Category: Focus On
Yogiraj Bikram and Guruji BKS Iyengar July 30th 2010
Top reasons to practice Bikram yoga during the summer months:
1. Bikram teaches your skin to sweat and “air condition” your body more efficiently.
2. Bikram increases your mental tolerance to the outdoor heat.
3. Regular practice encourages you to stay hydrated.
4. Tones your arms, legs, butt, abs and back so you look great in skimpy clothing.
5. Keeps those extra pounds off so there’s less to lug around in the heat.
6. Gives you the athletic upper-hand in your outdoor activities.
7. In the summer months, your body doesn’t need as long to “warm up.” You can go deeper in postures!
How Back-Bends Can Improve Your Health
We’ve all heard it! Backbends. You should do them.
Did you know that BACKBENDS were a CRUCIAL part of your overall health before you went to yoga? I just don’t think it is really talked about. Does looking at people of any age with a stooped posture make you straighten up and pay attention? If it doesn’t then, perhaps if you could make one great permanent change to your life this month, that would be it.B
Backbends are a great antidote for many of our ills!
And although it sounds bold it is really not that far from the truth. Most of our lives are without a doubt taken up by forward bending movements. For example, simply look around. Chairs, desks, cupboards, keyboard heights, benchtops are all designed so that everything is accessible by reaching forward, around, up or under our work space. But it would be crazy to construct your world to make you do back bends to reach for things! What we really need is an antidote to constant forward-bending & shoulder-rounding.
Your yoga practice will help you balance out the effects of your forward bends. Did you know that some of the most debilitating pain comes from problems CAUSED BY FORWARD BENDS and that backbending could be YOUR way of treating it without having to resort to surgery.
Your spine WANTS to bend and has the CAPABILITY to bend in all directions which we will loosely label as forward, back, left and right. So practicing backbends will actually counter the forward movements that we can’t help doing almost every waking moment (and even some of our sleeping ones)!
Coming soon how to practise a safe and strong backbend!
Bikram way or…the highway!
Click to watch the video:
Here how to avhieve a perfect triangle, enjoy!
Respiration
One of the most frequently asked questions during the lesson is: how do I breathe?
The key to proper breathing and, most importantly, relaxed and lay the foundations in half moon. Contracts buttocks, quadriceps solid and pelvis thrust forward. The classic box for this posture that has resulted in creating a strong foundation, solid.