Bikram Yoga -Why I Decided Not to Give Up

Can't believe I've been going to Bikram yoga classes for nearly 6 months! I haven't had a chance to

Rocky the Rescue Kitty is helping me with my blog

catch up with my blog in a while but wonderful changes have been taking place in my practice.

I must confess though, I nearly quit hot yoga two different times in this 6 months. Going to class 4 times a week requires a big time commitment since the classes are 90 minutes long. I have to get there about 25 minutes early to get a good spot in the second row (I wear glasses so I can't see myself very well in the mirror if I'm further back-lol) After class, I come home and take a shower so most of my morning is tied up in going to class.

I decided not to quit hot yoga but sometimes I admit I do need a break from the regimen. Last week I only went twice and the other days, I did some of the workout at home and worked on my tai chi, which has been sadly neglected since I started Bikram.

In those few days, I resolved to just stop going and do other things with my time-like clean the house! Why did I go back? Well, one of the main reasons I started hot yoga was because I have some sort of mysterious nerve condition which causes tingling in my body 24/7. Sometimes it's better and sometimes worse, but it's always there. After a few weeks of Bikram though, I realized that I wasn't feeling the tingling hardly at all, at least it wasn't so bad I was noticing it all the time. After 5 days of not going to class, the tingling returned with a vengeance! Back to class I went.

Still, there are so many other benefits to going that it is very addictive. I've lost some inches without dieting at all, and at my age that is a very hard thing to do!

I"m get comments all the time from people who have known me a while that I'm looking good! My skin glows and it's really smooth and healthy looking. I'm slimmer and people want to know if I've lost weight. My neighbor down the street told me he and his wife really admire my commitment. They are about my age and walk their dog daily but don't do much else for exercise. When people ask you what you're doing that's making you look glowing and healthy, it's great.

I feel so much better too and that feeling would be hard to give up if I stopped going to hot yoga class. I feel lighter and more flexible. My core is stronger. I feel proud of myself for each little gain in any of the postures. Bikram actually makes me feel younger!

As to the Bikram postures. I can get my foot straight out about a third of the time on the standing head to knee pose. With the spine strengthening poses, I can keep my feet and legs glued together now too. So many little advances in each and every pose but still a long way to go.

I guess the great thing about Bikram yoga is that you start to look and feel better after only a couple weeks of class so it isn't like a diet where you lose a pound a week and struggle daily to maintain.

At this rate, I guess I won't ever be able to give up going to hot yoga class until I'm about 95. That gives me 33 more years to perfect my poses:)

Bikram Yoga - Month 5 - How I Almost Quit Hot Yoga

Yes, I'm still doing my Bikram yoga classes, about 4 a week, although I did take a week off a while back due to a shoulder injury. My right shoulder has been giving me problems for a couple of years and it seemed like in the past couple of months, the pain had gotten worse. Could it be the hot yoga?

I checked with my chiropractor, who is working on my shoulder, and she said yoga should be all right. However, the pain continued. For help, I turned to the Hot Yoga Doctor forum, where you can get answers to all your questions about hot yoga practice.

I posted on the forum about my shoulder injury and asked if any of the postures, or how I was doing them, could be aggravating it. I got an immediate reply back from the Hot Yoga Doctor herself, Gabrielle Scanlon. She asked me some further questions and then suggested I view her video on shoulder and neck issues, which I did.



I use this shoulder ice pack each night

This great hot yoga video gave me just the answer I needed, not only for my Bikram class but for everyday life. It was that I needed to rotate my shoulders up and back while standing in savasana. I now try to stand this way all the time. My chiropractor told me this posture takes the pressure off my rotator cuff, which was causing the pain.

My chiropractor suggested a great treatment for my shoulder injury, which is to ice it each night. I started out by using a plastic bag filled with ice and just moved it around on my shoulder and arm. Then I purchased the great shoulder ice pack at the left. My daughter used to use one like it when she pitched on a college softball team. It works great!

Now in month 5 of my practice, I'm enjoying Bikram more than ever. I am burning calories, I know. Although I'm not losing any more weight or inches since the first couple of months, I am staying the same, fitting into those size 6 jeans, without watching what I eat at all. Now mind you, I eat healthy 90% of the time, but if I want an extra treat now and then, or we go out to dinner, I don't really have to worry about the calories as long as I go to practice.

If you have questions about Bikram or your practice, simply go to the Hot Yoga Doctor website and sign up - it's all free. The Hot Yoga Doctor also offers a free email newsletter that is packed with valuable tips to take your Bikram yoga practice to the next level, lots of videos and pdf files with lists of the poses, photos and more.

In the Hot Yoga Doctor Store you can find audios and videos to help you in your Bikram yoga practice. I have one of her hot yoga audios and I listen to it a couple of times a week, on days when I can't go to the studio. This instant download is on my ipod and it can go with me wherever I go.

Bikram Yoga Tips - Breathing

In my Hot Yoga Practice this past week I've been focusing on breathing. In my classes, the instructors always say "stand still and breathe through" between poses but I was finding that by the time we got to triangle pose, I felt like I couldn't get full breath in through my nose, so I would end up kind of gasping through my mouth, which led to a panicky feeling. I was just out of breathe and wanted badly to sit down and rest.

One reason I like Bikram yoga practice is that it makes my lungs feel clearer. I really need that because when I was a child, I had asthma and as I grew to an adult, I've been suseptable to bronchitis. Over the years, I've really focused on boosting my immune system and I rarely get sick nowadays, but I've also been told I have "chronic bronchitis" which means my lungs have sustained some damage in earlier years so I need to take good care of them.

When I found that half way though my practice sessions I felt short of breath, I realized that, even though I thought I was breathing deeply all during class, I obviously wasn't. How to fix this? One thing I did was to visit the Hot Yoga Doctor website's forum. Somebody had posted a great audio by Gabrielle Scanlon all about breathing and I got some great tips on how to breath more effectively during Bikram practice.

One tip is to take advantage of the time between postures. Using good posture, breathe deeply into diaphragm not shallowly into the upper chest. A useful hint from the Hot Yoga Doctor: put your hands in your back pockets because this posture expands your chest and allows you to breathe in deeper.

The Pranayama breathing exercise sets up conscious breathing for the rest of class, it's true, but Gabrielle says to basically do a pranayama style breathing all through class. Slow and controlled, breathe in through your nose and make an audible sound in the back of the throat which sounds like the ocean or white noise. You don't really have to vibrate the voice box, which only irritates the throat. Inhale with a partial occlusion of the throat at the back and deeply into your diaphragm. Breathe out with the force of the diaphragm as well. Put some power behind it to empty the lungs.

The past few classes, I've practiced this way and focused on my breathe during poses and between poses and I feel like I'm in control of my practice so there is no panicky feeling anymore. Controlling my breathe makes me feel like I can do this.

These breathing techniques are valuable outside of class too. I've found if I practice slow, deep, conscious breathing during the day or whenever I get stressed, my stress level falls to nothing. I even used conscious breathing while waiting for my colonoscopy a couple of weeks ago and felt very calm throughout.

It seems that whatever kind of questions I have about my hot yoga practice, I can visit the Hot Yoga Doctor's forum and pick up all the tips I need. If you'd like a free hot yoga newsletter or to ask questions at a hot yoga forum, go to the Hot Yoga Doctor website and sign up.

Hot Yoga and Green Smoothies - What Do They Have in Common?

Greens and Blueberry Smoothie

You wouldn't think that hot yoga and green smoothies would have much in common but they are both super good for your health. Many people find that when they start a Bikram yoga practice and are dedicated to it, they begin to crave healthier food, like fruits and veggies. One way to get lots of both into your daily diet is a green smoothie for breakfast or an on-the-go lunch.

For the past couple of years, I've started every day with a healthy green smoothie. I make a big batch in the morning and then my husband and I both drink it for breakfast and lunch.

I turned a small flower bed into a greens garden.

As you can see from the photo, I put in everything but the kitchen sink! Last fall, I even put in a greens garden so I'd have fresh organic greens all winter long. I am still getting kale, mustard and collard greens from it, even when it's snowy outside. Collard and mustard are super healthy but it's almost impossible to find organic in the stores and they are very easy to grow in any patch of yard or garden.

Here is my delicious green smoothie recipe:

2 cups green tea
1 small banana
1/2 cup berries
1 teaspoon Hemp Protein
4 oz yogurt
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp flax seeds
large handful of greens. You can use spinach, kale, carrot or beet tops, salad greens, mustard or collard greens.

Hot Yoga Doctor's Smoothie Recipes

When I get up in the morning, I put the green tea and chia seeds into my Vitamix. Chia seeds absorb about 9 times their weight in water and become a gel, which is easier to digest. Chia seeds are full of protein and fiber, plus lots of nutrients. Flax seeds contain omega3 fatty acids, which are good for your heart and brain. Hemp is a great complete plant protein. The yogurt supplies probiotics for digestion and your immune system and berries, along with greens pack a powerful nutritional punch to start your day off right.

I've supplied links to the products I use in my smoothies, which are available on Amazon.com. I suggest whole flax seeds because once they are ground into meal, they being to loose nutritional potency. You don't have to have a Vitamix to properly blend this smoothie but a powerful blender does help.

If you've been practicing Bikram or hot yoga for a while and you have a craving for something healthy to eat, try this delicious green smoothie. It will give you energy for your workout and for your entire day.

New Book from the Hot Yoga Doctor

Only $29.95 on Amazon

The Hot Yoga Doctor, Gabrielle Scanlon, has a new book out. The Hot Yoga's Master Class program is a must have for anyone who is serious about their Bikram yoga practice. I would love to have the entire program but the $199 price tag is a little out of my reach. That's why I was so excited when Gabrielle recently came out with a new new Hot Yoga Master Class book which is available on Amazon for just $29.95!

If you would like to see dozens of photos to help take your Bikram yoga practice to the next level, this book has them - 744 terrific black and white photos in 304 pages of valuable information.

Gabrielle brings lots of detail and insight to her teaching of hot yoga. I subscribed to her free email newsletter and have picked up dozens of valuable hints to make my practice not only better, but safer. I'm lucky in the studio I go to in that the instructors are knowledgeable and helpful but if you practice at home or your instructors are teaching some incorrect techniques, then the Master Class books and MP3's, along with the free newsletter, are doubly valuable.

A precise and accurate approach to the Bikram poses can make all the difference in whether or not you improve your practice and avoid many of the common mistakes students make. Some of these common mistakes are even perpetuated by well-meaning Bikram instructors. Proper alignment is essential, even if you can't get into the entire pose. If you begin with good alignment and go in the right direction, you still reap the benefits of hot yoga.

I'm now into my third month of hot yoga practice and I'm glad I'm so glad I did this for myself. I feel like my 2013 off to a healthy start.

Start your 2013 off with a gift to yourself. Get your copy of Hot Yoga Master Class: Discover a Beautiful Hot Yoga Practice, Precision Techniques for Beginners to Advanced (Black & White Edition) today.

As always, you can also get Gabrielle's entire Master Class program on her website. Just go to the Hot Yoga Doctor store and select Master Class Package. There is also a full color version of the book available on Amazon available.

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.

Bikram Yoga Tips - Sweaty Hands

Just $14.99 for this Hot Yoga MP3 - a complete hot yoga class

When you are doing your hot yoga practice, do sweaty hands get in your way? Do your hands slip in the Standing Head to Knee pose, for instance? The instructor will tell you to wipe your hands before doing the Standing Head to Knee pose, but I would do that, and a few seconds later my hands were sweaty and slipping from my foot anyway.

A few days ago, I got a great hot yoga tip from the Hot Yoga Doctor's email newsletter about sweaty hands. Gabrielle Scanlon says the problem in the pose isn't the sweaty hands but the strength of your fingers. Instead of wiping the sweat off, you should be focusing on a stronger and stronger grip to strengthen your fingers over time. If your fingers are strong enough, you won't have to worry about sweaty hands.

This was a big insight to me. My wrists and fingers are often stiff and the joints are painful from years of doing bead work, knitting and using the computer. My fingers weren't very strong and they need to be, plus it will help my joints. I'm finishing my second month of Bikram yoga and am just now losing the towel and focusing on strengthening my fingers. I realize this will take time but the important thing is to begin with proper alignment and a strong grip before I worry about taking the poses deeper.

On the Hot Yoga Doctor's forum, there is quite a discussion about wiping sweat during class. I used to take a towel to class and wipe the sweat from my eyes but after reading the comments and Gabrielle's advice, I don't even take a towel to class anymore.

One reason not to wipe the sweat is that sweat helps cool your body and if you wipe it off, you aren't allowing it to cool you. Another reason is that wiping is just a distraction during class. Sometimes I do get sweat running into my eyes to the point where I can't see and I use my fingers to wipe it then. I know some people's sweat actually stings their eyes but this is due to the salt content of their sweat. For me, over time and drinking more water, my sweat no longer does sting my eyes.

It's free to sign up for the Hot Yoga Doctor's email newsletters, which are packed with Bikram yoga tips like this one. Just go to the Hot Yoga Doctor's website. Besides the free newsletter, you can find a very helpful forum, videos and more Bikram yoga tips.

You can also download an MP3 of an entire hot yoga class so you can practice at home or pick up extra tips. Just click on the photo above. I have this MP3 and love it. I put it on my ipod so I can take it with me anyplace I go.

During 2013, I want to write about other hot yoga tips I pick up, tips which help me to take my Bikram practice to the next level. If you have a favorite hot yoga tip, I'd love to hear from you.