Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Dandayamana-Dhanurasana - Standing Bow Pose

Standing Bow Pose helps you develop patience, determination and concentration. Remember: Proper form is essential and depth is relative, especially as a beginner. The only way is the right way and the right way is the hard way. Standing bow-pulling pose is incredibly effective at flushing the circulatory system. The pose moves blood flow from one side of the body, dumping it into the other and creating a profound circulatory flush. Standing bow is a hugely expressive pose, helping to open the shoulders, hips, spine releasing emotion and stress from the tissues. As in standing head to knee, the position of the chest increases pressure on the heart helping to stimulate and exercise the cardiovascular system.

Strengthens

  • Quadriceps
  • Gulteus Maximus

Stretches

  • Trapezius
  • Latisimus Dorsi
  • Sartorius
  • Hamstrings
  • Pectorals
  • Diaphragm
  • Ribcage
  • Spine

Stimulates

  • Circulatory System
  • Digestive System
  • Reproductive System
  • Urinary System
  • Endocrine System
  • Heart
  • Kidneys

Benefits

  • Creates natural irrigation of the circulatory system – transfers blood flow from one side of the body to the other
  • Clears plaque off artery walls
  • Eases back pain through compression of the spine
  • Improves elasticity of the spine
  • Tones hips and buttocks
  • Strengthens the ankles and knees
  • Helps with frozen shoulder
  • Helps alleviate carpal tunnel, arthritis, tennis elbow
  • Helps with cervical spondylosis
  • Good for prenatal recovery
  • Stretches diaphragm and ribcage improving respiration (breathing)
  • Flushes kidneys, bladder and urinary system
  • Alleviates gas, constipation and clears digestion
  • Improves balance
  • Develops determination, patience and self-confidence


10 Teacher-tested Tips for a Better Triangle (Bikram Yoga Vancouver):

1. Stretch your arms both up and down. Do not just hang there! Stretch down to the floor and up toward the ceiling in both directions at the same time.

2. Touch the chin exactly to the shoulder. Do not let the neck relax; it is engaged. If you want to look at your posture in the mirror, quickly use your eyes. Otherwise your eyes should be toward the ceiling.

3. Keep the shoulders down. Try and touch your shoulder blades together during the setup to open the chest. Do not let the shoulders rise once the arms have turned. There is a tendency to bring your shoulder to your chin but the chin should move toward the shoulder.

4. Push both your hips forward toward the mirror. Instead of relaxing the hips down or back, make sure you are using your legs to push your hips forward.

5. Touch your lower fingers between the big and the second toe. If you can’t touch the toes, you need to sit down more.

6. When stretching your arm toward the ceiling, keep your torso flat in a straight line. Do not let rib cage stick out.

7. The body weight should be on the bent leg with back foot flat and pronated.

8. Stay positive. This is one of the hardest postures because it requires every muscle in your body to work while trying to maintain the breath. This means attitude is everything – it’s going to hurt like hell, but it will give you a lot of benefits so don’t give up.

9. Keep your hips down, sit down and do not let your hips come up.

10. Breathe. As the dialogue says, “This is a perfect marriage between the heart and the lungs.” Which means better coordination between your heart and lungs



Standing Bow from Sara Curry on Vimeo.

Friday, 16 December 2011

How Bikram Yoga can help with New Year Resolutions!

The tradition of New Year’s Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.

Every year there are top 10 New Year’s resolutions that usually look the same. Why the same? Because they’re just so hard to keep.  But you are 10 times more likely to succeed if you do make those resolutions.  We want to help you to stick with the resolutions with a help of Bikram Yoga. The list of changes can be as little as: TOP 1 – Join a Bikram Yoga class – all other resolutions will be so much easier to accomplish! We promise!

1) Quitting smoking
"I decided once and for all to quit smoking on July 10, 2006 and walked into my first Bikram class the following day. I have not had one cigarette since, and only experienced one craving all year, which passed rather quickly. I had tried to quit so many times, and Bikram Yoga was my answer” .Research says that quitting smoking is about small, successive steps instead of one huge, giant leap. Getting into routine and replacing unhealthy habits with healthy ones will help you put out those cigarettes for good. Planning for how to handle obstacles is one of the biggest hurdles. Instead of going out for drinks / smokes with friends, bring them into yoga. Once you build your life around improving your yoga practice, little changes will come naturally and the small, successive decision to quit smoking will become easier.

Not only will adding yoga to your routine leave less time in the day for a smoke, it will show you the state of your lungs in the breathing exercises. As you regularly practice Bikram Yoga your lung capacity will improve, helping to flush out the toxins in your body from years of abuse! A yogi from Bikram Yoga White Rock testified, “Bikram Yoga has changed my life, I would recommend it for anyone struggling to quit smoking because once you step into the heated room and realize how sick your lungs really are, you will not touch another cigarette again.”

2) Get into a habit of being Fit
If you have tried all kinds of exercises – running, aerobics, weight lifting – and you can’t seem to get back there. Try Bikram Yoga! Some people think Yoga will tone you a little but nothing major.  Bikram Yoga is a full body workout – it works your body from bones to your skin. There are people in our studio who come here 5 times a week every week for years and they say it’s a addiction for them. Well,  isn’ t that great – You get addicted to a workout that makes you healthier, more fit, helps to lose bad habits. Bikram Yoga is a slow medicine according to Dr. Divi Chadna. He says, “It is slow medicine but it is the best medicine.”

Not only will you experience physical change while practicing Bikram Yoga but you will also experience positive mental and emotional changes as well.  So if you want a fit body and a fit mind then we recommend a higher intensity at first - 5 times a week for 3 months - and then you can continue from that point on at 3 times per week to maintain the improvements you have made in your body.

3) Lose Weight – The Battle of the Bulge
It is so easy to stop paying attention to how you eat, have too many beers, extra lattes every day. You want to lose weight – here are 5 steps from Bikram Yoga studio in Vancouver!

*Find your BMI and your ideal caloric intake per day.
*Go to the doctor and have your vitals checked. Get your weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, and have some blood work done to check if you have any other low vitamin/mineral levels in your diet like iron or vitamin D.
*Fill out your Bikram Yoga Progress Chart to begin to keep track of the state of your body and mind. Get control of your meals and add any missing vitamins and minerals to your diet.
*After you've taken all the initial steps, start and fully commit to coming to Bikram Yoga class 5 times a week for 3 months no matter what is going on in your life.
*Make sure you maintain proper eating habits and help track what you eat via mobile apps such as Lose it! or websites like the LIVESTRONG calorie counter.
*Visit the doctor every 30 days to check your vitals and update your progress chart.

According to The Biggest Loser, people undergoing vigorous workout while controlling diet portions should lose an average of 2 lbs per week. Start with this as your goal and don't get discouraged if you body takes longer - just be honest with yourself and commit to doing the best you can.

4) Enjoy Life More
“My Bikram Practice opened my eyes to enjoy life more. It works like magic. Sometimes I have some questions I don’ t have the answers yet. I walk into the class with the questions in my head and by the end of the class, without even thinking about them – I have the answers. I see more colors, know what I want to do in life, know who matters in my life. I know not to sweat the small things. Just Enjoy life and people around you will start to wonder what is your secret? And you can tell them, it is Bikram Yoga”

5) Healthier diet
Bikram yoga will help your body to crave for the right things!  . If you are practicing Bikram regularly, the two-hour no food requirement before class will help you regulate meal times. The compressions of the thyroid throughout the series will also help regulate your metabolism.
If you are planning to make positive changes to your diet we can guarantee Bikram Yoga will help you stick to your regimen. You will choose better foods because your body will crave better foods. You will begin to look at the food you eat as a source of energy (you will need all of your energy some days just to drag yourself back to class). Choosing foods that are packed with energy will mean getting more benefit out of eating less food.

6) Remove stress from your life!
Bikram Yoga Vancouver tells us how Bikram Yoga helps with stress: “Suffer for 90 minutes not a lifetime.” Bikram firmly believes that if you push yourself to 100% of your ability in class then you will prevent a life of suffering from major illnesses, depression/anxiety, and common aches and pain – especially in the spine. Many people think that when life becomes stressful they have no way out. Well, you can’t leave your own life but you can make an effort to be present in it for 90 minutes a day. During this 90 minutes you will have nowhere to go, no one to help you, and no changes can be made other than the way you see yourself and the world. The room will always be hot and your body will always experience some amount of discomfort so the only choice you have is to change the way you think about it.

Once you learn how to relax, accept the moment, and release your expectations in the yoga room these new found insights will spill over into your everyday life. You won't get so riled up by the little problems and anxieties of everyday life and you will find the ability to truly relax in a moment. We recommend Bikram Yoga as a buffer to stress if you commit to a regular practice of 3 times per week after the time of day you feel most stressed out - your mind will be bouncing around with a million different thoughts but the moment you step on your mat the world will become quiet.

7) Learn Something new
If Bikram Yoga is new to you – this will be a simple step to take, just walk into the closest studio. And after doing the yoga it will open your eyes to all kinds of activities you have wanted to do. An in order to learn them all, Bikram yoga builds your patience, determination and concentration. You will be a great snowboarder! You can become or do anything you want and succeed in it!

8) Get out of debt
You will have to spend some money to come take a class. But it is not more expensive than a regular gym membership. Plus if you pay attention to deals, there are always good ones out there. In our studio it is only 30$ for 2 weeks  of unlimited yoga for beginners. You can come every single day and really get to know the yoga.  Also you will have less free time in your day to spend on restaurants, alcohol/bars, and shopping. We are completely aware (and can sympathize) those 90 minutes is a huge time commitment - especially considering the commute to/from the studio and showering/post-yoga coma.
But, if you spend $99/month on a yoga membership and come 5 times a week then each yoga class works out to being $4.95 per class and that is covering about 120 minutes of your day, 50 hours of your week, improving your health, and changing your life! Not to mention the amount of money you will save from your new need to avoid alcohol, caffeine, and eating out at restaurants.

9) Spend more time with family
Doing yoga will help you realize how important your family is! You can bring them to yoga with you and talk about all the amazing benefits after the class. You can all pick up a healthy workout!
At least one day a week sit down to dinner with your family. Eating together, talking together, you can share your successes, and create an atmosphere safe enough to share worries too.

10) Help people
By introducing Bikram Yoga to them you might have given them the new best thing in their life!  And while taking yoga on your own you might become more compassionate and willing to help others. There is many volunteer possibilities in every town. From Snow Angels (cleaning drive-ways from snow) to bringing food to older people! By helping them you are helping yourself develop and become happier!


Here is a list of New Year’s resolutions and how Bikram yoga can help to get through them. Your list might be different from us. Share us in the comments how Bikram Yoga has helped you in everyday life and what problems have you solved. Have a amazing 2012 year, filled with laughter and love!

Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Bikram yoga and pregnancy


Can I do Bikram Yoga if I am pregnant?

Absolutely!  Yoga has been reported to help pregnant women thoughout pregnancy, labor and delivery.  There are some important notes to consider before starting or continuing your practice.

Women who practiced Bikram Yoga during pregnancy have reported feeling better during pregnancy, fewer complications, greater ease and less duration of delivery and calm, happy babies.  You can learn to breathe, cope with stress and stay comfortable in your body through all of the changes pregnancy has to offer.

If you are currently a practitioner of Bikram Yoga, feel free to continue your practice as long as possible, under the advice of your doctor or midwife.  Many women have practiced right up until delivery.  Once you complete your 13th week, your teacher can instruct you in the modifications for pregnant women. To see photographs and descriptions, ask at the front desk.  You may notice that the practice is very challenging in the first trimester as you are adjusting to hormones and increased blood volume.

If you have never done Bikram Yoga before, wait until you have entered your second trimester before beginning classes.  From the beginning, you will practice the pregnancy modifications.

Many women may feel intimidated by the heat of the room.  Doctors often caution women from saunas and jacuzzis.  Unlike a jacuzzi or a sauna, the body temperature rises minimally during a Bikram Yoga class, on average 0.6 degrees, because of all of the sweating and liberal use of fans.  You have nothing to worry about.  Do the best that you can.  You may even want to bring a thermometer to class to prove to yourself that you and your baby are okay.

Important notes for pregnant women:
  • Practice at about 50% of your capacity and never to exhaustion.
  • Be sure to stay well-hydrated.
  • Feel free to bring a sports drink or snack into class if you find you are light-headed or hungry during class.
  • Practice in a cooler area of the room or by the door.  Feel free to leave class anytime to cool down.
  • From the second trimester on, practice standing postures with your feet six inches apart for stability.
  • Do not push your hips forward in the backward bends.  The cartilage in your hips is preparing for birth by loosening and is less stable than it was before you were pregnant.
  • No forward compressions or belly-down postures after the first trimester.  Ask your teacher for modifications
Enjoy yourself.  You are preparing for the SuperBowl of your life!


There is a great article with proven literature at Bikram Yoga Vancouver site Pregnancy and Bikram Yoga
Here is another one from Bikram Yoga Portsmouth Pregnancy Blog
And a very useful article with pose modification photos from Lower East Side Bikram Yoga Pose Modifications

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Baked apples

Do you still have a ton of apples at home and need a easy recipe? here it is - oven baked apples. SO easy to make!

INGREDIENTS
·         4 large good baking apples, such as Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious, or Jonagold 1/4 cup brown sugar
·         1 teaspoon cinnamon
·         1/4 cup chopped pecans
·         1/4 cup currants or chopped raisins
·         1 Tbsp butter
·         3/4 cup boiling water
METHOD

 
1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash apples. Remove cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples. It helps if you have an apple corerDescription: http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=elisecom&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004OCIQ, but if not, you can use a paring knife to cut out first the stem area, and then the core. Use a spoon to dig out the seeds. Make the holes about 3/4-inch to an inch wide.
2 In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, currants/raisins, and pecans. Place apples in a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan. Stuff each apple with this mixture. Top with a dot of butter (1/4 of the Tbps).
3 Add boiling water to the baking pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until tender, but not mushy. Remove from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juices.
Serve warm with vanilla icecream on the side.

Makes 4 servings


Bikram yoga and skiing

We have talked about all kinds of others sports and how they benefit from Bikram yoga. It is almost winter sport time!. How nice would it be to have a day outside skiing and finish it in a hot room doing yoga. You should sleep like a baby after that!

It is incredible what yoga does for skiing. People can ski all day long and much better.

Conditioning before hitting the slopes can increase the safety and enjoyment of the sport. Most ski injuries occur early in the day when muscles are tight and enthusiasm is high, and late in the day when muscles are weakened and technique is poor.

A simple yoga exercise called the awkward pose, can increase your strength, balance and concentration which will make the ski season more rewarding. It consists of three variations which are done sequentially.

To begin, stand with the feet apart, about shoulder width, an even distance (approximately six inches) between your heels and toes. Extend the arms out in front of you parallel to the floor with the shoulders pressed down and away from the head. Keep the upper body strong and firm in this position.
Bend your knees and shift the weight back into the heels, pushing the buttocks out behind you. When the top of the thighs are parallel to the floor and arms, hold your pose. The feet should be held parallel and the knees should only be shoulder width apart.

One good way to think of getting into this pose is to imagine that you are sitting in an invisible chair leaning back to bring the spine and shoulders against the back of the chair. The arm muscles are contracted, the abdomen is held tight and your breathing should be normal. Hold the pose for 20 seconds. Stand up.

The second part of this series is similar to the first. Keep the upper body the same as before and stand straight up onto the balls of the feet, standing as high as possible with the arches pressed forward. To keep the ankles strong and straight, press down with each big toe. Now, bend the knees again keeping the spine straight and stop when the quadriceps are parallel to the floor. Hold this pose for 20 seconds. Stand up. You will find this second pose a bit more difficult.

Third, assume the same basic pose with upper body firm and strong. Again, slowly bend the knees and this time sit all the way down lightly onto the heels. Now press the knees together and hold the body still. The quadriceps are again level with the floor and the spine is straight. Hold again for 20 seconds. Stand up out of the pose slowly, bring the heels down and relax. Don’t forget to do a second set of all three poses.




Written by: Iyoganow

Friday, 11 November 2011

New Clothes are in!

This time Shakti surprised us with great patterns! Come in, check them out! Going on a week trip to a warm country?  They are great beach clothes also! Shakti active-wear is designed using the highest quality Lycra and Air-fit Microfiber fabrics that cling to the body and absorb excess moisture. Their tops and bottoms are perfect for yoga, Pilates, biking, surfing, running and other fitness activities. Shakti Active-wear is clothing for the modern yogi and yogini. Value yourself, do yoga, live healthy and enjoy life!

Dandayamana-Janushirasana - Standing Head to Knee

Standing head-to-knee builds great concentration and determination. As the knee locks, the contraction of the thigh creates a “suspension” of the knee joint, pulling bone away from bone. By maintaining the pose, the soft tissues surrounding the knee are strengthened helping to protect the cartilage of the knee. As you bend over, the proximity of the heart to the floor, puts pressure on the muscle, exercising the heart through elevating the heart rate. The completion of all four stages of the pose profoundly strengthens the body and mind, improving confidence, focus, patience and determination. When you fall out of this posture at any point – you must start all over again, at the very first part.
Strengthens
  • Quadriceps muscles
  • Trapezius
  • Biceps
  • Latissmus Dorsi
  • Abdominal muscles
Stretches
  • Back
  • Shoulders
  • Hamstrings
Stimulates
  • Pancreas
  • Thyroid, Para-Thyroid (in 4th stage)
  • Thymus (in 4th stage)
  • Digestive organs
  • Reproductive organs
  • Kidneys
  • Heart
Benefits
  • Builds strength through the body
  • Improves flexibility of sciatic nerve
  • Strengthens tendons
  • Prevents wear and tear of knee cartilage though strengthening of soft tissues around the knee
  • Helps clear and prevent problems with digestion, including flatulence
  • Helps to develop balance
  • Helps maintain sugar levels through compression of the pancreas
  • Improves blood circulation throughout the body
  • Tones abdominal muscles and thighs
  • Improves your sex life through the massage of your reproductive organs
  • Helps to decrease varicose veins by exercising the long vein (great saphenous vein) running from the leg to the heart
  • Helps to build patience, determination and concentration
  • Helps to improve confidence and self-worth
  • Helps to calm and clear the mind

Standing Head-to-Knee from Sara Curry on Vimeo.