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Blah Blah Blah Bikram Blog….Afraid of the Heat?

Bikram Yoga is known as the Fountain of Youth because it targets each bodily system providing amazing therepuetic benefit as the student moves through the Bikram series of specific yoga poses (asanas).

Bikram Yoga is always performed in a heated environment. Does the Heat Element Scare You?

Many do not realize the magnitude of the benefits Bikram Yoga provides nor do they understand exactly how it works because the heat factor scares them away. There is a whole education behind the power of the Bikram series and why everybody should be practicing Bikram Yoga as their baseline to cross train with other disciplines.

Why the Heat? Why the SAME asanas over and over again? Why 90 MInutes?

Lets tackle those questions one by one but first lets discuss how the body functions and what it needs to function properly.

Blood is the life force energy delivery system for our body. Our Circulatory System is the engine that keeps our bodies running. Our heart pumps our blood through the main arteries but relies on the smaller micro vessel pumping action that can reach out to even the most remote areas of the human body. Moving blood through stagnant areas farthest away from our heart is critical to keep the body healthy, and prevent and alieviate ailments/disease.

Our Respitory System and our Digestive System aid in providing the nutrients and the oxygen that deposit into our red blood cells and “hitch a ride” if you will, to bring oxygen and nutrients to all of the cells in every organ, every muscle and every gland!

Age and lifestyle factors play a role in how effective our circulatory system is in providing this essential blood flow. As we age and everything slows down so does the vasodilation and vasocontraction (pumping capacity) of our smaller vessels and micro vessels.

Enter Bikram Yoga!

WHY THE SAME POSTURES EVERY TIME / EVERY CLASS?

Bikram Choudhury did not invent Yoga. There were 84 Yoga Asanas already in existence before his time. Many provide great stretches, many provide beneficial upper body strength, and many provide a meditation aspect, but only 26 give you the greatest therapuetic benefit for moving nutrient rich, oxygenated blood at high speeds to the most remote areas of your body.

Bikram “plucked out” these amazing 26 postures out of the original 84 and put them all into one series to afford individuals the greatest bang for their buck EVERY CLASS.   The standard of care differs between yoga classes and yoga instructors in most yoga classes out there because the poses are determined by the individual instructor. The classes are always different and while the variety is nice and there will certainly be some benefit, the benefit may not be as great if you are looking to consistently work your body on a cellular level to restore youth. Bikram Yoga is standardized and every Bikram Yoga teacher was trained by Bikram Choudhury himself. Additionally, optimizing Nutrient rich blood flow to stagnent areas is the foundation of the Bikram Yoga series and remains consistent with the standardization of the poses and strategic order. The consistency of the same asanas also affords one the ability to gauge their progress.

WHY THE HEAT ?

Ahhhhh , this is the biggest factor for deterence to a new student. Most people know that heat has been used for centuries for therepuetic relief. Think Heating pads, hot tubs, steam rooms and saunas. But did you know that the heat increases your cardiovascular health? Think about how your heart rate goes up even when you just “sit” in a steam room or a sauna.
The heat causes Vasodilation of the blood vesses so that a greater amount of blood can move through them accelerating the therapuetic benefits.

This gets even better. The specific 26 yoga asanas that Bikram picked out of the original 84 are all based on a tourniquet effect of compression and release. First by COMPRESSION (cutting off the blood supply ) – then RELEASE  (opening up the floodgates to allow the nutrient rich oxygenated blood supply to flow in an explosion like fashion right back to the area just compressed.)  Think kinking a hose to stop the water but leaving the water on. It continues to flow but gets backed up by the kink. That backed up water becomes highly pressurized, hense comes out more forcefully once you unkink the hose.

WHY 90 Minutes, Isn’t a 60 Minute class sufficient?

A 90 Minute class gives you the full prescription and while a 60 minute class is better than nothing, in the 90 Minute class you get BOTH sets of every posture. The first set warms the body and moves you into proper alignment, the second affords one to move into depth and gain the most benefit .

The standing series itself is a full 50 minutes and by the end of that 50 minutes ones heart rate, metabolic rate, and core temperature are at ideal levels for enabling healing and physiological and mental changes.

The Floor Series is a full 40 minutes and continues the healing process which is accelerated because of the heat. Our core temperature remains the same even though the heart rate and the metabolic rate lowers.

Included in the floor series are Savasanas after every set of every pose. Savasana means stillness. Stillness of the physical body and stillness of the mind. The 90 minute class allows for ample timing of this “rest” period. It’s based on the Tabata formula. Its in Savasana where one releases out of the tourniquet posture giving the body that new oxygen supply that it needs so desperately to keep the body systems functioning properly as we age.

Think of the 90 minute class as medicine. While you will get benefit from taking part of your penicillin prescription, you get the greatest results from finishing the entire prescription. Here’s what the entire 90 minute class provides over the popular water downed version of 60 minutes:

First off, I still hear Bikram saying, “I hate lazy people” and while many opt for the 60 minute version based on time restraint, many, as Bikram would say are just lazy.

I do recommend the 60 minute class for very new beginners to give them a taste of the postures and an understanding of the benefits, but regular practitioners who practiced the 90minute class for years should only be opting for the 60 minutes on occassion due to time restaints.

Hope the heat seems less daunting now that you understand the huge benefit of doing specific yoga asanas (Bikram Yoga)  in the heat. After a few classes I assure you that you will begin to embrace the heat and even crave it!

Hope to see you in the hot room soon!

Namaste`

Bla, Bla Blah…Bikram Blog: #teamfuckcancer Fundraising Event Success due to GIVERS

Bikram Yoga El Paseo is a Yoga Community of GIVERS! Our Yoga Studio’s focus is truly on the health and well being of our students, our teachers and of the greater community.

Last night was truly a testament to our philosophy and a demonstration of coming together for the support of another. We hosted a fundraising event that was extremely successful due to the Love and Camaraderie and the true giving nature of the attendees.

Life has a way of throwing you curve balls and one of the worst is when you hear that another person has been diagnosed with Cancer. When that person is one of your own the magnitude of that diagnosis is heart wrenching.

Bikram Yoga El Paseo Community has been devastated to get the news that one of our most amazing, loving GIVING Yogis, Zabe McKibban has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer that has now metastasized to her lungs and to her brain. She is undergoing radiation treatment at Eisenhower Hospital in Rancho Mirage, California and is fighting the fight of her life!

ZABE   MC KIBBAN

Just a few weeks back I viewed a beautiful expose` that involved a Millionaire that routinely gives away $100 bills to homeless and those in need just before Christmas. This Christmas he added a new twist on to his tradition. Instead him passing these bills out himself he devised a plan to have a homeless man do the good deed.

How would the reactions differ from passers by if instead of a well to do, well dressed, successful business man handing  them a $100 bill…… a homeless man did?

The Millionaire, who to this day remains anonymous, enlisted a man named Lucas. Lucas is a homeless man that Mr. Millionaire took a liking to. Lucas is an African American Male that was missing several teeth but has a smile and a personality that could easily draw one in. Dressed in old ripped unclean clothes and finding the offer a little daunting, Lucas accepted the task.

With hidden cameras, the world watched as passers by either ignored or engaged with Lucas.
Shouting, “God Bless” to those who didn’t give him the time of day, and handing out $100 bills to those who stopped and threw some change into his cup.

Imagine the shock of those who received the $100 bills. The most poignant from a man who was barely making it in his own life. A man who had 5 children and couldn’t afford Christmas presents but threw in all his change from the bottom of his pocket.

After donating to Lucas’ cup, Lucas tried to hand the man a $100 bill. The man threw up his hands and stated, “I cannot accept that, you keep it.” Lucas again tried to give the man the money, and again was met with refusal. As the two began to engage in a greater dialogue of conversation, Lucas learned that the man was grateful that he had a job, that he could put food on the table and that the family would be together on Christmas. With that Lucas took more hundred dollar bills out of his pocket and now offered the man $500 for gifts for his children.

The man was now overwhelmed and confused. He learned about the task at hand and he began to cry.

When Lucas was interviewed at the end of the task he was told that he changed a lot of lives especially the man with five children. “No,” Lucas stated “the life that was changed the most was MINE.” Lucas never had the opportunity to GIVE and realized the power of giving over receiving!

Yes the millionaire gave Lucas money to keep as well but Lucas realized the gift of money paled in comparison to how he felt when he gave out to others.

Thank You BIKRAM YOGA PALM DESERT EL PASEO , BLISS CHAKRA SPA and the Greater Community that filled our Yoga studio with a room full of GIVERS!

Near and far people came and donated food, raffle prizes and generous monetary donations BUT mostly they filled a room full of LOVE!

Hope to see you back in the yoga room, taking care of yourself so you can continue to help and give back to others!

Namaste`

HaPpY HaPpY New Year! 30 Day Challenge starts JAN 7th (You can start anytime Jan 7-14!) #teamfuckcancer Meditation Sound Bath – January 6th at 5:30pm Donation Based!~ Open to the Public

Help Support our Zabe McKibban Cancer Fund!

#TEAMFUCKCANCER Zabe McKibban Tibetan Bowl Sound Bath Fundraiser – SUNDAY, JAN 6th at 5:30pm

We are OPEN Christmas Day for a very special 9am Gratitude Class to celebrate with our Yoga Family! Please stay for refreshments or stop by for some holiday cheer at 10:30am if you will not be at class! Mark your calendars for our Special Fundraising Event to support one of our own as she battles through Cancer Treatment.