A note to those budding yogis and yoginis out there..
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 10:27PM So far at least 13 people have shown up at Bikram Yoga San Jose after either seeing my changes or having read the blog. This is 13 we know of who have come and introduced themselves and said "came here through your blog", and that always makes my day when it happens!
Having someone do something this wonderful for themselves is the best gift anyone can give to themselves.
A few tips/ Observations on top of the ones mentioned here and here..
a. In your first few classes get ice cold water or a water bottle with crushed ice and water. In a room set to 105 F, regular water will become warm before the end of the 90 minute practice.
b. Read Bikram's book if possible. It gives you hints (keys) that help you do the poses better (if you can remember the keys). So memorize one hint at a time and do it in the next days class.
c. Your strongest part might become your weakest. Apparently this is normal. The poses I used to love and wait for are now an ordeal. Simply cannot do forward bends with my knee locked. My hamstrings just won't move. Feels like my legs are so weak at times that I worry about collapsing. One of the instructors told me that this is normal. As the body is using different muscles to do different things, some get over worked and some do not get used at all. Now that we are using muscles never used before this often, the body is adapting.
d. If you do have a sprain or feel sore but do not feel pain, try going back into the hot room the next day and chances are you will be fine. Has happened to me three times in the last 98 days. (it is still your call, but try standing in a hot shower and if that gives you relief, chances are going back into the hot room definitely will improve things).
e. Get an extra towel if your car/van has cloth seats instead of leather and put it on the seat before driving after Yoga. If you don't shower at the Yoga place before driving home, your van will start smelling and your kids will simply refuse to share a ride with you. They might not tell you to your face and you might have to figure out why they suddenly prefer to go with Mommy everywhere.
f. get some gatorade or "emergen-c" and drink a packet every day at least the first few days when you start because your body loses salts and electrolytes. You need to replenish those or you will get more dizzy or nauseous and might even get headaches. The Emergen-C is available in most local grocery stores and Target
g. There is this one pose you will do called "Triangle pose". Learn to do it on a wet or slippery surface! Do not rely on a towel to grip your feet to the ground. If you do it on the carpet one fine day, chances are your foot will slip and your hamstrings will take a beating and you will miss a day or two of yoga and the most important one..
h. When in doubt, talk to the instructors, who wait outside the class and answer questions!
So far we have 90% attendance and are still going regularly.
Someday, someday, will be able to stand on one leg and touch my head to the other knee..
still working on that one!
.
Reader Comments (7)
Wow வெற்றிகரமாக நூறாவது நாள். வாரத்துக்கு எத்தனை கிளாஸ் போறீங்க ?
Are u able to get rid of all the illness? Where is ur new look photo ?
How many classes per week will give the expected benefits ?
sudhar,
we go every day. we have missed a few classes because of traveling on long weekends, guests at home and not sleeping early enough to get up and go.. etc.
most teachers we talked to say it depends on where you want to get when..
depending on how much you push yourself (knowing your limits) you will see results differently. within couple of weeks you will see an improvement in your thighs and waist. that seems to be very common!
it is true that I have not had any hay fever, allegies, cold, cough, etc. and have not taken a single tablet over the last 100 days. that for me in spring season is a record.
Sundar, though I came on another friend's recommendation, I was still happy to see you there. So maybe it is not 13 but 13.5! I have 2 minor tips to add even though it only has been 10 days for me:
- Ladies, not a good idea to moisturize before the class. I spent class 3 slipping and sliding over my legs and hands, unable to hold some poses.
- Some men in front of you will wear loose shorts and no underwear. It was nauseating the first time when stuff was right in front of my face, but I learned to tune it off and not gag.
- Neer mor seems to best the best recouping electrolyte for me.
- Seat covers for the car seats. I wash them on the weekends.
Anon, thanks for the additional tips.
:)
my second class there was a lady in front of me (later found out she was trying to get in shape after delivering a baby).. she wore shorts that were possibly purchased months ago which didn't quite wrap around her thighs.. end result ? she flashed her crotch when we were doing balancing stick pose. the imagery was disturbing and thankfully it is a pose we only have to hold for 10 seconds..
Learned something that day though! Focus on yourself.. focus only your yourself.. you are there to challenge yourself and nothing else matters in that room.
Kind of know what Vishwamithra must have gone through standing on one leg in the mountains, with all those distractions, no?
these days, consider myself lucky to get through all the poses (except standing head to knee) and come out giving myself a B-
:)
Very true, Sundar. Sometimes the instructor says a lot of fluffy things "Posture without breathing is relationship without communication", "Buddha's definition of absolutism is..." but this week she said something that stuck with me. "Some days are good, some are not. On bad days, just try to stay in and do the minimum. On good days try to push yourself". I don't beat myself up over my failures; I can't do a lot of poses; but I am in no hurry. I want to enjoy the process without stressing about it; that's the only way I'll stick with it. (Anon doesn't want to use her name, but I'll go by SG.)
SG, any reference name or initials are better than anon. that way someday when we meet, you tell me you are SG and I put a face to the comments..so, Thank you.
one other thing is to check out different times every now and then, just to see how different instructors help you.. some will come and fix little things in your pose or suggest subtle fixes you can do to improve.
some of them will fix your issues after class like a doctor fixes a patient.
Last week I slipped doing triangle. Cynthia told me that I am not pulling my inner thighs toward each other. after class told her that if I try that the outside of the stretched foot automatically lifts off the ground. She simply stamped my foot that lifted off and said "there, now you are doing it. so what moved when I put my foot and pressed on your foot?"
there was something inside my thighs that pulled up towards my butt (cannot name my own muscles yet, but had never moved this one so far).
told her "cannot not pull that muscle on my own"
she said "you cannot pull it YET! keep trying and one day you will move it".
now asking jr. to stand on my foot every now and then to get myself to understand which muscle has to be pulled towards my butt..
one big realization in all of this yoga is how little I know my own body!
Can finally relax my jaw, on demand! Little achievements like that go a long way towards self encouragement..