JC Training Log

Benefits of Bikram Yoga (a.k.a Hot Yoga)

Toxin Removal

Bikram yoga is a variation of hatha yoga, which according to Bikram's Yoga College of India, naturally flushes waste and toxins from the body. Hot yoga is touted by practitioners as encouraging the internal cleansing process by increasing your amount of sweat, through which these impurities are released. The college describes Bikram yoga as a "natural irrigation of the body through the circulatory system, with the help of the respiratory system."

Respiration and Flexibility

Bikram yoga -- and all forms of yoga -- help you learn how to control your respiratory rate during physical exertion through pranayama, a series of breathing exercises. "The New York Times" article indicates that performing yoga poses in a heated environment does make your muscles more supple, making it easier to perform yoga poses that involve intense stretching.

Enhanced Flexibility

Bikram yoga's hot temperatures are designed to warm the muscles, which helps to facilitate greater stretching capabilities. The Bikram yoga poses are designed for total-body flexibility and include lunging, bending and twisting. Flexibility is important for you at every stage of your life. Flexible muscles tend to be less painful, reducing overall muscle tension in your body. This is especially beneficial for older adults, whose aching joints can increase muscle tension.

Burns Calories

Bikram yoga is a challenging, active practice that involves body movement that burns more calories than when you are at rest. Burning calories helps to create a calorie deficit, which helps you to maintain a healthy weight. Additionally, Bikram yoga is a muscle-building practice. Through the stretches and poses where you support your body weight, you build long, lean muscles that not only make you stronger, but also help you appear more fit and toned. Because muscle burns more calories than fat when you are at rest, Bikram yoga can contribute even more to weight maintenance or potential weight loss.

                                                                         Source :  
  
                  http://www.livestrong.com/article/396190-the-benefits-of-hot-bikram-yoga/

                  http://www.livestrong.com/article/372767-what-are-the-benefits-of-bikram-hot-yoga/

Another Step in my Progression

This weekend I had a great experience in sharing my personal love for fitness with people that are close to me. I told them how it had changed my life and that with dedication and hard work it could change their's. I brought them to Goodlife Fitness with me and we sat through a consultation meeting and got them signed up. Believe it or not, I have already noticed a significant change in their moods and out look towards being active and fit. I got to show them things I have learned and help them with any questions they had. I am already getting to put my newly acquired knowledge to use. It is so inspirational to see how this knowledge can be applied and to actually apply it. I am offering them advice on nutrition and possible work out plans to help them reach their goals. This new opportunity has also helped to further inspire myself. Seeing people take control of their lives reminds me of how fulfilling this lifestyle can be.

"We can all achieve the impossible."

Recently I found a very inspiring article in the Metro, a local newspaper. It is about a man named Ray Zahab, who overcame extreme adversity in his life to achieve great success in mind and sport.

Here's Ray's story. "I was sedentary. I wasn't the sporty type; in high school I was the 'dodge ball target'. At 30, I felt unfulfilled. I needed to change something but I didn't know what. I decided to take control of my body. It wasn't about being healthy. It was about becoming a different person." Ray decided the best thing was to give up something he saw as a love not an addiction; tobacco. It took him a year and a half to quit but on New Years eve 1999 he smoked his last cigarette. " From Janurary 1st onwards I looked at life differently. I lived every day like my last and discovered my body was like an engine. I was 30 years old and I was being introduced to someone I'd never met. That person is in each of us. As I came to control one thing, I began closing the door on the negative and opening up to the positive." He took up mountain biking, but felt like he wasn't a runner. " I lacked power and endurance and I didn't think I had the build but in 2003 I read an article about ultra marathons and I thought 'what the heck' and signed up to run in the Yukon arctic race." He hadn't run more than five times in three years and had only three months to transition from mountain biker to ultra marathon runner. When he reached the halfway point of the race, he felt like dropping out. " I was dragging my sled and freezing. I sat down and went through the things that had bought me here. I thought 'four years ago, you quit smoking and this is where it has lead you.'" He got up and took it one step at a time, determined to go farther. He lost track of time in between running and walking. " My mind was in a different place. I don't know how but I won the race. Running taught me I could do things I would have never imagined." Since then Ray has won several extreme races.

Derived from Metro News, Tuesday November 15, 2011.

Author: Romina McGuinness.