Believe In Yourself
  • Be Yourself
  • Blog
  • Be Creative
    • Beverages
    • Breakfasts
    • Mains
    • Salads
    • Sides & Soups
    • Desserts
    • Bars, Cookies & Breads
    • Cheeses & Dips
    • Dressings & Sauces
  • Be Healthy
  • Be Free
  • Be Inspired
  • Be Bendy

The Whole Point of Bikram Yoga

18/2/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
There's been a lot of negativity about Bikram yoga in the press lately, but most of it has to do with the man himself, rather than the practice of Hatha Yoga. What bothers me is how people start confusing the two together; and either ridicule or put down Bikram yoga as if overnight the therapeutic benefits have been replaced  by a hype of too strict postures in a overheated room that will harm people. Each style of yoga has their own discipline and set of rules, so why is Bikram yoga any less than Vinyasa or Ashtanga. I love this article, as it brings it back to why it is the way it is, and the importance of staying true to the individual practice. 
​
Each style of yoga have their own advantages and strengths, some are to build heat through fast moving flows that invigorate the body, others a slow meditative length holds to relax and get deeper into stretches. Bikram yoga focuses on alignment and using the step by step instructions to heal what's broken. In class we often tell students:

'The object is not the subject, the object is your body.
​When you improve your body, then you can do the postures'.

Students often ask why we repeat the same sequence over and over, and it's quite simple:

    ... Firstly,  how are you ever going to master it.  It would be a bit like learning the play the piano one week,
the following week the guitar and the next  the violin - you're never going to master any instrument!...



... The reason why you will never master anything if you continually chop'n'change,
is because your will never move away from the inward mindset of learning the fundamentals.  
You will never get to that point where you are able to let go,
letting your body & mind flow as one, connected, in tune...



I come from a background of chronic illness and body problems, and I have tried other types of yoga and body therapy. For myself, Bikram yoga works the best. It gives me time to repeat the postures so that I get another chance to focus on the alignment, then over time achieve depth, as well as the calming and relaxing mindset I practice during class. Now that I am pregnant it has helped with with swelling, headaches, muscle soreness and other symptoms I am going through.

If I had a different body, one that didn't suffer from all these problems, then I might have chosen another discipline of yoga, but it's the defining factors of Bikram yoga, the repetitive postures, the step by step instructions, the strict discipline of doing everything right and the heat that has helped me the most. I am no longer on disability, I don't take any medication, and most of all I enjoying living life and being normal, which is something I didn't have for almost 10 years prior to discovering this yoga. 

Therefore to me, what matters is not what the media portrays Bikram yoga to be, or those who dislike the practice and try to convince others why they shouldn't try it, instead it's about finding a healing modality that works, understanding why it's done the way it is, and practicing it the way it is to get the most of of my life, and my body. 

​
Print Friendly and PDF
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    "I am not what happened to me,
    I am what I choose to become"
    Carl Gustave Jung

    I'm Binny, a full time Bikram Yoga teacher and studio owner that lives in Perth, Australia.

    I started this blog to share the things I love the best in the world: being healthy and happy, food (especially raw), yoga, traveling and most importantly, learning how to love and be true to myself.

    I suffered from severe digestive problems when I was younger, being gluten and lactose intolerant, and developed compartment syndrome and fibromyalgia in my teens. I have lived with constant pain for over 16 years now.

    Over the past 10 years, I've shifted to a mainly plant based diet and realised that being well and healthy is a way of life. I have been teaching Bikram yoga since 2011, in the US and Australia. Due to my health issues I've also had a lot of bodywork done as well as explored alternative therapies.

    I've become much more aware of myself as a result of all this - physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Right now I love my life. In my career I love what I do and I do what I love. I have traveled to some amazing places around the world and made lifelong friends. In between working and traveling, I cook up a storm in the kitchen, especially raw  desserts, spend time with the people I love the best, which now includes a yoga husband, a mini yogini Estell, and our dog! I try to listen to my body the best I can.

    I truly believe that we all have the power and the capabilities to heal our own bodies, to nourish the spirit and seek our own happiness and life's purpose. This my journey...

    Archives

    August 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    January 2018
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    Categories

    All
    Body Health
    Detox
    Food Health
    Gluten Free
    Inspiration
    Markets & Restaurants
    Raw
    Recipes
    Travel
    Vegan
    Vegetarian
    Workshops
    Yoga

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.