Greetings!
There's so much happening at BYD Austin in July! We've got international yoga champions visiting, our anniversary celebration and a new challenge starting up. Be sure to read the announcements carefully so you don't miss out on anything. We thank you for your patience with the new carpet installation Downtown. We had to postpone it to be sure we have optimal conditions for a quality installation that will be hassle free after the fact. We expect it to take place soon and will do our best to make sure it does not interfere with the class schedule. We'll keep you informed. July 9th was the anniversary of the passing of Bishnu Ghosh. We've chosen this issue to highlight the development of Bikram Yoga from the knowledge and teachings of Bishnu Ghosh and his older brother Paramahansa Yogananda. Nora Jeanne's article tells the story and shares the importance of spirit as the guiding force behind all successful endeavors. With the BYD summer challenge about to begin, we asked BYD member Kim Davis to share her story of how she started Bikram Yoga and the incredible results she experienced in her dedicated 101 day challenge. The summer solstice, June 21st, marked the 365th day for BYD member Jim Holzknecht's challenge! He did class every day except July 9th when the studios were closed but did a double the next day to make up for it. To Jim, daily yoga is no longer a challenge, it's a habit. Sometimes in our research we come across something that is so good for you it's a bit overwhelming and hard to know where to start and when to stop. This month's healthy food item is one of those and gives reason to reinforce that the purpose here is just to peak your interest so you'll look into it more on your own. Happy July! |
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Announcements
Friday, July 16th & Saturday, July 17th:
BYD Anniversary &
Summer Challenge Kick-off Weekend
with 2010 International Yoga Champions
party 6:00p to 10:00p
cocktails by Daily Juice * food by Tacos n Tequila
Yoga Demos (of course!) by Team BYD and the
2010 International Yoga Champions!
We'll have a deejay, the All-Star BYD Band
(members of Belleville Outfit,
The Harringtons and The Lost Counts),
a special performance by David Fridlund and
perhaps other surprise performances!
July 16th Class Cancelations:
Davenport: No 4:30p class
Downtown: No 5:30p or 6:30p classes
The following classes will be taught or led by one of the Champions:
Friday, July 16th:
10:00a (Downtown) Beginning Class
12:15p (Downtown) Advanced Class
Saturday, July 17th:
12:00p (Downtown) Beginning Class
2:00p (Downtown) Posture Practice Class |
BYD Summer 30 Class Challenge
6 classes a week for 5 weeks
starting July 17th.
This summer challenge is a kinder, gentler challenge designed to shine the spotlight on other aspects of your everyday life to bring awareness to how they affect you. You'll be on the hook for doing class six times a week and choosing five of the following challenges to throw into the mix:
- Eliminate all caffeine from your diet for one week.
- Eliminate all refined sugars from your diet for one week.
- Eliminate all alcohol from your diet for one week.
- Eliminate news (TV, online, newspaper, radio) for one week.
- Eliminate use of the computer and telephone (this includes cell phones!) for two consecutive days.
- Go for a swim at Barton Springs immediately after class.
- Ask a fellow BYD member that you don't know well out for a social occasion to get to know them better.
- Practice in different spots in each of the three studios.
- Take as many different teachers' classes as possible.
Challenge starts on July 17th. We'll have new boards at each studio for tracking class attendance and will finish the challenge with the next Karma Class on August 20th! |
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Kim Davis
 "Its Over." That was the text I received from my boyfriend. One month later I started Bikram Yoga after first hearing of it from Aimee Walden. I dove right into Bikram's 60 day challenge with the goal of losing weight. Little did I know my journey would provide a much deeper change. A week into the challenge I read Bikram 101, a blog about a 101 day challenge. One night after class I mentioned this blog to Sara Culler who immediately encouraged me to extend my challenge from 60 to 101 days. I thought she was crazy but the seed was planted and I eventually extended my challenge to 101 days. June 10th was my 101st class. In 101 days I lost 30 lbs., 8% body fat and went from a size 10 to a size 2. Obviously, I was pleased with these results but I was even more pleased with something I'd gained in the process; I gained true acceptance of myself and others. The whole concept that all that really matters is that you are doing your best, not how perfect your posture, freed me of expecting perfection from myself and allowed me to accept where I was in my practice. Over the course of the challenge I began to truly understand what the teachers meant when they said "this is yoga practice not yoga perfect." I found that it felt peaceful to accept myself for where I was that day rather than feeling anxious about not being in a different place. Acceptance of myself made it okay that it took 100 days before I could hold the triangle pose for both sets. The lesson transcended into other parts of my life as well. I've come to accept that everyone on my staff is at a different place in their professional development. By changing my expectations, I approach my staff differently and place less pressure on them which enables them to excel and feel better about themselves. They all now call me "Yoga Kim." I see it as a new state of mind rather than just a nickname. |
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Olive Oil
Though you may like the taste of bread dipped in olive oil, have you ever hesitated because you've thought it can't be good to eat all that oil? If so, hesitate no more, extra virgin olive oil boasts many surprising health benefits and is considered a super food for the heart.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a high concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids, in particular oleic acid, as well as polyunsaturated and saturated fats. It also contains Vitamin E and, like other fruits, is packed with phytonutrients and antioxidants. These nutritional elements are eliminated through processing so stick to extra virgin olive oil packaged in small, opaque containers to maintain freshness and maximize the health benefits. Even though heat will reduce the health benefits of olive oil, using it will still make the food you cook better for you than if you used any other oil or fat. Following are some of the health benefits backed by studies.
Oleic acid is good for heart health by reducing the presence of damaging LDL cholesterol and increasing and strengthening the protective HDL cholesterol. Phytonutrient compounds provide anti-inflammatory effects which protect the lining of our blood vessels (endothelial) and help to prevent high blood pressure. The endothelial function, often impaired for a few hours after a meal, instead increases after a meal with virgin olive oil and the polyphenols present provide an anticoagulant effect minimizing the clumping of platelets which form blood clots.
Extra virgin olive oil has been determined to be a key factor in lowering risk of breast cancer and protects against several stages of colon cancer development, bone loss and chronic degenerative disease. It lowers rates of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis and, when used in place of animal fats in food, reduces gastric and duodenal ulcers. It also lowers blood sugar levels and reduces the insulin requirement for type 2 diabetics. There is a connection between belly fat and insulin resistance and both are reduced with olive oil in the diet. As if that's not enough, the monounsaturated fats increase the breakdown of fats in fat cells.
To maximize the benefits of olive oil, use it exclusively in place of other oils and butter in your meals. Pour a little over already cooked vegetables, meats or fresh vegetables and salads. |
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Join us for our anniversary bash and be inspired by your fellow BYD members and the 2010 International Yoga Champions. Sign up for the summer challenge starting the next day and see what you discover about yourself.
We'll see ya in the hot room!
Sincerely,
The Yoga Team
BYD Austin |
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The Birth of Bikram Yoga
by Nora Jeanne Welsh
July 9th, 2010 was the 40th anniversary of the passing of Bishnu Ghosh, Bikram Choudhury's guru. We say that the word guru means teacher, though a more thorough translation is one who removes darkness. Bishnu was the youngest brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, the founder of the Self-Realization Fellowships in the United States and author of the book Autobiography of a Yogi who spread the teachings of Kriya Yoga throughout the West. Bishnu was initiated into yoga by his brother and was the first to scientifically document yoga's ability to cure chronic physical ailments and heal the body. He opened Ghosh's Yoga College and College of Physical Education in 1923 in Calcutta and became one of the most renowned physical culturalists of the 20th century. He wrote the book Muscle Control in 1930 and later, along with others, founded the Mr. Universe bodybuilding competition. He visited the United States in 1939, lectured at Columbia University and gave yoga demonstrations.
Bikram Choudhury began studying yoga at age 5 with Bishnu Ghosh. Bikram was a yoga champion for 3 consecutive years beginning at age 11 until Bishnu asked him to stop competing. He then took up bodybuilding and toured with Bishnu (along with others) all over India performing demonstrations of amazing physical feats and even competed in the Olympics as a champion weightlifter for India. After a debilitating weightlifting accident after which western doctors said he would never walk again, he returned to yoga to heal himself and, with a newfound personal appreciation for the healing power of hatha yoga, became Ghosh's leading teacher at his yoga college responsible for training all the other teachers.
In India, people consult yoga teachers for all kinds of health issues. Clients would come to Ghosh's Yoga College to meet personally with Bishnu and explain to him all their ailments. While they spoke he would listen, read the energy blockages in their aura and write out a detailed prescription of yoga postures necessary to heal that person. A man would be sent off with a male teacher and a female with a female teacher and each would be given one on one instruction on how to perform the specified postures. The clients were then responsible for doing these postures on their own and would check back in for follow-up appointments.
After receiving numerous requests from the Bollywood crowd in Bombay for a knowledgeable yoga teacher, Bishnu sent Bikram to work with these clients. In a short period of time Bikram's services were in such great demand that he was forced to bring those with similar ailments together for group instruction. While this was a break from the traditional way that yoga was taught, he found that the students often had better results when doing the yoga in the group environment. This was the very beginning of the development of the sequence of postures that is now Bikram Yoga.
In 1968, Bishnu went to Japan with his troupe of yogis and toured all over the country lecturing and doing yoga demonstrations. Upon returning to India, the Japanese requested that he send a teacher over to open a yoga college in Japan. He once again turned to Bikram to fulfill this request. The level of trust and respect between the two were such that Bikram never questioned or hesitated whatsoever with regards to doing anything Bishnu asked of him. He promptly moved to Japan and opened a yoga college.
It was in Japan that Bikram refined and formalized the sequence that we call Bikram's Beginning Hatha Yoga Class. With Bishnu's focus on bodybuilding, the mirrors were a natural addition to the classroom setting and are an important tool for the students to be able to see what they are doing with their bodies and fine tune the postures. It was the students who requested the heat and several began to bring in their own personal space heaters for use during the class. This brilliant formula of heat, mirrors, sequence of postures that works all the major systems of the body while sculpting incredible physiques, and the group environment has been unchanged for decades and is now taught worldwide.
But don't think that this break from tradition came without dissention. It was years of dispute before Bishnu finally gave his blessings to Bikram's innovative class and teaching method. Bikram believed without a doubt that the entire world deserved access to the benefits of yoga and knew that that would not be possible were he to continue with the traditional one-on-one approach. The last words Bishnu ever spoke to Bikram were, "You must continue to teach this yoga." Each step in the development of the formula that is now Bikram Yoga came about as a result of supply and demand and followed a natural, logical progression. Bikram would never dream of going against his guru's wishes but, when Bishnu was opposed to Bikram's one class for everyone approach, Bikram would not budge. He held firm to his belief with 100% conviction that his class, designed to benefit the entire populace, was what the world needed.
Whether breaking free from a tradition that has been firmly in place for centuries, going to war to break free from an oppressive government or taking on any great challenge, requires an independent spirit and tremendous courage. The vision of the successful completion and final result must be inspiring enough to overcome all the obstacles and potential pitfalls along the way.
Paramahansa Yogananda's teachings were passed from Bishnu to Bikram and are interwoven throughout Bikram's class in a very subtle yet practical manner. Bikram speaks of developing patience, concentration, determination, self-discipline and faith as the five biggest gifts that his yoga delivers to its practitioners. These mental attributes are at the core of all truly successful lives.
Yogananda said, "Tune yourself with the creative power of Spirit. You will be in contact with the Infinite Intelligence that is able to guide you and to solve all problems. Power from the dynamic Source of your being will flow uninterruptedly so that you will be able to perform creatively in any sphere of activity."
True success is measured by happiness. We all deserve to be happy. |
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