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Camel pose with Audrey!

8/24/2018

One of our most favorite guest teachers, Audrey Holst, returns to BYSJ on September 14-15 for a superspecial 2-part event! Check out this video from last time she was here...

Audrey's "Fortify Your Foundations" class will have plenty of gems along the lines of what you see in this video and more: including how to practice sustainably, no matter if you are flexible, stiff, strong, loose, new, experienced, whatever. Her Moving Beyond the Postures workshop on the 15th will explore the incredible impact of breath and mindfulness on your yoga practice. Audrey lives in Massachussetts, so this is a rare opportunity to get to soak up some of her awesome energy. Click below to find out more and reserve your spot!

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Dan relieves fibromyalgia pain through his daily Bikram yoga practice.

8/11/2018

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Last December, I bumped into Natalie (who I later found out is a longtime Karma Yogi at BYSJ) at a Garcia Birthday Band show. She stuck a buddy pass in my hand and told me I should go to yoga. It was a wild night and Natalie seemed like a cool lady, so I decided to check it out. I had no idea what I was getting into! At 65 I had never been to a yoga class. Now I do Bikram yoga every day...

In 7 months of daily practice, here is what Bikram yoga has done for me:

My fibromyalgia symptoms of pain and fatigue have been significantly reduced. I used to be in pain just walking up the stairs for class. I didn't even realize I was in so much pain until I realized the stairs weren't hurting anymore. My knees are well on their way to pain-free. This absence of pain where I've become so used to it feels like euphoria to me.
My mood is improved.
Carpel tunnel syndrome is gone.
The shoulder I fractured and dislocated in 2017 has regained almost full range of motion. I had tried physical therapy for this injury and it was just too painful. The heat and the stretching really did it!
My balance and posture have vastly improved.
I've lost body fat and gained muscle tone.
I enjoy deeper, more refreshing sleep. I'm able to fall asleep faster and when I sleep have vivid dreams.
For the first time in my life, I feel able to breathe myself into a state of relaxation.
Food tastes better. Water even tastes better. All my senses are heightened, in a good way. I have a feeling of general well-being all the time.
My empathy and compassion for others is stronger, too.
I've made many interesting, warm and loving yoga friends in the BYSJ community. This place is so much my home away from home that I commute over 1 hour from across town every day to come to class.
I've learned an incredibly valuable lesson about moderation. I'm the kind of person where I throw myself "full throttle" into everything I do. So when I started I was coming to yoga twice a day. I would push myself so hard in class that I was repeatedly getting severe muscle cramps that would knock me to the floor. I was drinking gallons of water before, during and after class. I would have to sit in my car for a long time after a session, waiting to feel normal enough to drive. It took one especially bad day and a lot of guidance from my yoga teachers, but I now practice in a more sustainable way. I come to class once a day and I'm much more moderate with my water intake during class. I rest when I need to and I also try to do the postures with less strain. These days I can stand up after my final savasana, shower and drive off right away feeling fine. I am now applying the same moderation and respect for my body in my daily activities outside of yoga. This is huge!

I wanted to share my story especially for other people with fibromyalgia who think there is no answer besides expensive medications with tons of terrible side effects. For me, Bikram yoga gives me relief of my symptoms without all of that other stuff, and it makes my life better in so many other ways too. You've got to give it a try!

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6 Reasons to Do Your Bikram Yoga This Summer

8/2/2018

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With temperatures in the 90s this week, summer is definitely here! Are you wondering whether it makes sense to turn the heat up even more by coming to hot yoga class? You may be asking yourself if you even have the energy for it. Your friends and fam may be looking at you funny if you mention where you're headed when the thermometer outside is reaching the triple digits... So is it worth it? Short answer= YES. Here are just a few reasons it is:

Better acclimate to the heat outside: Your body cools itself most effectively through sweat evaporating off our skin's surface. That means when you leave the yoga room, the outside air will feel cooler than inside! If you practice often, you may even notice that outside heat doesn’t bother you as much as it used to!
Cope more effectively with sweltering weather: During your yoga class, you practice using appropriate coping tools for handling heat- mindful breathing through the nose to keep your nervous system calm, and sitting or lying down to lower your heart rate as needed.
Go deeper: Consistent practice is key to maintaining all the results you achieved during the winter. In summer your muscles, joints and ligaments will already be warm when you enter the studio, so it's likely you'll feel more flexible and can go deeper into the postures. Capitalize on that to make further gains in your joint range of motion, core strength and spinal mobility.
Encourage healthy habits: Bikram yoga will definitely make it clear to you if you're not making the greatest decisions about water and food! Taking class regularly will encourage you to stay well-hydrated and replenish your electrolytes, especially sodium (salt) and potassium. Warmer weather means we all need to hydrate better, so if you're doing Bikram yoga you'll really need to stay on top of it- and you'll get many benefits from doing so!
Shape up for summer recreation: Make time for your yoga practice and enjoy increased endurance for running, biking, pushing a stroller, hiking, or playing other sports outdoors. Building strength and flexibility as you do in class is always helpful too!
Energize: We’ve all had days when the heat makes us feel sleepy and we can’t be bothered to exercise or even get off of that beach towel. But you know: yoga class is a gas station! Committing to regular summer practice will reenergize and save you from that sluggish summer feeling and give you quality time to focus on yourself.

Exercise scientists have been researching the benefits you may already be experiencing! Here's a study that explores how “Exercising in the Heat May Improve Athletic Performance in Cool and Hot Conditions.”

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POTM: Standing Head to Knee pose/ Dandayamana Janushirasana

8/1/2018

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As Bikram yoga teachers, so many students tell us this one is their "nemesis!" And we get it. SHTK not only requires you to use a ton of physical strength and stamina to develop your own flexibility, it also calls upon 110% of your will power, integrity and mental fortitude to stick with it, try the right way and not give up. The good news is, by using those aspects of your body and of your character you are building them up, and they (like this posture) will only get better with practice.

Health benefits include:

Raises heart rate to improve cardiovascular fitness
Tones legs muscles, especially inner thighs and quadriceps
Stretches hamstrings, shoulders lower back
Improves abdominal strength
Interlocked finger grip strengthens fingers and hands
Locking the knee strengthens the muscles which support the knee joint
Promotes self discipline, determination, concentration, patience and faith

How to do:
Standing Head to Knee can be best understood by dividing it into a progression of stages or steps. Keep in mind that while we identify 4 main "steps" in the posture, there are a bazillion mini-steps along the way, and any one of the steps may take you weeks, months or years to master. For example, between grabbing your foot and locking both knees, you may find your maximum expression of the posture somewhere in-between for quite some time. No worries: as long as you try the right way and you don't give up, that's the ultimate destination!

Step 1: Grab your foot. Shift your weight onto the standing leg and grab the (soon to be) kicking leg foot in front of you with all 10 fingers interlocked. Hold underneath the ball of the foot, about 3 inches below the toes. Don't lose this grip. Your kicking leg knee should be bent, the heel should be directly below the knee, and the thigh should be a bit above parallel to the floor. How high your thigh is will depend on your anatomy. Be sure your head is up so you can focus one point on your standing knee in the mirror, without straining the neck too much. Lock the knee to the best of your ability.*
Step 2: Kick. From Step 1, inhale and slowly, gently extend the kicking leg heal toward the mirror, keeping your toes turned back toward your face. Keep kicking the heel forward until your both knees are locked and your legs form an upside-down "L" shape. Don't lose your grip. Let your shoulders be pulled forward by the strength of your kick, and you will get a great stretch for your shoulder muscles in this 2nd step. The feeling should not be that your arms are holding up the leg- but rather that the kicking leg is pulling your shoulders forward. Note: You do not need to wait until your standing knee is locked before you begin to kick! In fact, if your standing knee has to bend a bit for you to achieve Step 1, kicking out even a little bit may actually allow you to lock it all the way. And it will definitely take some pressure out of your lower back.
Step 3: Bend your elbows. Only if both knees are locked and you can balance there comfortably, start to bend your elbows down toward the floor until your elbows touch your calf muscle. Try to get them to go below your calf muscle! This 3rd step stretches the hamstrings, shoulders and lower back a lot. Be sure not to lose your grip, and continuously keep kicking your heel toward the mirror while you bend your elbows down.
Step 4: Forehead to knee. In the beginners class, we only practice this step during the 2nd set of SHTK. If your elbows are touching your calf with both knees locked, slowly bring your body down, chest down, head down, round your spine to look at your stomach and touch your forehead on your knee. Shifting the focus of your eyes like this is supremely challenging! Be sure to keep kicking the kicking leg forward and locking both knees continuously to create a solid foundation.

*You want me to lock my knee??
Yes. But let's make sure you understand what we mean by that. In Bikram yoga, to "lock the knee" means 3 things: Straight leg (full extension of the knee joint) + thigh muscles (including quads) contracted + body weight even on the foot. Check out our post on the subject for more!

Eyes and abs!
Balancing on one foot is a big challenge for many beginners. Remember that your 2 best friends on your "balance team" are your abs and your eyes. So always keep your abdominal muscles pulled in firmly, and maintain your one point of focus on your standing knee throughout the posture.

Breathe normally
Breathing properly is key. If you’re working on Step 1, simply breath normally with an engaged core. If you are kicking out into Step 2, inhale slowly by the nose while you kick your leg forward. Take another deep inhale when your both knees are locked and exhale as you bend your elbows down for Step 3. Take another deep breath and slowly exhale again as you tuck your chin to your chest for Step 4. This focused breathing keeps you calm and maintains oxygen moving through your body to feed your muscles. It also assists with the stretching and rounding of your spine and ribs.

Enjoy!
Finally, the real secret to mastery of Standing Head to Knee is: attitude. Relish every step of the magical journey, because every step has something to offer your body, mind and soul. And more than anything, this posture demands that you activate and cultivate the connection between those! That's part of what makes it so tough, and that's also what makes it so... yoga.

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VIDEO: Interview with Teri Almquist on Bikram Yoga

8/1/2018

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Camel pose with Audrey!

Dan relieves fibromyalgia pain through his daily Bikram yoga practice.

6 Reasons to Do Your Bikram Yoga This Summer

POTM: Standing Head to Knee pose/ Dandayamana Janushirasana

VIDEO: Interview with Teri Almquist on Bikram Yoga

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