Back to Hot Yoga After a 3 Month Break

Fannie in her new sweater. Cold day in Texas but
 great day for Hot Yoga!
 

Returning to a Bikram practice after a 3 month absence is not easy! My body remembered the postures but holding them was harder to do. Luckily, the instructor for this class knew me and he offered some tips during the poses to get me back on track.

I did try and take it easy. I can't clamp my arms against my head in Half Moon anyway because I take it easy on my shoulder but I didn't push myself. Even so, by Standing Head to Knee pose, I was seeing spots in front of my eyes!

Right now though my body feels tired and its enjoying the good 90 minute stretch it got this morning. My goal is to go to class at least 4 days a week and, mixed with my tai chi practice, I think I will strike a good balance.

I'm especially excited to be returning to class because I've also started on a new Plexus health program to help me lose weight and get into better shape all around. I've already lost 1 and a half inches off my hips and waist just by using Plexus Block and I know that, combined with a good exercise program, I can expect to lose more inches.

Plexus offers several different healthy weight loss products like Slim, Boost and Accelerator but it's about more weight loss too. You can get vitamins, smoothie mixes, cleansing and probiotic products as well for overall good health. Doing the complete program has helped some of my friends lose weight, lower their blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, and improve diabetes and other health issues.

If you'd like to read more about Plexus and see the wonderful things it can offer for your health program, click here.

I know during the holidays probably isn't the best time to start a new health program, but then again, maybe it is. I didn't want to gain weight with all the holiday eating and I'll have my hot yoga practice working on me from the outside and Plexus products to help me from the inside. By January 1, I expect to see a big improvement in my overall health.

Bikram Yoga - Anecdote to Obamacare

How we spend a cold morning!

Are you one of the thousands who saw their insurance premiums and deductibles go sky high with the advent of Obamacare? I've been thinking that the only real answer here is to be so healthy you don't need a doctor. If you have a $5,000 deductible, spend a fraction of that going to hot yoga classes and, barring accidents, you may never need to spend all that money on healthcare.

The past 20 years or so, my entire health goal has been boost my immune system and be so healthy that I don't need medications as I get older. I was 63 yesterday and I need no cholesterol or blood pressure meds. I don't have diabetes. I'm not overweight. I've never had cancer or any serious health issues. Just a touch of arthritis in the joints and shoulder pain from a partial tear in my rotator cuff.

The current health care crisis really points out that, even with Obamacare, people may have insurance but they might not be able to afford to use it. Can they even afford the premiums? Of course many people will be forced onto Medicare or otherwise subsidized but what about the middle income people who may struggle already to pay bills?

I'm sure many out there would love to get a membership to their nearest Bikram yoga studio but might consider it a luxury. The studio I go to costs $99 a month for a regular membership. However, I can get a military or senior discount so it costs me $69 a month. The military discount is for all retired military and their dependents. Even $69 a month might be a stretch for those on a retirement budget or for students, etc. But what is your health worth to you? By spending that monthly fee, you might save yourself hundreds or thousands in medical costs over the years.

Hot yoga benefits include:

• losing weight, which helps all sorts of health issues including diabetes and blood pressure.
• increasing flexibility which will keep you off the arthritis medications
• improving balance which means you'll never fall and break a hip or anything else
• improves knee and hip health and flexibility so you won't need those parts replaced when you get older
• improves back issues which can be debilitating as you get older
• improves muscle strength, which helps also with balance and general body health
• improves energy
• improves sleep
• helps decrease stress, which is a huge factor in how well you age, as well as being a component in diseases such as cancer.

I could go on and on about the benefits of Bikram yoga. Is it hard? Yes! Do you feel great afterwards? Yes! Do you feel like you've really accomplished something? Definitely!

Of course there are  other components to good health, including diet, but when you're busting your buns in the hot yoga studio, you start feeling healthier and less stressed, this affects your food choices too. Maybe you'll even take up green smoothies or juicing:)You never know where your love of Bikram can take you.

So when you're weighing up those health care costs, consider spending a little more on wellness and saving those big bucks in insurance deductibles. A friend of mine from the studio says she considers hot yoga like medicine. You take it 4-5 times a week for good health. This woman, who is in her late 50's, was recently told she shows no signs of the heart disease she previously had - after 2 years of Bikram.

You'll look great and feel great after just a couple of weeks of visiting the hot yoga studio so if you've tried it and gave up, consider doing yourself a favor and going back. I did.

Hot Yoga - Starting Month 3 with a Colonscopy

I can't believe I'm already into my third month of Bikram yoga practice. It's been a real challenge, not just do get through the practice 4 times a week, but to make the time to show up. When I went to regular yoga classes at the local YMCA, it didn't seem very critical to make each class but I've found I really want to go to hot yoga and miss it on the days I don't go.

This week though, I'm facing another challenge which all boomers should consider. I've got my first colonoscopy scheduled for tomorrow morning. The standard advice is to get one when you're 50 and then every 10 years after that. I've managed to avoid it until now but my doctor finally talked me into it.

 My husband has colon cancer in his family so he's had 2 colonoscopies to date, both clear. I used to be a surgical technician and even in the 1980's. A surgeon once told me that if people ate a better diet, it could eliminate colon cancer. This was back in the 1980's when almost no one talked about diet as a way to avoid cancer.

For the past 20 years, I've been the poster girl for avoiding colon cancer. I eat lots of fruits and veggies, get plenty of exercise (10% of colon cancer cases can be linked to lack of exercise), eat less and less red meat as time goes by and avoid unhealthy fats in my diet. Whenever we read about a certain vitamin or food which helps protect us from colon cancer, we start using it, because of my husband's history. I never felt like I needed a colonoscopy.

Still, my doctor kept bugging me, which is his job, and although I avoid using medications and practice holistic health, I do think we should take advantage of screening tests when they are available, especially as we get older.

Anyway, today I am doing the full liquid diet and have to drink lots of disgusting prep stuff, which my husband tells me isn't too bad. Then tomorrow morning at 6 am I go to the hospital so I can be first in line. I'm not nervous about having it done since the drugs are good now and I won't even remember it, it's just inconvenient and I won't get to go back to hot yoga until, hopefully Wednesday. I plan to do a good detox after the procedure to get the medications out of my system so my head will be clear by the day after.

What do hot yoga and colonoscopies have in common? Both are something extremely important to health and wellness, I think.

I've been using the Hot Yoga Doctor's tip about not wiping the sweat from my hands and instead, focusing on building strength in my fingers and it's working great! Besides some of my poses improving, the arthritis type pain in my hands and fingers is diminishing.

Stay tuned for my favorite green smoothie recipe - a sure fire way to protect yourself from colon cancer.

If you would like lots of useful hot yoga tips delivered to your email, go to the Hot Yoga Doctor's Homepage and sign up for Gabrielle's free newsletter.

Third Bikram Class and Counting

I turned a flower bed into a greens garden.

I did my third Bikram yoga class on Friday. I skipped Thursday as that's my tai chi class morning and I had lots of aches and pains from the previous workouts so I thought my body needed a little break to recover. They say Bikram works every part of your body and I can tell that's true because I think every muscle in my body hurt on Thursday!

Tai chi class was nice and relaxing though and a good stretch. On Thursdays is the beginner class so it kind of flows by easily, while my Sunday class is advanced so it takes more concentration and focus. I've been practicing tai chi for nearly 4 years and my practice has evolved over time. Tai chi has three levels, physical, mental and spiritual. I have made it to the mental level a few times but it takes patience and practice.

I've realized as I've gotten older that anything we want to benefit from takes takes patience and practice and I am going to be patient with myself when it comes to hot yoga class too.

On Friday, the instructor was also very helpful and there were several very new people in the class. My main trouble spots are my neck and my knees, plus my lower back was feeling a bit tender from the week's previous work outs.

I know the best thing to do is find the balance between making an effort and experiencing pain. I've been reading the forum on the Hot Yoga Doctor, plus I downloaded many of her free ebooks, which give great tips on how to get the most out of the poses. The 7 Keys to Hot Yoga and the download on relieving and preventing back pain were invaluable to someone like me who is just starting out.

The deep breathing exercises are really helping my lungs. I was told a few years ago that I have "chronic bronchitis" and when any doctor tells me I have a health issue, instead of asking what drug I can take, I start researching what natural things I can do. For my lungs, deep breathing is one of the natural things I can do to keep from ending up carrying around an oxygen tank when I'm old. I also eat tons of greens in my green smoothies so I am getting the best nutrition to support my lung health.

Good health tip: This fall, my husband and I planted a fall garden for the first time. The picture above is a small flower bed in my back yard that is now loaded with Swiss Chard, Mustard greens, parsley and other nutritious and fresh veggies. I go out each morning and pick a handful to put into our green smoothies. What a treat!

The third hot yoga class was easier than the two previous classes, although by the end, I was dragging a bit. On Saturday, I was still having some body aches but I'm looking forward to my next class on Monday.

Has doing yoga changed the way you eat? I know I don't have as much stress and being good to my body in yoga class does away with the need for my afternoon glass of wine, that's for sure.