One Month Benefits of Bikram Yoga

Iced Cinnamon-Chocolate Coffee/Yoga Mat

The morning started with an attempt to go to 9am Bikram Yoga class (My newest and most favorite obsession) and ended up being a major blog session with a delicious iced coffee..I do love the mornings! (And don't worry I will be closing the day with 4:30pm yoga)

I started Bikram Yoga on May 7th, 2011 and have gone 6 days/week since then. Yesterday I signed up for unlimited classes for the next three months! So I'm in for good now. I LOVE IT.

A few facts and tidbits I've picked up in class. I still really  haven't had a chance to research it yet and since it is now 2pm and I've been blogging since 9am, I will not TRY and google like I said in my previous post.

• Bikram Yoga was started by a crazy man named Bikram.
• It is a sequence of 26 poses, 2 breathing postures, everything is repeated twice.
• Each class is 90 minutes long. 
• The room is kept between 100-105 degrees.
• You only have water after the 4th pose and from then on only in between poses and water should be limited.
• You must have a mat, towel and water bottle for each class.
• There are two types of poses: compression poses (still kind of unsure what this is?) and stretching poses
• "Pulling is the object of stretching." 
• Keep your head above your heart if you get dizzy
• A number of stories just within the few classes I've been to where Bikram Yoga cured both paralysis and hip injuries. (a little much I know, but this stuff is crazy...)

Things that have changed in me from 5/7/2011-5/29/2011

• Air condition is no longer my friend
• My skin is incredibly soft
• At first my hair was more brittle/dry but now its soft too
• In the pose below the 1st class I couldn't even get a full grip around my foot, now I can kick out, balance and ALMOST bend my shoulders and head down with a flat back
• I inherited the "spring leg" from my father, but no longer is it quite so uncomfortable to cross my legs when sitting, my hips have really started to open up
• I am excited to go to class and love that I've found a smelly, hot box of a room in Memphis, TN that is full of other extremely dedicated and motivated people.
• I'm WAY stronger in my back, stomach, calves and arms.
• And of course my clothes are fitting a little more loose 
• Best of all this yoga is going to be amazing to pair with running, but for the timing being it is keeping me from feeling the need to run. It increasing my heart rate, makes me sweat, makes me relax and clears my head: all the things running used to do. So for now, I can rest my hip and give plenty of time to heal and before I know it I'll be running again with stronger lungs, heart and muscles.

Standing Head to Knee Posture: Leg WAY to high and back too arched in Picture 3...I've got a long way to go!