Skip to main content

Bikram Yoga Journal

This Thursday, I practiced Bikram yoga for the first time. After reviewing the 26 postures of Bikram yoga, I was apprehensive about the class because many of the postures seemed to require great balance, flexibility and strength. However, the class turned out to be easier than I had anticipated, although it was still quite challenging. I ended up enjoying the class much more than I thought I would. The combination of stretching and strengthening moves made the class very comprehensive, in my opinion. Furthermore, I was able to see the practicality in many of the postures. For example, the tree pose is obviously effective for improving balance, while awkward pose strengthened the legs, specifically the quads. Being able to clearly understand how each pose was affecting my body made me favor Bikram yoga over my weekly yoga class. After taking this class, I am curious to see how other types of yoga, like Iyengar and Ashtanga, will differ from Bikram.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yoga Journal 1/23/18

My first yoga experience was a free yoga class offered by Stockton at the lodge on Tuesday, January 23rd. Having attended this yoga class a few times before, I knew what to expect when I attended. The instructor of the class was the same women who I had taken classes with before, Stevie. Upon walking into the lodge, I was not surprised that most of the people there were female, with a few males scattered among them. Most people were dressed in athletic clothing and had their hair pulled up away from their faces. Most people had their own yoga mats, but had to borrow yoga blocks from Stevie. People set up their mats in rows and left a foot or two of space between one another. I notived that the atmosphere didn't seem very suitable for a yoga class due to the distracting noises coming from the kitchen in the lodge. While waiting for the class to begin, most people were sitting cross legged on their mats facing Stevie. Because it was the first class offered at Stockton t...

Yoga Journal 3/29/18

In my practice space, yoga is very much used as a form of meditation, if meditation is defined as a mental state of clarity and focus. One obvious way that meditation is practiced is through the breathing techniques that the teacher encourages us to use, ujjayi breathing. Because ujjayi breathing involves tightening the back of the throat, it requires extreme focus. This breathing technique, because it requires so much focus, encourages meditation. The teacher also explains meditation by telling the class to not let their minds wander, to be attentive to their breathing, and to clear their minds of any thoughts or worries. Another way that meditation is practiced is through closing the eyes, which the teacher is always reminding us to do. Although she does not actually say "meditation", meditation is definitely encouraged through her suggestions.

Yoga Journal 3/1

This week, I attended a class at Stockton's TRLC for the second time this semester, and with the same teacher, Jason. I have always noticed how at most of the classes I have attended, the teacher always mentions some of the ways that yoga can alleviate pain and be beneficial for the body. For example, this week Jason told the class that the postures we were doing, such as coming in and out of a plank position, were building core strength. He also said that some stretches would alleviate back pain. However, Jason only talks about benefits that have to do with relieving aches and pains, and not how yoga can be beneficial for illness. Other teachers I have had talk more about mental health. At my yoga class with Stevie that I have attended several times before, she always mentions how practicing slow, deep breathing can be used to calm anxiety. She also talks about how some postures, like spinal twists, are massaging the connective tissue of the body. These messages that my teachers o...