Eastern vs. Western

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

One of our dear yogis sent in two fantastic pictures highlighting the difference between the Eastern philosophy of  a workout versus the Western philosophy. It’s a quiet statement but it’s bold and practitioners of yoga will understand it immediately.

Thanks, Phil! The message is quite clear, and we thank you for pointing it out!

Western: It’s all about the warrior, the muscle, the heft.

Eastern: It’s all about the warrior, the mental, the inner strength.

We’ve got the whole package in an empty room, because WE ARE the whole package already.

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RECIPE: Quinoa Power Lunch

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is sometimes mistaken for a grain, but is actually a seed. Quinoa is considered a superfood, whose protein content is very high, though not quite as high as beans. It’s considered a complete protein and is a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and calcium. Quinoa is great for vegans and those who have lactose and gluten sensitivities.

After a rigorous practice in the hot room, you may be looking for ways to naturally replenish the nutrients you’ve lost. Try this recipe for lunch or after-practice snack to refuel your body.

Quinoa Power lunch
(2-4 servings)

1 cup Quinoa
2 cups water

Bring water to a boil, add quinoa and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a lightly coated pan, saute the following:

2 cups rinsed and dried kale
1 shredded carrot
1 can, drained fire-roasted tomatoes
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (omit if vegetarian)
1 tbsp prepared pesto
1 tsp fresh, minced garlic
salt/pepper to taste

Combine cooked quinoa and saute mix. Top with crumbled feta if desired.

 

Posted by Liz Alfano  Photo Credit: nerissa’s ring via Compfight cc

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Student of the Month: Sue

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

In a fabulous twist of luck, May’s featured student is Sue, who celebrates her one year anniversary with the studio on May! After her son returned from a deployment in Iraq, Sue and her husband (and fellow yogi) Phil found the studio and signed up for a 30-Day Challenge!

According to Sue, the past year has shown her that Awkward pose is her favorite, “not because I’m great at it – but because I love the very visible changes that it creates in your thighs & legs.” She says that her “arms are still needing some serious transformation though” and that when the instructors say “‘nothing loose, nothing hanging,’ I break into a smile because that doesn’t describe what I see in the mirror!”

Sue also says, “I regret that I didn’t keep a journal over the course of this year. Years of running and doing various other exercises wrecked havoc on my hips and knees. I literally could not come close to doing either of the bow poses for months.” Her dedication to her practice paid off, however, because she says that “the words finally “clicked” in my mind and to my delight, my body could actually follow along.”

This positive attitude towards her practice is why studio owner, Chelsea, has chosen Sue for May’s Student of the Month. Chelsea says that Sue is “not only dedicated to her practice but she’s also a great friend to us and all of the students who come to the studio.” Since last May, Sue has consistently had a regular practice and the results are visible because, in Chelsea’s words, she “looks absolutely amazing!”

Sue spends her day leading the customer loyalty efforts at Cintas, and has three sons, one daughter-in-law, one yogi-husband Phil (married 23 years in September!) and a 3-year old grandson.

Congratulations, Sue and thank you for sharing your practice with us!

Namaste.

Posted by Liz Alfano

Posted in Meet the Studio | 4 Comments

Bikram Postures: Triangle Pose – Trikanasana

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

Oh Lord. This is it. This is the one that separates the Yogis from the yogis. You won’t see another pose like this until Camel. This is TRIANGLE. Sure, call it the “master series” if you want, but we all know what it is:  impossible to do *correctly* twice in a row. Read on.

When Bikram says that this posture “improves every single bone, muscle, joint, tendon and internal organ, and it revitalizes nerves, veins and tissues” you should read that to mean that your hips have to open wider than is humanly possible, you have to sit further down on one leg than your muscles can possibly stand, and then you have to twist and look UP. LOOK UP. Balance like that, Yogis! If you’re me, you try it once and then collapse for second set. I’m a yogi, not a Yogi.

Bikram also says that Triangle Pose “benefits the heart and lungs, forcing them to work together.” What do you think? Is your heart still actually working, in the traditional sense, when you’re finished? This is when we really have to buy into the dialogue that if we have a mini heart attack in the studio, we won’t have one in the wide world…you know, where people AREN’T sitting down, twisting and reaching for the ceiling. If you can do this pose, however, you are “flexing and strengthening the last five vertebrae,” as well as alleviating “crooked spines, rheumatism and lower back pain.”

If you need more, from the brain trust that is Wikipedia, Triangle “improves the flexibility of the spine, corrects alignment of the shoulders; relieves backache, gastritis, indigestion, acidity, flatulence; massages and tones the pelvic organs, corrects the effects of a sedentary lifestyle or faulty posture, assists treatment of neck sprains, reduces stiffness in the neck, shoulders and knees, strengthens the ankles and tones the ligaments of the arms and legs.” What else is possibly left to correct?!? Apparently it really is worth it.

And chin up, Yogis! (Up, seriously….chin to the arm and look at the ceiling.) You’re on posture NINE! Only seventeen more to go and you’re off to drink a gallon of water, a beer, a ginger ale or a bag of IV fluids. So do this posture, do it right and try to be better than your blogger friend here. Do it twice!

Posted by Liz Alfano

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Student of the Month: Jean

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Bikram Yoga


The April student of the month is Jean. According to studio owner, Chelsea, Jean not only has a dedicated practice but she also shows compassion to everyone around her. “When she walks into the studio people (including myself and all the teachers) SMILE…because her energy is contagious and people want to surround themselves with people like Jean.”

 

Best of all, Jean is a gifted writer and instead of doing a complete rewrite and edit, I’d like to just let her speak for herself, because it’s pretty special.  So this is Jean’s take on Bikram yoga, in her own words.

About a year ago my daughter Lynn and I ventured into Bikram Cincinnati with a Groupon promotion.  We first met Chelsea at registration and after talking with her we decided to upgrade to the unlimited 30 days for 30 dollars special.  I mean, it is only yoga right?

Our first class is still a bit foggy in my memory; which is probably for the best (somewhat like childbirth). Chelsea had given us a quick overview and as we entered the hot room for the first time her final words to us were, “All you have to do is just stay in the hot room.” All righty then, I can do this, no problem. I mean, it is only yoga right?

“Heels and toes together…” and so we began. I knew that the class was to be 90 minutes long but by the time we finished the standing series and were given permission to lie on our mats, I swore we had been locked in that hot room of torture for DAYS! Panic hit me as I realized that the beautiful young woman, the one with such a warm smile and encouraging words, the one named Chelsea that we had first met in the lobby, was not the same beautiful young woman who walked into the hot room. I was certain that this hot room Chelsea was an imposter. But Chelsea continued to soothe my anxiety with her calm voice and gentle words; “Feel your belly rise, feel your belly fall.”  She even remembered my name and she spoke it out loud in class while attaching it to words such as, “great job”, “you can do this”, “this is only ten seconds.”  The next thing I knew, reality was slowly coming back into focus and the blur was lifting. We were in the lobby again saying good-bye when I caught wind of something called a “30-Day Challenge.”  If you participated you got to have your name written on a poster AND you would earn a sparkly sticker for every class completed! Count me in! I mean, it is only yoga right?

The next thirty days tumbled by and I know I was in some sort of Bikram haze. My body hurt all over and I slept every chance I got. I loved it! It was fantastic! It is because of Chelsea, and all the teachers at Bikram, that I succeeded in my first 30-Day Challenge. The community that Chelsea, all the teachers, and my fellow yogis foster keeps me returning to Bikram. A warm positive energy radiates from each of them. My 90 minutes with them is my opportunity to capture a bit of that energy. Some of that energy I keep just for myself and some I share. I am so honored to be asked to be student of the month but I am merely a mirror of what all the teachers selflessly give to each of us who have the privilege to be your students. Thank you. Namaste.

Posted by Liz Alfano

Posted in Meet the Studio | 3 Comments

Yoga is more than the postures

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

We hear so often in class, especially when there are new people: “Just try to stay in the room for the full 90 minutes.” And every single newbie in the room blows it off, as if just staying in the room counts for anything. A strange thing happens after several classes. You begin to realize that staying in the room is AS MUCH part of the yoga practice as the postures themselves.

In the beginning, when staying in the room is the hardest part, and in the middle when staying in the room is sometimes the hardest part, and after our 500th class, when staying in the room can really be the most difficult part, we tend to ignore all the other aspects of the practice of yoga – concentrating only on the poses and how deeply we’re doing them. We can hear the dialogue a million times and still not focus on the direction to master first the breath, then the pose, then the depth. There is so much self-imposed pressure to be the yogi in the front of the room getting his or her head onto the floor.

But the practice of yoga truly starts the moment you decide to go to a class. The moment you form the intention to practice, you have started your practice. And all day as you hydrate your body and feed it the nourishing food it needs, you are practicing yoga. When are mindful in packing your bag with the right towel and a yoga mat, that is the practice of yoga. When you come to the studio and take off your shoes, and smile quietly to your fellow yogis, that is also the practice of yoga.

From the moment you decide that yoga is going to be part of your day, you are practicing yoga. The very last, most final piece to your practice is the postures. Although perhaps, after you leave the studio, when you choose an apple over fries or allow yourself the rest you need to recover, maybe that is also the practice of yoga.  Maybe it never ends, and we are yogis for as long as we carry the intention of yoga.

Whenever it starts and however it ends, the practice of yoga is so much more than the poses we attempt in class. It is everything we do when we decide that those 90 minutes will belong to us. And I wish every new yogi who feels overwhelmed by the first class could know this as deeply as the rest of do, even if we forget, and beat ourselves up for simply staying in the room the full 90 minutes.

Posted by Liz Alfano

Photo Credit: jenny downing via Compfight cc

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Bikram Yoga Teacher Training – Are you in?

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

Very soon, Bikram Choudhury is offering a teacher training, and that means you can be the one standing on the podium telling a roomful of sweating, struggling, zenning yogis how to breathe and relax into our favorite 26 postures. The training is being held in Los Angeles and goes from April 14- June 16. Now, this isn’t much time to prepare unless you’re very, very motivated. Are you?

No worries. If you’re not prepared, but this is sparking a bit of interest, maybe it’s your calling to explore the possibility of becoming a certified Bikram Yoga instructor.  The nine week course covers asana, anatomy, therapeutic applications as well as the health benefits of Yoga, nutrition, the philosophy of Yoga, Bikram’s Posture Clinic, and the Bikram Yoga dialogue.

Also, you get to meet Bikram. Here’s what studio owner Chelsea had to say about her first meeting during teacher training:

We got to meet Bikram, (THE ‘Bikram’) this morning. O-MY, Bikram is a total character. To give you a visual:  he arrives in patent leather white shoes, shiny white hot pants and a t-shirt. From the first minute of his introduction he has the entire tent of yogis in an uproar of laughs.

He is truly a crazy man, telling us the last breakfast he ate was in 1964. “Yogi’s do not need to eat or sleep,” he told us – in fact he said he was the equivalent of a 220 year old man because he works for 24 hours a day. I’d say he looks pretty good for a 220 year old man! There are so many great one-liners of his to tell you, but you really have to experience him for yourself. After meeting Bikram we had a couple of hours to ourselves before our first class. Dun dun duuuuun….

From classes, we know that all instructors like to give little pearls of wisdom, or “Bikram-isms,” to ponder in class. From thinking of portions of our brains as the cold, dead meat storage, to the fact that wars would end if everyone concentrated on locking their knee, this is where you can be immersed in all that is Bikram!

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we share more of Chelsea’s experience during teacher training. If this time in April isn’t your time, maybe the next one will be it. As with every class, allow your mind to be free and see what feels right. And hint: the Fall Teacher Training will be September 15 – November 17. Registration will open in May.

 

Posted by Liz Alfano

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Bikram Yoga for Men

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

Although we see the numbers climbing, and we know that yoga is all body needs for total fitness, it’s strange to not see more men in the hot room. After all, have you ever had a more difficult workout than doing standing bow pulling pose in 105 degrees? Come on! It’s a hard workout by any standard of measure!

In fact, ”it’s the most male-friendly style of yoga,” says Jen Lobo, co-founder of Bikram Yoga NYC in Manhattan. “Guys embrace the challenge. They’re not just sitting around ohming and chanting. It’s a hard workout.” Perhaps more men should embrace the challenge. Postures get your heart rate zooming, compression postures increase flexibility, and every man should be able to touch his own toes.

Besides that, Bikram Yoga forces a person to take really good care of him or herself. A yogi must be well hydrated and have eaten a good mix of proteins and carbs to fuel the body through the familiar 90 minutes of bends, balancing and twists. According to Michael Baker, who practices Bikram Yoga in Connecticut, ” I find that doing Bikram Yoga helps ALL of them “work better” because it makes me do things I would’ve never done before and it strengthened every aspect of my entire physical being from head to toe….strengthening your spine = strengthening your body inside and out. Everything in life is easier when you can overcome and withstand that class, trust me on that one!”

From an article in Men’s Journal:

When Choudhury has you lie on your stomach and assume the Bow pose, for example, you’re not just stretching, but also strengthening the muscles in your abs, biceps, thighs, and hips as you strain your arms back to grab your feet. This feels awkward (okay, stupid) at first, but that’s because most guys have never moved like this before. But soon you begin discovering muscles you never knew you had, and those tight, injury-prone areas — like the hips and shoulders — start opening up. With the greater range of motion comes more torque, and with more torque comes more power. “We see athletes, after practicing yoga, doing things they never imagined they could do,” says Stephen Gray, CEO of Next Health, a … gym in Aurora, Colorado, that integrates yoga and other Eastern arts with traditional gym workouts. “They break through to the next level and say, ‘Wow, was that me?’”

So while most Bikram studios may be filled with barely dressed women (and how is THAT not reason enough to fill the room with men?) it really should be the kind of meditative sport that draws more men. It’s one of the most difficult and complete workouts a body can endure. Additionally, it’s the kind of yoga that can happen anywhere. If a man’s job takes him to London or Washington DC, the routine is the same and the heat is the same. Very few workouts promise the same consistency as Bikram Yoga.

Photo Credit:RON SOMBILON MEDIA, ART and PHOTOGRAPHY via Compfight cc

Posted by Liz Alfano

Posted in General Fitness | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

RECIPE: Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

Many people are trying out low-carb diets, gluten-free diets, or going to a whole foods kind of cooking. No matter how you’re eating, you might like to try this new twist on a classic favorite. While you can’t slice this pizza and hold it the way you do a flour crusted pizza, using a cauliflower crust is a great way to incorporate some veggies into your diet and put some fun back into cooking.

Try it out and let us know what you think.

Cauliflower Crust
Makes 4 individual pizzas
2 eggs
2 cups mozzarella cheese
2 cups riced cauliflower (grate the cauliflower on a cheese grater)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh julienned basil *you can omit the basil or sub it for others herbs of your choice.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, spray with non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, combine riced cauliflower, basil, eggs and mozzarella. Divide into 4 amounts and press evenly on the parchment paper.
Bake the crusts at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
If you make one large one, bake for 20 minutes.
Top with your favorite pizza toppings and put them back into the oven until warmed through. Enjoy!

 

 

Note: Thanks to Bikram Yogi, Holly, for this recipe!

 

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Bikram Postures: Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Bikram Yoga

Dandayamana-Bibhaktapada-Paschimotthanasana

SAY THAT THREE TIMES FAST.

Actually, just try saying it once! I can’t say it, but it’s one of my very favorite poses in the series. When Bikram says that it’s “like kryptonite for sciatica” he isn’t kidding. This posture stretches and strengthens your mangled sciatic nerves, as well as all the tendons in the leg. By stepping out and bending at the waist, you’re creating a perfect stretch for the deep lower spine.

In addition, “Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose” messages the internal abdominal organs, the small and large intestines, and builds flexibility in the pelvis, ankles and hip joints. Need more? You know the twinging pain you get in your low, low back? This pose increases the flexibility in the last five vertebrae of the spine.

So when the instructor tells you to grab onto your heels with all five fingers and PULL, do it. Pull as hard as you can. Stretch your face down and touch your forehead to the floor. As we’ve heard before, pulling is the object of stretching and the more you stretch your legs and spine, the greater the benefits will be. Keep in mind that your legs must be locked and your quads have to be tight.

Sometimes we want so badly to touch our foreheads to the floor that we forget a proper pose doesn’t start until the legs are both properly locked out. For a primer on the locked knee, read HERE. Do this one right and make minor adjustments each time. Little by little your spine will stretch and you will pull your forehead to the floor.

Keep trying because one day this stretching pose will open the whole back side of the body, from your legs, to your hips, then into your spine. One day you’ll get a 360-degree, full body stretch.  Good luck!

 

Posted by Liz Alfano

Posted in The Postures | Tagged | Leave a comment