The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Practicing at Home or Travelling? › Are there any positions that MUST be done with heat?
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Practicing at Home or Travelling? › Are there any positions that MUST be done with heat?
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Hi, I’m going to be traveling thru Europe soon and I want to keep up my yoga. I’ll probably be doing it by myself in parks and such. I know many Bikram poses should not be done without the heat, but which ones can be? Does anyone have a traveling yoga prescription?
Thanks!
There are tons of post about practice on the road or at home 🙂 I think the point is not so much about the external heat but just your BODY be warmed up. This will happen through the series itself as well as doing your own warm up before you start. You can throw down some sun salutations or even something similar to an aerobic warmup. You should have no worries keeping up while your away :coolsmile:
Anonymous
GuestApril 28, 2010 at 2:35 amPost count: 98If I’m not mistaken, Bikram derived his sequence from a Hatha yoga practice. Hatha yoga is not done in a heated environment. Now, each yoga discipline might do the actual pose form slightly differently from another, such as tree pose (some disciplines have you place your foot on the side of your leg; others have you put your foot sole upwards on your thigh) but the essentials are the same.
So, I think that if you want to do the Bikram’s sequence on your own but not in heat, it would be fine. The heat assists your muscles in warming up making them easier to stretch. So you may not find the same depth of pose. On the other hand, you won’t be working against the heat, so the poses may be easier.
Regardless, I think that you can do the Bikram’s sequence in a park without any worries. None of his poses are “heat only” poses. They are safe to do in an unheated room, just listen to your body and focus on form without worrying that you may not go as deeply into the pose as you do in a hot room. And above all, have fun both with your trip and with your yoga!
The heat assists your muscles in warming up making them easier to stretch. So you may not find the same depth of pose. On the other hand, you won’t be working against the heat, so the poses may be easier.
I’ve done the full 26 & 2 sequence while traveling many times and Freiamaya is right on track. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. I find the shifting in balance between strength and flexibility quite interesting.Lee
Hi Robyn
Some great pointers in there for you. You can really string anything together. I find that some Pranayama and a set or 2 of Half Moon are essential for feeling present and then maintaining flexibility (4 directions in the pose). After that do what feels good and mix it up. Sometimes you’ll want to do something strong like Triangle and Standing Bow, Cobra, Camel and then Twist. Other times you’ll leave it there. Or you’ll mix in a Downward Facing Dog and some Wind Removing pose.
If you’re backpacking you may want to do a lot more backbends than forward bends!
And sometimes you’ll just want to lie there and look at the sky (Savasana) 😉
Have a wonderful trip
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂And sometimes you’ll just want to lie there and look at the sky (Savasana) 😉
That reminds me of something I learned on one trip. If you are practicing outside be careful about your focus. I got locked onto some clouds during the back bend in half moon and suddenly found myself going much further back than I should have.
Lee
Oh yes Lee, I totally agree.
If you are practicing outside it is quite possible to lose your orientation because of the absence of a fixed point or defined area in poses such as backbends. It doesn’t always happen but it is worth paying attention to what happens and adjust your practice accordingly!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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