The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Hot Yoga Facts
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After 12 months of nearly daily Bikram practice, I have noticed two ways that my body seems to react differently to temperatures outside the hot room – and I want to see if others have had similar experiences.
The first seems to be good – I have become very efficient at sweating and cooling down when I am exercising. In spin class where we work to our target heart rates for 60 minutes, my shirt is soaked is sweat to the point where I start to get chilled – when others are asking for more AC. So I guess it’s good that I am now efficiently cooling.
I live in the cold north of Chicago and this winter for the first time I have noticed that I seem to be more susceptible to cold temperatures. Even when I am dressed warmly in hat, coat and gloves, I get cold more easily in the freezing temperatures. And weirdly, blood circulation to my fingers and toes seems to shut down – so that they turn white and numb. And then it will take 20 minutes or more once I am inside for the circulation to return and the numbness to go away. Could my hot Yoga be contributing to that? I never experienced this until this winter.
Anyone else notice similar changes?
in reply to: Perspectives from a Student #10264[strong]THE ART OF SHAVASANA[/strong]
We hear throughout the Bikram Dialogue that one of the most important “pose” is the Shavasana rest we take for two minutes midway through the 90 minutes and then for 20 seconds between each pose and set. And most instructors do a good job of filling that time and our ears with all the reasons why Shavasana is so important to the practice.
But I think most instructors miss an opportunity at the end of the 90 minutes to help students make the most of the final Shanvasana. It seems like most of the instructors spend about 15 seconds reinforcing that last important rest and then hurry out the door leaving students to finish on their own.
I do try to make the most of that time, but is seems like many of the students quickly pack up and chase the instructor out the door – completely missing the value of those extra few minutes. When I practiced in Australia at the South Melbourne Bikram studio, (http://www.bikramyogasm.com.au/), most students there seemed to be more advanced than at my studio in Chicago (http://www.bikramyogaburrridge.com/). I am used to opening my eyes to an empty practice room after about three minutes of Shavasana at my home studio – but I noticed that most of the Melbourne students were still relaxing and getting the benefits of the rest at that point – suggesting that [em]it is the more advanced student who understands the value of the last rest and takes the time for it. [/em]
ITS MEDITATION.
One technique that a really good instructor can do is to guide students through that resting pose more – it is a meditative pose, and many students don’t know how to do that. A guided rest walks students through how they should be breathing. Some instructors will walk through the major body sections suggesting that students focus on relaxing that part as they concentrate on the breath. “Feel the floor pushing against your feet. Relax your feet as you breath. Now think about your calves. Breath in, breath out. Relax. Now think about your thighs…” etc.Another great suggestion that I have used is to count backwards from 10 or 20 with each “in” breath. This meditation technique helps to clear the mind and also helps a student relax and stay the extra couple of minutes that are so helpful to the body.
I’d be interested in techniques other instructors or students have used to make the most of their Shavasana.
in reply to: Perspectives from a Student #10207[strong]Bikram Teacher Styles[/strong]
I have always thought it interesting that Bikram’s dialogue and regimented poses were designed to provide a consistent experience for students wherever they take a Bikram class. Yet each teacher delivers a slightly unique class experience based on how they emphasize different parts of the dialogue. And that is a good thing. My studio purposely changes the teacher schedules day by day so that students are exposed to as many different instructors as possible.
One key difference I have found among teachers is the tendency to “call out” students by name – recognizing good poses and correcting errors when observed. Some teachers do this all the time, so that the session is full of specific corrections and recognition of students. Other teachers simply do their version of the dialogue and make general comments about how to do the poses correctly without ever calling out a specific student.
Which style is better? For me, the teacher that calls out specific students delivers a class that is superior to the teacher who only makes general comments. Why? Even if I am never “called out” in a class by the teacher, if other students are being named, then I know that the teacher is watching us – is noting when we are doing poses well or when we need correction. And that makes me perform better – to try to be more exact in my own poses. If an instructor simply goes through the dialogue, then they might as well play a recording of the dialogue and stay out of the heat! I like to know that my efforts are being observed. My poses get better when an instructor provides specific direction to me. And, yes, it makes my day when an instructor notices that I am doing a pose well and announces that.
The best teachers tune into their class – learn the names of their students, and make each class unique by identifying good and not-as-good performances by their students. And they expand the dialogue to help us understand why we do what we do in those poses.
What type of teacher are you? Or what do you like best in Bikram instructors? What makes one teacher better than others for you?
in reply to: Perspectives from a Student #10202[strong]How Will You Know It’s Working II[/strong]
I was trying to analyze my own compulsion for doing Bikram five or more times per week. After all – it isn’t an entirely pleasant experience. It’s hot and exhausting,and it takes up a lot of time – probably 2.5 hours per session all in. So where does the “addiction” come from? I already related that feel-good experience of stretching in my last post.
So I came up with an analogy for that “addictive” feeling. I don’t want to seem gross or crude, but I kind of liken it to a daily bowl movement. (Sorry!) You know how you feel when you are slightly constipated? You aren’t in pain or real discomfort, but something is just “off” in your body and it bugs you throughout the day. So you have this compulsion for fixing that feeling (and we know how that is fixed).
I think practicing Bikram most days is like that – when I practice, I feel really good – super “normal”. And when I haven’t practiced, especially for 2-3 days, I feel “irregular”. So I have this compulsion to get back in the hot room and right my body once again. And when I do, I feel great again. “Normal” again.
I guess that’s not a bad lot in life when you consider how really good hot yoga is for your body!
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