity and focus. This, in turn,
enhances our overall levels of performance both on the job and in
our personal life pursuits.
About the
author: Danna Schneider is the cofounder of
http://www.dietingmagazine.com , where you can find information
on weightloss products, fitness equipment and diet reviews, and
dieting tips for losing weight. She also founded
http://www.fitnessnewsmagazine.com , a site dedicated to the
latest offerings and breakthroughs in weight loss and fitness,
updated constantly with news and tips on fitness equipment,
accessories, and the hottest fitness trends.
|
Want More on this Topic?
Search New Age Information
Enter keyword(s) below, then "Search"
|
|
|
