10,000 Yoga Classes?!

Imagine taking 2,000 Bikram Yoga classes. Well that's just what our February Student in the Spotlight, Bill Brown, has done!

Bill began his practice in August of 2006. Since then, Bill has practiced in over 70 different studios in 15 different states. Before yoga, he worked out with weights, did cardio, and of course, he golfed! Although he was in great shape, he had suffered injuries earlier in his life that resulted in surgeries on both of his knees and shoulders. Bikram Yoga has really helped to improve those areas that have been operated on.

Besides healing old injuries, the yoga has really helped Bill to detox and keep his health in tip-top condition. In the 6 years that he has been practicing yoga, he has only been sick twice! The yoga has also helped to calm him down. He says, "that's a big one - don't let anything steal your peace".

When asked what advice Bill would give a new student, he says, "Just keep coming as much as you can, the rest will take care of itself." Well we know Bill is taking his own advice as he informs us that his goal is to take 10,000 classes! He explains, "God willing I should get to 10,000 classes in 2039 when I am 88 years young!!!"

The Power of a Pose

Not feeling especially happy today?

There’s a well-known, quick fix solution social psychologists might tell you about … it involves putting a pencil between your back molars and clenching down for about two minutes.  You’ll feel a little happier when it’s over (and not just because you get to relieve your face from the discomfort).  Try it with an open mind – it’s a little weird, but it works.

Here’s the “science” behind the trick. The muscles activating in this “pose” are the same ones that bring a smile to your face.  This biting-down activity is doing more for you than simply “turning a frown upside down” … in theory, it’s securely activating the same tissues and nerves around your mouth to simulate a sense of well-being in your psyche, mimicking a smile without the psychological effort of “faking it.” In other words, you’re letting your neurological system take care of your mental well-being, from the outside in.

The same logic applies to our yoga practice, perhaps in an even broader context.

Think about your body language during the times you feel your happiest, most confident self.  As you walk into a room, perhaps your chest is protruding.  You walk a little taller. When you’re full of good energy … your arms are extended and ready to hug, help, high-five … whatever.  You’re literally a “bigger” version of yourself.  It’s not rocket science – it’s just easy to tell that you’re feeling good by looking at your posture.

On the contrary, during the not-so-great days, you might catch yourself slouching or folding your arms, holding yourself tight for comfort or protection.  You’re a smaller version of you, maybe using those hands to chew your nails as a coping mechanism for your anxiety.

Much like the good old pencil trick, this is how the yoga helps us psychologically from the outside-in.  You’re opening your body.  Expanding your chest, lengthening, stretching … Releasing whatever nervous energy you’re holding up that’s keeping you tight, small, or timid.  By standing tall during tree pose, you’re giving your body permission to feel strong and balanced – even if your mind isn’t 100% there. By proudly releasing your chest in camel, you’re beaming with confidence – even if you’ve had the kind of week that would rather make you feel like crawling into a cave. By enlarging your body, you’re enlarging your mind.

Bottom line … There are those sometimes elusive feelings in life we all strive for:  happiness, confidence, inner peace.  You may not always be feeling these things on the inside … but if you start by displaying them on the outside, through your body, you’ll get there.  Don’t discount the power of a pose, no matter how small it may seem.  Keep it up!

Fasten Your Seat Belts

 By Niki Hayes

If you have ever met Bikram Choudhury you know that he has two passions in his life; yoga and cars. He constantly compares the human to the car. He says, "I fix the human chassis, I tune up human engines, I recharge human batteries, and I adjust human transmissions". In his yoga classes he uses analogies to help people understand the yoga in terms of cars. As a 27-year-old woman with not a whole lot of experience with cars, some of these analogies are easy to understand and some have taken some time to figure out. So here is a quick overview of some of Bikram's most common car references in the yoga room and what I have gathered they mean.

"Bentleys and Rolls-Royces"

Sure I know that these are two of the nicest cars money can buy, but why does Bikram bring them up all the time? Well, Bikram has bought numerous vintage cars that were "hopeless wrecks" and he has restored them with his own two hands. He now owns a garage full of beautifully restored Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. He says, "the only thing that gives me as much pleasure as seeing a junked car come back to life is seeing a junked human being come back to life through yoga. I show people how to lead Rolls-Royce- and Bentley-quality lives, even those who start out on the scrap heap." We all walk into the yoga with our "junk"; whether it physical, mental, emotional, and slowly we begin to restore ourselves.

"This is the Gas Station"

Bikram says, "you can't go anywhere without the gas". In class he tells us how we are "filling up our tanks" and gaining energy. But how can you gain energy from working your butt off for 90 minutes in a hot room?! He explains by saying, "First, you are in tune, so you operate and process fuel more efficiently (awesome, we become hybrids of ourselves!) You can go farther on less gas. Through the breathing exercises you are generating vast amounts of prana, life energy, so naturally you feel more energized. On a medical level, you are taking in more air, oxygenating all your cells and charging them with energy." By practicing yoga, although very physically demanding, you actually create more energy in your body than you had before, essentially taking yourself to the gas station.

"A Little Jump-Start"

Everyone has their story when they come to yoga; in-shape, not-in-shape, happy, depressed, rich, poor, in love, lonely, you name it. But as these fellow souls unite in yoga class, things start to change, especially for those who are suffering. Bikram says, "other people's happiness and success rubs off on you. It's like when its cold outside and your car doesn't start. That doesn't mean that you take the car and dump it in the junkyard, right? You just need a jump. There's nothing wrong with you or your car; you just need a little help. And the belief the teacher and the other students in yoga class have in you jump-starts your own cold battery. They charge you with their faith, and then, after a while, you recognize your own faith, your own power." By coming to yoga class, even when things aren't going right in life, you give yourself the opportunity to connect with positive, like-minded people who are willing to share their energy and joy with you.

By practicing yoga you begin to restore your body, mind and spirit, and molding yourself into the best version of yourself, into your potential, into your own Rolls Royce. And although life may be busy and you may find it hard to make time for yoga, remember that the yoga is creating more energy in your body, fueling your tank, so that you can accomplish more throughout your day. And through trying times, which everyone will experience at some point, keep coming to yoga, allowing other yogis to help jump start your faith in yourself, ultimately helping you to realize your true (horse) power.

A "Q&A" about ACL & MCL Tears

A recent post from Bikram Yoga Vancouvers blog brought up a great response to a very common question- so we decided to share it here with you!

The Question

In March 2012 I experienced a minor tear in my ACL (anter      ior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament). I have not been able to work out or play any sports since then. Recently, someone told me that Bikram Yoga could help, but I wonder if I should wait until after I see my surgeon in mid-October to try a class? I’ve tried Bikram Yoga before, but haven’t been in the hot room for over two years now.

We asked Roxy, a BYV teacher and a medical doctor, to provide us with some info about ACL & MCL tears. Here’s what she recommends …

The Answer

Of the two injuries you’ve experienced, it’s the ACL tear that’s most serious. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a tough band of tissue connecting the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (leg bone) located deep inside the knee joint. Specifically, it functions to prevent forward movement of the tibia from beneath the femur, or similarly, backward movement of the femur over the tibia. Also, it serves to resist rotational and sideways forces to the knee. ACL tears are quite often accompanied by injuries to additional knee structures, most often one of the menisci (knee cartilages) and/or the medial collateral ligament (along the inner side of the knee). ACL injuries, by themselves, also vary in severity: they can be mild, moderate or severe (grade 1 microscopic; grade 2 laxity with slackening; or grade 3 full thickness tear with most instability). The more structures are injured along with the ACL, the worse the injury and the longer the recovery.

The medial collateral ligament (MCL), on the other hand, connects the femur and tibia on the inner side (between the knees) and resists forces acting on the outer side of the knee. Along with its counterpart on the lateral or outer side of the knee (lateral collateral ligament (LCL)), the ligaments provide stability and support to the knee in side-to-side movement. The MCL’s primary function is to prevent the leg from overextending inward, but it also is part of the mechanism that stabilizes the knee and allows it to rotate.

ACL tears, especially the most severe ones, may require surgical treatment, while MCL tears most often heal on their own without surgery (with symptomatic treatment). Initially, in the acute phase of injury, icing, elevation and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories are recommended with limitation of physical activity (minimizing weight-bearing) followed by physical therapy – which Bikram Yoga is – to strengthen the knee soft tissues and supportive structures and regain flexibility.

With ACL tears, the recommendations are no sudden movements (e.g., do not play sports like soccer, basketball, tennis, etc.), no planting (as in running and planting feet), no pivoting and no deep squatting.

Bikram Yoga & Recovery

Bikram Yoga – with some modifications – will be quite healing for a variety of reasons. Since often ACL tears have other soft-tissue injuries associated (e.g., meniscus tears), the increased irrigation of the circulatory system to the synovial fluid will provide better nutrition to the soft tissues. In Bikram Yoga, we do not do sudden movements and everything is held still, so there are no worries in that department.

Deep knee flexion, such as in Awkward Pose, can be avoided (gradually increasing the intensity bit by bit if tolerated). The other deep knee flexion, namely Fixed Firm Posture, has to be performed with utmost care with very little depth: start by keeping your weight forward on the arms and not fully flexing the knees, keeping the knees wide apart to minimize the intensity (feet still apart at hip-width).

There is no pivoting in class, but extreme care should be taken with rotations of the knee: namely Tree Pose (not bringing the knee back too far down or back, keeping it up toward the ceiling and forward toward the mirror), Toe Stand (most likely, you will need to avoid this one) and head to knee in the floor series (for the leg that rotates out and bends in, the heel may not reach anywhere near the costume nor the foot the inner thigh, so a very loose flexion). Likewise in Spine Twisting Pose, on the side of the injured knee, keeping the leg straight on the ground rather than bending the knee.

The general recommendations of sports medicine for ACL tears (no sudden movements, no planting, no pivoting, no deep squats) can be put in the context of the postures to achieve the desired improvement. Extra caution should be taken when restarting the practice but, in time, favourable results can be achieved and accelerated by Bikram Yoga as a form of physical therapy. In the acute phase of injury, I would suggest taking it extremely easy, but the practice can be particularly helpful as it is ideal for strengthening the supportive soft tissues of the knee, in particular the musculature, which will help with sustaining the architectural support of the knee joint that is lacking ACL support.

Summary of Specifics to Bikram Yoga Practice for ACL Tears

1. Deep knee flexion should be avoided initially, then gradually increased in intensity if tolerated (gauged by the student):

• Awkward Pose: Minimize knee bend; may need to avoid third part with knees together (given the rotation).
• Fixed Firm Pose: Stay high, keep knees wide apart and even brace body weight partially by leaning forward on arms.

2. Extra care in rotation:

• Tree Pose: Keep bent knee up toward ceiling and forward toward mirror; with one hand holding the foot, the other hand can be used to support and hold the knee to minimize effect of gravity of pulling the knee down, which would increase rotation.
• Toe Stand: Avoid.
• Head to Knee Pose:(referring to floor posture that is accompanied with stretching): The leg that is normally bent and brought in for the foot to touch the inner thigh with heel on the costume may be bent slightly and loosely without bringing the foot in all the way to inner thigh (in very extreme cases, the leg may be kept straight).
• Spine Twisting Pose: The leg that is usually bent on the floor may be kept straight.

This post originally appeared on the Bikram Yoga Vancouver blog.

Life is Not a "Dress Rehearsal"

By Susan P. 

I have been practicing Bikram Yoga at PV for 5+ years. I was looking to find an exercise routine when I moved in this area and a friend recommended I give Bikram yoga a try. I came to a very busy class over Labor Day weekend and found everyone very welcoming to me as a newbie. I honestly enjoyed my very first class and came back the next day. I found that the routine and repetition of the basic 26 postures gave me the consistency I wanted to establish for exercising. Overtime BY has come to mean way more than that for me. I have learned how breathing correctly in the postures carries over to my everyday life. When I face a stressful situation at work I am able to just breathe and handle it. I do not get as anxious about things as I used to be. As a matter of fact my close friends have commented that I seem more relaxed and happy. I have always been a morning person so the 5:30 AM class is perfect for me! I love starting my day with yoga. You will find me in the front row next to the stage as this is my comfort zone. I like being next to the instructor and directly in front of the mirror. I would encourage new students to stay with it. I started out slow coming 2 to 3 times a week. The more you come to class the more you learn and find that you can improve on your postures. The other advice I would give is really listen to the dialogue. When I find my mind straying I come right back to the words and I end up having a great class. My favorite posture is Cobra. For me it was one of the most difficult when I started practicing. I still can improve upon it but feel I have made it my best and look forward to doing that posture in every class. I will be celebrating my 65th birthday in the spring and I know that my daily practice of yoga has been the key for my good health and fitness. “Life is not a dress rehearsal” so I think everyone should make up their mind if they want to live it as the very best they can. Things happen that we cannot always control but things we can control can make a difference. I have made wonderful friends at the studio who continue to inspire me in my practice. I am very glad I can call myself part of the BYPV family.