What if I am a new student?
What if I am not flexible?
Why the heat?
How does Bikram Yoga Work?
I feel nauseous and dizzy during class and tired after my first class. Is this normal?
With a proper diet is Bikram yoga good for weight loss?
How many times a week is it recommended to practise?
Every class is beginner friendly; you advance at your own pace. Each class is 90 minutes in duration. Arrive 15 minutes early to fill out registrations form. No need to book! Eat lightly 2 hours before class. We recommend a piece of fruit if you are still hungry close to class time. Water, water and more water! Drink plenty of water before the class. (2-3 litres before an evening class). Bring a large bottle of water (we sell bottled water: small for $2, large is $3). Bring a large towel, preferably bath towel size (we rent them for $2) Bring a yoga mat (we rent them for $1, we sell them for $40) What To Wear - Ladies: wear lycra sports shorts, athletic bra tops, leotard.
This is the most common misconception that prevents people from coming to a yoga class. But yoga is not about how flexible you are. It is about stretching your body and spine in all directions. All that matters is that you try the right way, go to your personal "edge" and you will get 100% of the benefit.
Muscles, fascia and connective tissue become elastic allowing for greater flexibility with less chance of injury. Promotes sweating, which assists the detoxification process using the body's largest eliminating organ, the skin. Blood becomes thinner, which clears the circulatory system. When the body is between three and five degrees above normal temperature, T cell output from the thymus gland is multiplied 20 fold. T cells fight infection, which in turn keeps the immune system functioning properly. Warmer temperatures produce a fluid like stretch that allows for greater range of motion in the joints. Heart rate becomes elevated which improves the cardiovascular system (heart and lungs). Warm muscles burn fat more effectively. When we stretch, the fat has no room to sit so it redistributes to the blood stream, which we then use as energy. Capillaries respond to heat by dilating. This allows oxygen to muscles, tissues, glands and organs helping the removal of waste products. Higher temperatures improve the function of the nervous system, meaning that messages are carried more rapidly to and from the brain or spinal cord (you think more clearly). Allows oxygen in the blood to detach from the haemoglobin more easily. When blood passes through warm muscles, oxygen releases more easily from the haemoglobin. Blood passing through cold muscles releases less oxygen. Improves strength because proteins can be utilised more effectively. Speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids. Provides strengthening of willpower, self-control and determination.
By the tourniquet effect: stretching, balancing (using gravity), and creating pressure all at the same time. The blood supply in arteries and veins is being cut off, creating pressure. When released, a lock gate effect is created, causing blood to rush through veins and arteries, flushing them out. Also, pressure is applied to the heart by its relative position to the rest of the body.
It is not unusual to feel nauseous or dizzy during your first class. Practicing yoga in a heated room reveals to us our present condition, and inspires us take much better care of ourselves.
Usually the problem is that we do not drink enough water for daily living, let alone for exercising in a heated room. Nutritionists tell us that we need 2 litres of water a day to help the body function properly.
In the heated yoga room, your body needs adequate fund of water to allow perspiration to release heat from the body as you practice. So we estimate you need another 1 litre (sometime during the day) to allow for your 90 minutes in the room. Once you are drinking enough water your body will tolerate the heat better and you will actually enjoy the heat.
If you feel disoriented or like you need a good nap after your first few classes, this is likely because your body has begun to cleanse itself as a result of the yoga practice. Don't be scared. After the first few classes this sensation will pass. The more you can relax as you give your 110% honest effort during class, the more energized you will feel throughout the class and throughout the rest of your day.
A minimum of 10 classes per month is recommended to get the benefits of Bikram yoga, among which is weight normalization. As a beginner, it takes three classes for your body to understand the proper approach to the posture, and ten classes for your body to begin to work with postures. You will realize optimisation of all your body systems. Digestion and respiration, as well as endocrine, lymphatic and elimination systems will begin to work harmoniously. Your appetite will normalize, and your unhealthy cravings will diminish. All of these results will help to normalize your weight if you devote yourself to regular practice, at least, but preferably more than 3 times per week.
In the beginning, do the Full Class religiously each day for two months until you are performing all but the very difficult poses such as the Standing Bow Pulling and Stretching Pose eighty percent correctly. If you are restricted by any medical condition or have any chronic disease, you should continue daily until your condition is resolved.
Even when your progress is measured in fractions of inches that add excellence to what is already good, rather than in bold strokes, like being able to balance on one leg for ten seconds, you should continue your Yoga practice daily.
When you are performing ninety percent of the postures ninety percent correctly, you should still not feel complacent about doing your Yoga. Doing this Hatha Yoga class every day is like everything else you do in your life that is good for maintaining life. You don't plan to give up doing those things because of the daily benefit you receive.