What is Bikram yoga? It is a relatively new form of yoga and it is not included in the six traditional forms of yoga, but it is becoming so popular it deserves a very special mention.
Bikram yoga was developed by Bikram Choudhury. It takes place in a room that is at 105F with a humidity of about 40%. There are 26 postures and two types of breathing exercises.
Bikram yoga is more about detoxifying the body rather than reaching some sort of spiritual enlightenment. By forcing the body to sweat profusely, toxins are eliminated through the skin.
Additionally, the extra warmth makes the body more flexible, which helps prevent injury, relieves stress, and helps aid in deeper stretching.
Some people oppose Bikram yoga because it defeats the very principles of yoga. It has been heavily commercialized, and its creators protect it by copyright.
Hopefully this helps to answer the question "What is Bikram yoga?"
Showing posts with label bikram yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bikram yoga. Show all posts
Monday, August 15, 2011
Thursday, September 04, 2008
My Experience with Bikram Yoga
Everyone has heard of yoga and knows of it as a series of postures to stretch and rejuvenate your body. What is Bikram yoga and what differentiates it from other forms of yoga?
Bikram yoga is a specific style of yoga founded by Bikram Choudhury. Bikram yoga is often referred to as hot yoga as it is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees with a humidity of 50%.
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. The practice of asanas improve flexibility and tendon strength.
Asanas are meant to be done in conjunction with pranayama or breathing work. Breathing should be through the nose and 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.
------------------------
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 hottes fitness trends.
Bikram yoga is a specific style of yoga founded by Bikram Choudhury. Bikram yoga is often referred to as hot yoga as it is practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees with a humidity of 50%.
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. The practice of asanas improve flexibility and tendon strength.
Asanas are meant to be done in conjunction with pranayama or breathing work. Breathing should be through the nose and 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.
------------------------
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 hottes fitness trends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)