Health and Fitness Guide
Bikram Yoga Is The Perfect Marriage Of Strength, Flexibility, And Balance
“First, it seemed quite ridiculous, why would people do yoga in a 105 degree Fahrenheit room. When my girlfriends pressed on trying I told them that my body does not need such heavy-laden,” reflects Lisa Jover, yoga student to the days before her love evolved for this type of exercising.
“When I finally gave in,” Jover remembers, “I recognized immediately after the first class that the demanding series of 26 postures (asanas) works the entire body. The heat and the stretching of muscles paired with incredible concentration results in cleansing and the refreshing of one’s self.”
PCC offers Bikram Yoga trough the Extended Learning Program at an affordable price through the La Canada Bikram Yoga Center. You must have heard of, or maybe even tried, several different yoga styles. They all meet different needs. Experts say you can find restorative, gentle yoga that relaxes and renews, others, like Iyengar Yoga, use props. Some Vinyasa styles, like Ashtanga and power yoga, flow from one pose to the next. Bikram Yoga is practiced in a hot room.
“Of course I had to choose the hardest one of all yoga styles,” says Rose Malmberg, owner and head instructor of Bikram La Canada. Bikram Yoga became the most recent trend amongst Westerner yogis according to popular wellness and lifestyle magazines. Bikram Choudhury, former weight lifter is the founder of the Yoga College of India™. He started his Westernized yoga teachings in Los Angeles, California, thirty years ago. Now, enthusiasts can find Bikram Yoga almost everywhere, with 350 studios world wide.
Superstars who tried it include Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Madonna, Meg Ryan and many more. During the ninety minute uniquely therapeutic yoga sessions participants have to survive 26 postures and two breathing exercises. The series of exercises require concentration, focus and determination. The results are rewarding. “Bikram Yoga's twenty-six posture exercises systematically move fresh, oxygenated blood to one hundred percent of your body, to each organ and fiber, restoring all systems to healthy working order, just as Nature intended. Proper weight, muscle tone, vibrant good health, and a sense of well-being will automatically follow,” promises Bikram.
“I started to loose my hair due to the amount of stress I was under when I had a full time job and I was a full time student six years ago,” said Ken Tilley, yoga instructor. Now students see a guy with relaxed smile, toned body and dark brown, slightly curly hair when he leads the hour and a half hour practices on Thursday afternoons.
“Yoga will help achieve balance in your life,” Tilley said.
There are numerous different instructors teaching at Bikram La Canada. They are all leading the same 26 asanas, but they all have slightly different ways of doing it.
“My favorite is Tilley,” said Jover ”because he pushes everybody to their limits and creates a great energy in the room.”
According to co-workers, Andrea Hatton, one of the many yoga teachers is a well loved, warm hearted, always smiling instructor. She makes everyone feel at ease. Students always crowd the hot room when she is leading a session. Hatton explains over and over again tirelessly to new yogis why they should not drink water before the Eagle Pose or how swiping one’s body with the towel between exercises only makes it feel hotter.
“The class is twenty-six asana series designed to scientifically warm and stretch muscles, ligaments and tendons, in the order in which they should be stretched. It is practiced in a heated room, usually up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The heated room allows your muscles to warm up quickly and improve circulation, help eliminate toxins, and significantly reduce the risk of injury during deep muscle stretching,” Hatton repeated Bikram’s words when a potential student made an inquiry at the yoga studio last week as surely she had numerous times before.
By Szilvia Gogh
Learn More: For more information visit PCC’s Extended Learning site at http://www.pcclearn.org or Bikram La Canada at http://www.bikramlacanada.com.
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