Bikram Yoga A to Z: P for Practice

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Practice means two things in the yoga studio: we practice the poses to go deeper in our practice.

This sounds like a grammatical riddle but it is simple. Whether you’re a seasoned yogi or a new practitioner, this two-part practice is what you have to do to let yoga change your life.

Yoga can and will change your life. But not on its own. You have to show up, be present, make the effort. Practice means doing yoga when you don’t feel like it. Pushing deeper in a posture than you think you can. It also means being patient with yourself when you are awkward, stiff or in a bad mood.

Some people think yoga practice should wipe away all your problems so you float through the day on a cloud of bliss. I don’t agree. Yoga can lift your spirits and give you a brighter perspective but dedicated practice gives you something more valuable: the strength to face challenges and the courage be true to yourself in hard situations.

Practice is a discipline. And its reward is both self-confidence and self-forgetfulness. When you go deep into a posture you forget everything else: you are only focused on the moment. Repeating this moment over and over, class after class, balances you spiritually and emotionally. Practice gives you a new way of looking at the world and your place in it.

The beauty of yoga is that there is no deadline. We don’t have to achieve this awareness in one class, or 10, or 1000. We only have to practice.

How has yoga practice changed your perspective? Share in the comments.

Bikram Yoga A to Z: O for Openness

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Yoga is a practice that opens us physically. It should also be a practice that opens us mentally.

We begin each Bikram class with pranayama breathing to open our lungs and chest. We open our hips with triangle pose, we release our spine, shoulders, knees, ankles… by the end of 90 minutes we have systemically opened every part of our body.

This openness however, should go far beyond our physical being. As we move though yoga asanas we can observe the ways our actions influence our own emotional state. We learn through regular practice that we can change aspects of ourselves. We discover that our limits are not fixed. We experience being part of a community. All these things should move and inspire us to greater openness in our lives: emotional, intellectual and spiritual.

Openness means taking the wisdom of yoga into our relationships and daily interactions. It means being soft, strong, disciplined, persistent and kind with our friends, lovers, colleagues, children, and enemies.

Openness is strong and positive. It means accepting difficulties with patience and handling conflict with grace. Openness enables us to see things from other people’s point of view while maintaining our perspective. It is not just a physical state, it is a way of relating to the world.

Next time you’re in class, think about opening your whole being – mind body and spirit – to whatever the day holds.

How does yoga help you stay open? Share in the comments?

Bikram Yoga A to Z: N for New

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Bikram yoga is a sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises. Every class is exactly the same yet every class is brand new.

How?

Because Bikram – like any yoga practice – is about being in the moment. Yesterday’s pranayama is not today’s pranayama. Last week’s balancing-stick pose is not today’s either. No matter how many times you repeat a posture, each one is a new beginning. Your body changes continually, your mind moves incessantly, time flows around and through us like water. We breathe different air, fresh colours strike our eyes, we hear new sounds. Even the most familiar, mundane moments of our lives are new, and never to be repeated.

Yoga awakens us to the new. Through the discipline and repetition in the studio we rediscover the truth that every moment is new. We learn to ground ourselves in the present, to be fully aware, to appreciate the possibilities of our ordinary lives.

Next time you’re in the studio, meditate on the new-ness of each movement, breath and pose. Be alert and grateful that even routine can be an act of re-creation.

What new joys do you find in your practice? Share in the comments.

Bikram Yoga A to Z: M for Mistakes

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One of the most common things I see among new students is the fear of making mistakes. They worry they aren’t doing a posture correctly, or that they aren’t going deep enough into the pose, or that they’ll mix up their left and right.

Worrying about mistakes is a distraction. It takes you out of meditation and focuses you on negative possibilities, rather than helping you flow. Bikram yoga is an opportunity to retrain ourselves and step out of the right/wrong thinking that we are taught. There is no “wrong answer” or “mistake” in Bikram yoga. If you are on the mat, giving your 100% honest effort, you are doing it right.

To rise above your fear of mistakes, keep these tips in mind:

Let the teacher worry about your posture. It’s our job to help you get the best out of each asana. Follow the dialogue, take suggestions, but otherwise don’t worry.

There is no such thing as a mistake, just a learning opportunity. Each time you do a posture you learn a little more and get a little closer to the ideal for your body.

Don’t judge. Some days you feel on top of the world and everything is easy; other days you feel like you have two left feet. Accept sensations as they come, without judgement. As you learn to listen to your body without criticism you’ll naturally let go of your fear of mistakes.

What is your biggest fear in Bikram class? Share in the comments

Bikram Yoga A to Z: K for Karma

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Karma is a word we often use, but what does it really mean?

Karma is defined as the sum of our actions in this life and previous lives that decides our fate in future existences. However, I don’t think you need to believe in reincarnation to understand or embrace the concept of karma. Another way of looking at karma is as an expression of Christianity’s “Golden Rule”: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

This doesn’t mean being a doormat, or living your life through other people, it means having equal measures of respect and self-respect so that you can see other people as unique, valuable individuals. When we are able to do this it automatically changes our attitudes and behaviour. We are kinder, more compassionate, more open.

Karma, ultimately, is not about the universe keeping score, waiting to turn us into a cockroach if we screw up, it’s about having a philosophical approach to life that keeps us present, balanced, and humble. Karma can be as simple as the kindness of giving up your seat on the bus and the smile you get in return.

Yoga helps us cultivate the mindfulness and presence to strengthen our karma. Through the breath and the asanas we learn to inhabit and respect our bodies, and our place in the harmony of living things. It is a tool that brings us awareness, develops patience, and teaches us to appreciate the uniqueness of every being.

Read more about Karma yoga — the practice of transforming everything you do into selfless service.

How do you define good karma? Share in the comments

Bikram Yoga A to Z: J for Joy

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Joy might not be the first word that comes to mind when you’re standing on one leg, sweat pouring into your eyes, muscles trembling, grip slipping, and heart pounding but in the A to Z of Bikram Yoga Joy is essential.

Joy is what lifts and inspires us. Joy is something deeper than happiness and more profound than pleasure. Joy arises when we dedicate ourselves to something we believe in — and what is Bikram but a practice of dedication?

We talk a lot in class about concentration, focus, discipline, patience, persistence, and acceptance. These are the ingredients, if you like. Joy is the finished product. The endorphin fix of yoga may last a couple of hours, the mental calmness can carry you to the end of the day, but when you have true joy in your practice it wraps around every aspect of your life. The trick is to notice it.

Next time you get on your mat, take a moment and think about joy. Breathe it in. Feel yourself in your body and the deep satisfaction of what you are about to do. Throughout class, be conscious of the positive moments and sensations. And when you leave the studio, cherish the blissful feeling in your mind and your physical body. That joy is what yoga is all about.

Bikram Yoga A to Z Suggestions Please!

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I started my Bikram Yoga A to Z blog entries because I wanted to make essential Bikram information easy to find. So far, I’ve drawn topics from my own experience and from student questions but now I’d like to throw the floor open for your suggestions, questions and contributions.

Curious about a particular pose?
Is there a word that you don’t understand in the dialogue?
Do you have an emotion or inspiration to share?

Please comment and suggest new topics for the A to Z. All suggestions welcome, as long as they start with a letter of the alphabet! 🙂

Obviously I can’t use them all straight away but I will respond to as many as I can via either the comments or a blog post.

Thanks for your help!

Bikram Yoga A to Z: G for Grip

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G in our Bikram Yoga A to Z can only mean one thing: Grip!

“Get a good, tight grip” has got to be one of my most-repeated phrases in class and it’s not just to test your patience. Grip is essential both in order to allow you to correctly perform the postures, and because it directly benefits your fingers, hands, wrists and arms. The body is wonderfully intricate. The deeper you go in this practice the more you understand how everything is connected and even small adjustments can have a big impact.

Janushirasana

The standard beginner’s Bikram grip is interlacing your fingers to the webbing, including the thumbs. We use this first in Pranayama breathing at the start of class, which gives you a chance to get comfortable interlacing your fingers. Then we put your grip to the test in Standing Head to Knee (Dandayamana Janushirasana) and during the floor sequence Wind-Removing Pose (Pavanamuktasana) and Head to Knee with Stretching (Janushirasana). You weave your fingers together and, you apply pressure to your grip through kicking or pulling, you build strength and flexibility in your hands, fingers and wrists.

The grip is especially challenging when you’ve worked up a good sweat but that’s part of the challenge! If you find your grip slipping, readjust it. Remember, we’re practicing yoga — the goal is to do your best every time, not be perfect.

Questions about hands, fingers or grip? Ask in the comments!

Bikram Yoga A to Z: F for Falling Out

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It’s called yoga practice, not yoga perfect, as you may have heard me say in class — this is why I encourage students not to be afraid of falling out of postures.

Obviously we’d all like to be able to do every pose perfectly, moving in and out smoothly, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. I see lots of students fall out poses, and I’ve done it myself more times than I can count. Some days your balance is off, some days certain muscles are stiff, some days the sweat is pouring and you lose your grip, some days a particular posture just doesn’t come together. So you fall out, slip, wobble, lose your poise for a minute. You know what? That’s great.

We come to the Bikram studio to learn. We come to grow. We come to discover how far we can stretch our bodies and minds. We can’t do that if we stay in our safety zone. We can’t do that if we never push hard enough to find our edge.

Falling out of a posture is a sign that you’re doing good work. You’re going deeper into your hot yoga practice. Today, you fall out, tomorrow you’ll be stronger. Smile at yourself, keep breathing, and jump right back in. That’s what we’re here for.

Bikram Yoga A to Z: D for Daily Practice

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Daily practice is the Holy Grail for some yogis. They do 30, 60, 100 day challenges. Some people take it further, aiming for six months, a year, or even longer in the quest for Bikram yoga nirvana.

Is daily practice essential though? Bikram would say an unequivocal “Yes!” but, without wishing to contradict the man himself, my experience is that practice frequency is a personal thing. It’s great to do as much hot yoga as fits reasonably in your life and schedule. As a teacher, I love to see familiar faces in every class. There is something very energising about my students who are dedicated to daily (or near-daily) practice: they have strength, rhythm, poise and great attitudes.

Daily practice, however, shouldn’t be an obsession. The aim of yoga is unity and flexibility of body and mind — and that includes being flexible with yourself when life is hectic, or you have an injury or illness. If your body tells you it needs rest, you should listen and trust that voice. If trying to fit in a daily Bikram class is adding to your stress, rather than alleviating it, give yourself a break.

Over time, with regular practice, you’ll discover the true expression of yoga happens everywhere you go — not just in the hot room. You can miss a class or two. As long as you bring the meditation and concentration of Bikram into your everyday life you have a daily practice.

How often do you like to practice Bikram yoga? Share in the comments!