Inspirational Quote
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A Quote from Bikram
Nothing can steal happiness, peace away from you: if anyone does make
you angry, you are the loser; if someone can allow you to lose peace,
you are the loser
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Join Our List
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Greetings!
Well here is November already, a group of folks have completed a 30 day challenge and some carrying on to 60 days, never know, one of them might decide to just to keep trucking on and find themselves with 1001 classes in a row completed , yes that is what a collegue of mine accomplished two years ago. I asked him how he approached his classes , his comment was that the first set he really just observed how he was at that time, from that feedback he decided how far he might push his boundaries on the second set, every day was different. Whatever your frequency of practice, his comments are applicable. Of course we often underestimate or over-estimate our boundaries especially in the beginning, but that is why you go frequently, and why the teacher is there, with tone, direction and encouraging words helping us to be present and honest with ourselves as we discover more and more about ourselves, the boundaries the weakness the strengths, the unknown. I often don't get a chance to see or speak with all that come in for classes, so i would like to thank you all for your commitment to your practice at our studio. Your presence there is truly appreciated, as without you we could not offer a facility such as this. From the beginning, my vision was for a studio that was small town friendly, clean happy hot and humid, where all ages from 6 year to 600 year , grandchildren to the grandparent, family together could gather to balance and grow.using the bikram yoga as a focal point, a foundation. I see this happening and again thank you for being a part of it. Always challenges face us in many forms , from new viruses to new economics. I encourage you to continue your practice to successfully maintain or regain your department of defense too your department of finance. Feels like fall/ winter today , sitting at the computer for a while now, thinking better get up go down get warm and stretch the money maker. See ya there Cheers Doug
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| NEW COMER OR "LONG TIME NO SEE" SPECIAL |
| For the new comers and those haven't been to the studio for 2 years ...
2 WEEKS UNLIMITED for ONLY $29.95
We have good news for you! For limited time, you can have 2 weeks unlimited classes for only $29.95! Take as many classes as you want in two weeks, and enjoy the full blast of Bikram's original hot yoga power! |
| Lost & Found |
| Lost Something?
Check out the Lost & Found Box beside the shoe shelves.
Please claim your belongs before Nov 15th. We will be clearing out the stuffs from Lost & Found and donate them to charity after that.
Thank you. |
Feature Posture
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Savasana - Dead Body Pose Savasana seems ridiculously simple: Relax and breathe, breathe and relax, while maintaining total stillness. Teaching it takes all of 10 seconds. Yet when properly performed, Savasana is the most important posture in Hatha Yoga. Its name translates as "corpse pose," or "dead body pose," due to the complete stillness required during its proper execution (no pun intended). But Savasana is actually a powerful way to breathe life into the body. For many people, this is also the most difficult asana.
On the physical level, using Savasana after certain postures finishes and accelerates the compression and release cycle in which internal organs are first deprived of blood, then flooded with it. The high-speed cleansing flushes out accumulated toxins, free radicals and other debris in its powerful current. This natural irrigation and internal cleansing that occurs after the compression of the postures is how we gain energy through yoga practice.
To begin: Lie flat on your back, keeping your limbs straight. Bring your heels together and your arms close enough to almost touch the sides of your body. Turn your palms upward toward the ceiling to release pressure in the shoulder joints, and keep your eyes open to remain present and awake. Relax your whole body as one unit. Let the floor support your full weight.
Concentrate on your breath, inhaling deeply through your nose to the depths of your abdomen up through your chest, and exhaling fully (again, through the nose) from chest to abdomen. Keep the mouth closed. Softly fix your gaze on a single point on the ceiling or an arbitrary point in space. Continue for 2 minutes.
How hard is that; how complicated can it be? Very and very, because now you are dealing with the untrained mind. The mind is rebellious and disobedient. Tell it to do something, and watch it throw a tantrum. Toes wiggle, fingers tap, fists and jaws clench, eyes squint, muscles tense, teeth grind and breathing stops. How's that for relaxation?
The same things happen when unprepared people attempt sitting meditation. The mind has an agenda of its own, and is terrified of relinquishing control. Submitting to peaceful relaxation will take power away from the ego and its manipulative tools, fear and desire. But within a few weeks of yoga practice, all the wriggling, fidgeting, clenching, tapping, squinting, waving, holding, locking and grinding in Savasana slowly gives way to a peaceful and relaxed stillness. When you are able to make your mind your best friend, you have the power, and you achieve a gradual healing and integration of both body and mind.
Bikram's Key:
Savasana itself is the only key here. Go back and read Bikram's instructions and relax for 2 full minutes. Enjoy. You can also use this posture at any point in the day or night when you want to relax.
Benefits:
Savasana facilitates powerful blood flow, then lets circulation return to normal, creating internal cleansing and greatly magnifying the benefits of the postures that precede it. And in Savasana one begins to learn complete relaxation.
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| Inspirational Student |
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Richard Arnold
  I've been a student at Bikram Nanaimo since summer 2008. I have practiced regular physical fitness (hiking, backpacking, canoeing, bicycling, running) all of my adult life, and always try to make time to stay in shape. After 14 months of Bikram Yoga, I feel I am in the best shape of my life. My wife, Robin, also a student here at the Nanaimo studio, practiced for a year before I began. From the earliest classes she took, she sang the praises of yoga and how it helped her flexibility, allergies, calmness of mind, and overall physical strength. I listened to her at first with only partial interest, telling her that I was in good enough shape from my aerobic exercise, etc. I didn't think yoga would be any use to me.
Finally, after a year of hearing my wife talk about it, I decided to give it a try. The first class was brutal: the heat reminded me of being in the boiler room of a ship, where the temperature could get up to 135 degrees F. It was all I could do to stay in the room the first class, and besides the physical challenges, I think my mind was a huge factor as well; it kept saying "You don't need this. You can stay in shape without sweating so much. You'll never be able to do those poses."
When the first class was over, I decided I wouldn't come back. But over the next couple of days, I started thinking about it again, and I realized that I did want to go back for another class, just to prove to myself that I could do it again. And halfway through this second class, I actually shifted my goal from just trying to get through it, to trying to do the poses as well as I possibly could.
That was a breakthrough for me, and when that class was over I knew I was coming back.
Well, unbelievably after only two months of classes (2 or 3 a week) I signed up for a 30-day challenge. At the time, I didn't believe I could actually do it; my biggest obstacle was my work and family schedule, which required lots of juggling. But I managed to do it, and the day I finished the challenge was one of the proudest of my life. I felt better, physically and spiritually, than I had in many years. My muscles were toned, I'd lost a few pounds, my skin seemed to glow, and
I had a spring in my step. You know what I mean if you've done the challenge!
After 150 classes, I have come a long way. There are still a few poses (standing head to knee, toe stand, head-to-floor) I can't do perfectly, but I'll keep working on those. I am really proud of my Rabbit, Triangle, and Fixed Firm.
So, thanks to Doug and all the wonderful teachers, yoga has become an addiction! I have found that what Robin (my wife) told me is all true: it makes me feel good from my scalp to my toenails and everywhere in between. Plus, it's just FUN coming to the studio and seeing all the vibrant students and teachers, and hearing all the great stories! This exercise has made it easier for me to do all the other physical activities I enjoy. I sincerely believe Bikram Yoga is the best all-around exercise I've ever done.
Blessings,
Richard
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Feature Articles
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Bikram Yoga can reflect much more than you see in the mirror!
Your yoga practice and your responses to every stimulus, or emotion, or movement is a microcosm of your world outside the yoga room. No matter what style of yoga you practise there is always the chance that you will face doubts and personal conflicts which may interfere. The trick is to take a step back, rather than react as if there is danger and perhaps back off or change tack. Because you are in a safe environment you can take on a much more objective view and learn something about yourself 'everyday'. Some days you will find yourself asking: Do I really like this style of yoga, is it really for me? Why do I put myself through this challenge? The challenge right then at this crossroads is to observe yourself: - Are you seeking the door and a way to escape?
- Are you now on a quest to once again change style to something fresh and new, fooling yourself that you need a new challenge rather than sticking with it and deepening the learnings in a more profound way?
- Or do you have the courage to find a lesson in the challenge by examination of your own process or thoughts or feelings or changes in your own body?
Here is a helpful pointer to help you learn the most from these moments: - Start to notice the way things are, your breathing, the position of your body in space - this is the beginning of keeping yourself 'in the present moment'.
- Do this every time you start thinking of the 'escape route'.
Every day in the yoga studio or in your practice may come a time where the discomfort of discovery may challenge your ability to withstand the 'heat' or the offerings that your practice is presenting you. Embrace the challenge, breathe, enjoy the growth. Maybe not even right at that moment. Notice what you notice about your own reactions. In effect you attempt to take a step away from your normal reactions. Emerge cleansed. As with many things, not all changes are obvious as they happen. Often it may take weeks or months to notice that something that used to bother you does not anymore. Maybe you don't even notice until someone you know notices the changes. Maybe like me you started going and without realising it found your body was just taking you back to explore more.
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| Feature Articles |
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 What's the Heat gotta do with Yoga anyways?
Many yogis have heard of Patanjali's Sutras. Often known as the 8 'limbs of yoga', they describe one's path toward achieving enlightenment through yoga. As many of you may already know Yoga Asana is just one of these 8 paths. In the Western World yoga is commonly equated with just the physical practice or the postures only - the asanas. An asana practice certainly isn't everything but it is a great place to start on your journey towards your self-awareness. Indeed it is the doorway through which many thousands of yogis have sought to deepen their spiritual awareness. These days it seems that possibly too much attention is paid to one's external appearances. A great question to ask is: are we spending enough time on our inner selves to find calm and peace, and a better functioning body and a healthier mind? Yoga cleanses, working on the inside and the outside of our bodies purging the body of impure elements of the body (toxins) and mind (unhealthy self-talk). A veritable cleanse of the cells, organs and the mind! According to the yoga sutras we can arrive at purity of body, mind and spirit through heat or 'tapas'. This tapas helps you forge a new path to an improved you! You will definitely generate this tapas in your yoga practice by the movements of the body. Bikram Yoga adds extra dimensions. The most important is the addition of external heat. In our experience this definitely hastens the process and gets you results fast, and arguably faster than any other style of yoga. And not just the physical stuff like toning and musculature (you know, the results that people look for in a gymnasium). Another important difference with Bikram Yoga is the use of full length mirrors along at least one wall of the studio providing another sometimes confronting and other times welcoming element to your practice. These 2 challenging elements can help you find yourself embarking on the unfamiliar to help you create a new you. More efficiently than ever you will come face to face with the difference between what you want and what your current self is allowing you to create. Thus heat is created in a metaphysical realm - or tapas - and hey presto!
Memo from Doug: yes the heat helps , Bikram realized that 35 years ago, He is the founder of the "Hot yoga" that has today become soooo trendy that there is every flavour of "Hot" when it comes to yoga. The heat is an important attribute for many reasons, however the rise and popularity came about from millions of people changing their lives from the practise of Bikram Yoga. The heat was a small factor for that, the medicine truly lies in the ingredients, the 26 postures in order in 90 minutes, taught with operational direction by teachers trained by bikram himself. I mention this to clarify many misconceptions as the Trendy Hot yoga explodes around the world. Knowledge is huge , so facts from history can help as we attempt to understand and answer the yoga questions that arise as we hear more of this wonderful things that yoga can bring.
People are always trying to pull our leg, but best to come in to class and pull on your own leg hahaha and LOCK YOUR KNEE.
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Sincerely,
Bikram Yoga Nanaimo
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