Student of the Month: Susan Good

I began practicing Bikram yoga almost five years ago.  I began at another studio in Phoenix, but after a year, and moving to north Phoenix, I joined Bikram Yoga Paradise Valley.  On the first day of practice at PV (with Terri as the instructor!) I knew I had found my “home”!  I have been practicing there regularly ever since.

I was an avid runner prior to BY.  I never had any serious injuries running, but it was definitely taking a toll on my body.  I decided it was time to “mix it up” and find a better way to exercise mind and body, while gaining better overall strength

BY was recommended to me by a physician who I work with, who also is a runner.  He said that he had found the combination of running and yoga was a great way to heal the body while also building core strength and gaining better mental balance.  I had some lower back pain as well as “lower butt pain” from running- all better now, and I can run again! I was also experiencing a difficult time in my life, and practicing BY helped me to deal with that stress and move forward.  It worked!!! I’ve met new friends who know how important this yoga is.  I also have achieved more balance in my life, and have learned to keep things in perspective.

It is the best mind/body/spiritual “exercise” I have ever experienced!

My favorite posture is Rabbit.  I love the way it stretches the entire spine from the neck to the coccyx. I also really like Camel Pose, for the same spine stretching.  Plus, I’m pretty good at those two!

Susan's advice to new students: Keep going!!  The first several classes are very challenging, and it would be easy to give up after one or two times of going.  Soon, as the practice becomes incorporated into one’s life, it would be almost impossible to give it up.

"You can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything.  Be happy with the choices you have made and live life to the fullest."

Top 5 things I love about Bikram Yoga

1.  The hot, sweaty classes where everybody looks like the same “drowned rat” by the end

2. The amazing instructors, and their humor, wisdom, and encouragement

3.  The events such as Yoga in the Park and The Holiday Party

4. The way the classes are all the same, yet each one is different

5.  The way I feel during and after every class!!

Student Spotlight: Christina

Our June Student of the Month is Christina Mackenzie, also known as C-Mack! She is a smiling, happy face around both studios and we love her story about her first class experience! “A friend introduced me to the yoga. Like most people, I hated my first class. I went up to the front desk immediately afterwards and asked if they offered a non-heated yoga class, or one that did not last 90 minutes. Receiving a “no” answer to both questions, I was frustrated because I had already purchased a 30-day package. I walked to the grocery store next door and bought a ginormous bag of gummy bears.  I sat in front of the store in my sweat-drenched clothes and ate the whole thing. About mid-bag I started to notice how amazing I felt, and I knew it wasn’t because of the gummy bears. I went back a few days later and have been hooked ever since.” She has been consistently practicing 5-7 days a week since completing the 60-day challenge in February of 2012. “It’s the only exercise I’ve been able to stay consistent with. I’ve done spin, pilates, boot camp, and just about every fitness “groupon” deal out there. Every Bikram class is a great workout, but there are so many other benefits too. Every aspect of my life has improved since I started practicing Bikram Yoga. For one, my diet has improved. No longer do I binge on bags of candy and overall my appetite is more controlled. I choose healthier foods. I lost 25 pounds after doing the 60-day challenge in 2012 and have kept it off. I am never sick and generally feel good all of the time. I can't remember the last time I had a cold or the flu. Even a headache is rare for me. I was always worried about my weight, diet and exercise. I was constantly thinking, ‘I shouldn’t have eaten that’ or ‘I need to go to the gym.’ The yoga has established routine and order in my life. I don’t really worry about those things anymore. I just go to yoga every day.”

Christina’s favorite posture is Standing Head to Knee!! “When I first started, I could barely hold my foot and never dreamed I’d be able to “kick out.” Now I can kick out and touch my forehead to my knee…and sometimes even hold it there for more than a few seconds! I am constantly working to improve this and every other posture.” While she is improving her postures, she has also noticed some more mental and emotional benefits from the practice. “I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve never had any injuries. However, I suffered from anxiety and mild depression in the past and was on medication for several years. Since practicing Bikram Yoga regularly, I no longer need any medication. I am naturally more relaxed, calm and happy.”

Her advice for new students: Give the yoga a chance. Eventually you will forget about the heat, and maybe even start to like it. You will get better at the postures and experience so many benefits doing it! Bikram Yoga really will “change your world.

Top 5 Thoughts That Pop Into My Head During Class.

1 – He (she) is holding triangle way too long.

2 – Please turn the fan on.

3 – No, don’t turn the fan off!

4 – Is she walking towards the door?  Is she opening the door? YES!

5 – (At the end of class) Man, that was awesome. I love this yoga!

Student Spotlight: Bob

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I was having a conversation with a client and she mentioned Bikram Yoga, I had never heard of it before. Ironically, as I was driving home that day I noticed the Bikram sign when the studio was across the street. I stopped in to check it out and met my first instructor, Lora; the next day was my first class and I was hooked (Bob has been practicing Bikram Yoga for over 6 years now!). Before practicing Bikram Yoga I was involved with Martial Arts and Weight Training. It seemed I was always recovering from the sessions and occasionally in a healing mode.

Bikram Yoga is teaching me to work on realigning the balance between my body & mind, to apply the peace we learn during class in our daily lives. To –“ Let No One Steal your Peace”. The yoga has helped me through the expected and unexpected lows that life presents to all of us at one time or another. When I was 17 I was in a motorcycle accident. I dislocated my hip & shoulder. I have had chronic, neck & back issues since. I tried the chiropractor when I was younger, then went to Physical Therapy & different exercise programs. Bikram Yoga has helped me not only control the symptoms but also I see improved flexibility and mobility. I attended Nicole’s Boot Camp last fall and am working on my alignment for each posture; it’s amazing how the slightest change can have such a direct effect. I would say Balancing Stick is my favorite posture. I feel that’s the one out of 26 that I might actually be doing right – only 25 more to go.

My advice to new students is strive for consistency in your practice. I have to tell myself this one as well. I sometimes will do a challenge and end up then taking off several weeks. It’s like starting all over again. Learn to focus on yourself, it’s your practice, your time, let it happen. Also - Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate - I have seen my life flash before my eyes several times on my mat over the years when I don’t pay attention to hydration.

I love Bikram Yoga for many reasons. The two that stand out are: The Teachers & The Studio. I have probably experienced close to 100 different BY instructor’s classes over the years. And while the 26 postures are a constant, it’s the individual teacher’s passion that makes each class unique. Through their own personality they are always encouraging you to do your best, pointing out subtle changes that will make a difference in your posture. They are the energy conduit that makes you want to practice to the best of your ability, to try to not only find your edge but to see what’s on the other side. I always share my BY experience whenever I can with other people. I let them know what an amazing collection of people practice Bikram Yoga. People from all walks of life sharing and experiencing a common goal together. It’s a cross-section of the world in many ways. It’s the realization that thousands of people are doing the same thing, for the same reason, every day.

Student Spotlight: Lynn

By Lynn Jacobsen

I have been practicing yoga in some form on and off since 1997. I started with Iyengar and changed to Hatha when I moved to Phoenix. As I got a "little" older, I found myself sitting out longer and longer portions of class as others were doing head stands and poses I was not comfortable attempting due to neck and frozen shoulder issues. (Yes, those early sports injuries may come back to haunt you some day and I had promised my orthopedic surgeon I would not do any more head stands after a not so beautiful attempt resulted in compressing some discs in my neck.) I quit yoga altogether for a year or so. Then about seven years ago a friend convinced me to go to a Bikram class with her. At first I was going once a week, which felt like the first time every time. Then I decided I should go twice a week and now I feel like a slacker if I don't go at least four or five times a week.

Lynn

The 26 poses, not particularly easy for someone who has hip flexors and hamstrings made of steel, do not jar me nor do they put unnecessary pressure on my neck and spine. When I miss class for more than three or four days, my muscles get cranky and rebellious. As someone who grew up in the Twiggy era (google her if you are under oh, say, 55 or so) when girls wanted to resemble slouchy models devoid of all muscle tone and who basically looked unhealthy, the stretching and muscle and core strengthening from Bikram yoga has helped me become more aware of and improve my posture. The balancing series also is so important as we get older. People much younger than I am have been amazed I can stand on one foot to put on socks! Imagine if they saw an entire class doing the balancing series!

That being said, one of my favorite poses is my own pre-class savasana. I love to get to class about 10 or 15 minutes early to just lie in the warm room with no demands on my time and no one able to reach me. This small bit of the day that is mine alone is how I trick myself into getting to class. Since I'm basically lazy, if I let myself think of the exertion I'm going to expend or how sweaty I'm going to get in the next 90 minutes or that I'm going to have to do my hair AGAIN, I would talk myself out of coming more often than not.

I also have a couple of postures I like even though they require movement. I love half tortoise just because it is the most exquisite stretch through the arms, shoulders and spine. Call me crazy, but I really like camel, too. The back bend feels so good and the release of the muscles after makes me feel alive. I also like triangle and I am determined that someday it will eventually open up my hips.

I've had two injuries that Bikram yoga has helped. The first one is a frozen shoulder from a skiing injury. When I first started yoga, my arm literally would freeze in place during certain poses. Somehow over time it just quit happening. I still have the frozen shoulder but it is much more manageable than it has been in 25 years. My other injury happened about a year and a half ago when I developed two bulging discs in my lower spine. The hardest part of the injury and recovery was not being able to come to yoga for almost a year. I finally couldn't stay away. No one can say how I hurt myself, but as a result I am much more aware of the dialogue and setting up the poses to avoid hurting myself again. I have to be really careful of the forward bends but other than that, I am close to doing a fairly decent version of most poses again.

My advice to new students is when they say come back tomorrow, come back tomorrow. Don't wait a week like I did. You have a superb built-in support group in your fellow yogis and you'll get used to the heat. And don't eat a hamburger and fries an hour before class! That, you will regret.

My favorite quote is: "Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." -Dr. Suess

Student Spotlight: Craig

By Craig Miller

Bikram Yoga came into my life almost by chance.  I had overheard a conversation among some guys regarding their exercise routines. One of the guys said that all he did anymore was yoga, and I thought to myself how strange that was because I had no idea what yoga was all about.  I did some research, and read the great article that appeared in O Magazine about the lady who did the Bikram Yoga 60 day challenge and it changed her life.  So at 50 years old, I decided to try it for myself.  I went to my first Bikram Yoga class three years ago on Sunday morning December 12, 2010 at the old Paradise Valley studio (across the street from where we are now). The room was hot and it was tough but I realized then that I could do it, and it was something that was worth doing.  So I kept coming back, and 3 years later on my anniversary at the studio I had done 593 classes.  The reason that I know how many classes I have taken, and when I started is because I have kept track of every one of those classes I have taken.  I know it sounds a little strange but when I first started it just seemed like the right thing to do keep track of my progress.  I have done that ever since and I am really glad that I did.

Before Bikram Yoga, I tried to keep in shape and work out, but I never found anything that I wanted to do on a consistent basis and also get results.  I used to have a lot of back pain that I just chalked up to being a weekend warrior.  After doing Bikram Yoga for a while, my back did not hurt as much after playing tennis or golf.  I don’t remember any “aha moments” when I realized that I was not having the normal pain, it just did not happen as much anymore.  I know I am stronger and more flexible but the biggest benefit is the confidence that I have now to do all the stuff I enjoy and not worry so much about the nagging aches and pains.  That peace of mind goes a long way towards getting out there and going for it.  When I do the challenges that the studio puts together, I know that hard work and commitment will make it happen and that I have the strength to do it.  That is a good feeling.

Of course the main reason anyone really sticks with a healthy routine for a long period of time is to improve their lives.  I want to continue doing Bikram Yoga because there is so much of this world to see and do, and I want to be in good shape both mentally and physically to do it.  What’s great about BYAZ is that all the teachers make it fun and challenging.  They have made a huge difference in my life.  Oh and one more thing, if an average old guy like me, who keeps falling out of the postures, can be Student of the Month, anyone can.  Keep up the good work, and see you at class.

My Top 5 List:  The Top 5 reasons you should join The Bikram Yoga Paradise Valley Men’s Club -- by Craig Miller

Number 5: You can goof around with Sam Rogers and me in the hall before the 3:30pm class starts.

Number 4: You can be on the ground floor of a small but exclusive group of guys who cause all kinds of trouble.

Number 3: We have great honorary women members, and are always looking for more.

Number 2: Any group whose motto is, “we like our beer cold and our yoga hot” is your kind of place.

Number 1: We have way cool tee shirts – so pick up your shirt at the studio and join the fun!

A Final Savasana Quote

It is only those people who are not rowing the boat that have time to cause problems for the others on the boat.  By doing this yoga you are moving your life forward and making yourself a better person that can do more good things for the people in your boat and in your life.