Aside from not putting the effort in towards some of the things I love doing, I was feeling a little "off" lately. Especially in my workouts. A couple days ago my husband said to me that I have to do something about my stress and suggested going to yoga (I had mentioned in the past that I wanted to start going...but for some reason never did).
After hearing that I was losing my hair because of stress I looked up the nearest Bikram Yoga classes in my area! The schedule they offer makes it impossible not to go! There are classes all throughout the day and even on Saturdays and Sundays. Good stuff!
Last night was my first time going (I went once or twice in the past when I lived somewhere else but that was many years ago). When I walked in the room I thought to myself "wow, I'm not sure if I'm going to make it through" at first but after about 20 minutes of breathing exercises and the initial couple poses I felt great. To the touch, my skin was warmed as soon as I walked in the room because it's about 105 degrees in there but I had to warm my muscles up.
Let me back up a little to why I chose a version of hot yoga over regular yoga. I have gone to many different yoga classes trying to find one that was not only a physical challenge but also one that could truly calm my mind and make me focus only on what I was doing at the present moment. None of the regular yoga classes could ever give me this so I stopped going. I figured going into a hot and humid room for 90 minutes could do just that...and I was right!
When I was in class last night my mind was there with me the entire time. I didn't think about any schoolwork I had to get done, laundry that had to be folded, what I was going to cook for dinner the minute I walked in the house when I got home, etc. All of these things came back to my mind when I walked in my door, but from the time I went through all of my poses and breathing exercises and during my drive home I was completely relaxed and care-free. I even managed to figure out how to get to bed at a reasonable hour and I woke up relaxed and ready to take on my Monday!
If you click on the embedded hyperlink above (Bikram Yoga) you'll read about what it is and get a bunch more helpful information.
About Bikram Yoga
| Bikram Yoga is the 26 postures Sequence selected and developed by Bikram Choudhury from Hatha Yoga. It has been proved and experienced by millions that these 26 postures systematically work every part of the body, to give all the internal organs, all the veins, all the ligaments, and all the muscles everything they need to maintain optimum health and maximum function. Each component takes care of something different in the body, and yet they all work together synergistically, contributing to the success of every other one, and extending its benefits. Bikram Yoga can be practiced under the guidance of a certified Bikram Yoga Teacher at one of the affiliated Bikram Yoga studios. These studios are built in such a way that you always get the proper heating which help you to do your postures optimally. Bikram calls these studios as “Torture Chambers”. | ||
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| Why the heat? Yoga changes the construction of the body from the inside out, from bones to skin and from fingertips to toes. So before you change it, you have to heat it up to soften it, because a warm body is a flexible body. Then you can reshape the body any way you want. Hatha Yoga flushes away the waste products, the toxins of all the glands and organs of your body. It provides a natural irrigation of the body through the circulatory system, with the help of the respiratory system. It brings nourishments to every cell of your body so that each one can perform its function and keep your body healthy. Bikram Yoga also employs heat to further that cleaning process: When you sweat, impurities are flushed out of the body through the skin. Practicing yoga not only increases our supplies of oxygen, but it also teaches us how to use that oxygen properly – we learn to control the breath through pranayama. |
