Bikram Yoga

[jorman]

Hey everyone,

Have you done Bikram yoga before?

I am thinking about doing it before the wedding ( I have 3 months) and was curious about what you might know. Does it help with weight loss?
I don''t necessarily need to lose weight, but would like to. And I would love to tone up my arms for the big day since my dress is strapless...and my abs could use a little toning too...
I would love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks!

-Janna

 

[iceprincess]

Hi Jorman,
Bikram yoga is the type where the studio is heated up to 103 degrees right? The heat is supposed to help induce sweating and facilitate detoxification and helps muscles flex. I''ve haven''t tried this type of yoga myself because I''m concerned about the heat. I have no problems sweating with exercise and worry that too much loss of fluid would not be good for me. With excessive sweating I lose a lot of electrolytes which cause me disorientation, muscle cramping, and lightheadedness.
A very good friend of mine did Bikram three times a week and was hooked on it until she started getting palpitations from all the fluid loss.
Would you consider trying it out first to see if you like it? Perhaps you might try regular hatha yoga or a hybrid class like yogalates (yoga and pilates) where there is a lot of focus on strengthening the core/abs and the entire body.
You know Patty here at PS is a certified pilates instructor, perhaps she might comment?

 

[Morticia]

Hi, yes. I've tried Bikram several times.

I wanted so badly to enjoy it but I should have been consistant about going. I would get all gung ho about going, go, and not really like it. Had I kept it up, I think I would have fallen in love with Bikram like many people do.

First of all, it is hotter than the gates of hell in the room. That's the point of Bikram. I forget the temp but I want to say they keep it around 102 degrees in the room (I could be wrong but it's somewhere around that). The warm temp is to loosen up the muscles. The heat can be rough and definitely takes some time getting used to. I kind of liked it because you sweat and sweat and sweat so you're are definitely burning calories and sweating out some evil.

The positions are not easy, but because of the heat, you're not really sore the next day. It really loosens up the muscles. You definitely get in a good work out. Also, I got the sense it could help with stress too b/c some of the positions were relaxing.

I think it takes going more than once or twice to possibly get into it and by that I mean, going within the same week. Not like I did, go one day, wait a few months, try it again..... I think if you're consistant about it, you will nail the positions down, and really enjoy it. I am so clumsy and had a hard time with the positions, I just gave up. But I'll associate it with running (because when I first started that years a go, I had a really hard time with that too), the more you do it, the easier and more enjoyable it becomes.

For toning, I have read Bikram can help. It'll take a while to see the results so add some weight lifting to your workouts, if you want to see some muscle a little faster, than with just Bikram alone.

Hope that helps! Good luck. I hope you enjoy it b/c it does seem really great for the body AND the mind.

 

[appletini]

Jorman! Go do it! I did this for 2-3 months last year around the holidays and it works wonders...at the time my now FI was traveling a lot so when he saw me he really noticed the improvement. I was amazed how after each session my stamina, balance, and flexibility would improve. The first time I thought I was going to die, but I had so much energy afterwards...plus 90 minutes is a long time, but it goes by very quickly. If you can make the time commitment definitely do it.

 

[roxy7]

Yeah, you should go for it. Just don''t forget to bring a huge bottle of water in the room with you.

I only did it for a couple of months, so I didn''t reap huge benefits. But they say that your skin improves, that you gain muscle tone, and lost weight. I can testify that my flexibility improved dramatically. I can also say that when sweating so much, I really did feel like I was detoxifying myself. It was amazing in that way; if you feel like you have a lot of negativity inside, I would definitely go for Bikram.

Have you tried Ashtanga too? I love that also.

 

[appletini]

I would also like to say that its just as good as a personal trainer, but for a lot less money.