 Challenge Yourself, Improve Your Health, Enhance Your Life! |
"Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, "You owe me." Look what happens with a love like that - it lights the whole world"
- Rumi | |
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New Class Times! |
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Effective June 1st, we are pleased to offer you 4 new class times.
Mon and Wed @ 3:30 pm
Tues and Thurs @ 6:00 am
We hope that this will assist you in maintaining a steady summer Bikram Yoga Practice. Thank you for your continued support which allows us to expand and grow our weekly schedule and yoga community. | |
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SUMMER SIZZLER SPECIAL
2 Months of Unlimited Yoga for $150 (July 1st to August 31) |
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Offer Expires: June 30, 2009 * Ask one of our staff members for more details | |
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New Students! - RECEIVE 25% OFF |
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any membership or class package when purchased within the first 2 weeks of your initial visit to Bikram Yoga West Edmonton. Additional details are available at the front desk. | |
| Karma Class June 13th- The Ride to Conquer Cancer |
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It is our intention to hold a "Karma Class" every few months at the studio to support a local cause that is of importance to a student at Bikram West.
Please come and join us on Saturday, June 13th at 8:15am for a 90 minute Bikram class in support of Helma van den Bijgaart who is participating in "The Ride to Conquer Cancer" on June 27th and 28th. She will be riding in memory of her father who passed away from cancer 50 years ago. Although our last Karma Class was also in support of cancer research (The Kids with Cancer Foundation) , cancer has touched us all and we are excited to support Helma in her ride to raise funds for adults who battle cancer. We look forward to seeing you for a yoga practice, food, and to show our support for Helma!
A Karma class is a donation class of $5.00 minimum (passes are not in effect). If you have a cause that you would like to see supported through a "Bikram West Karma Class", please feel free to share it with us. Karma classes are a fantastic way to all practice together and give back to the community by supporting those in need.
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| BYWE's Featured Student |
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Everytime that Muff-Anne is at Bikram West, students and teachers are smiling and the "yoga is bouncing off of the walls"! Muff-Anne brings tremendous character and spirit to Bikram West and we are very grateful that she has spent the time and effort to share her experience of Bikram yoga with us. Thanks to Muff-Anne for being our June Featured Student...
 My name is Muff-Anne (Myfanwy in Welsh). I had been working out at Marjore O'Connors when she told us that Julie had brought over some Bikram Yoga schedules. On a whim, a few of us went to a class at the end of October 2008. After a class or two, we all signed up for the November challenge.
I have been involved in 3 car accidents, through no fault of my own. The most severe was on the Yellow-Head in 1996, involving speeds of 110 km. In 2002 I was rear-ended at 60km and in 2006 I was hit so hard it tore the front wheels off of my vehicle. As a result, I have suffered severe whiplash, a torn rotator cuff, T.M.J., a broken breast-bone, knee trauma and fibromyalgia. I've had cortisone injections, trigger-point injections, physiotherapy, accupuncture, I.M.S., chiropractic, and last but not least, heavy doses of drug therapy including oxy-codone (Percocet)!
During the challenge I started to notice that my pain was diminishing. I cut my drug-doses in half and some days I needed no medication at all. I can say with all honesty that Bikram is the only thing I've tried since 1996 that has given me perfect pain relief. I now come to Bikram 4 or 5 times a week and if I miss one of these days my body suffers - it craves the Moving Meditations and the heat. I also do Jazz and Tap Dancing competitively and Bikram has given me such a Pain-Free body that it is sheer bliss to dance.
Thank God for Bikram Yoga. I only wish that I would have stumbled upon it 13 years ago, after my first car accident.
"Bikram feeds my soul & frees my spirit."
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| Maintain your Summer Yoga Practice - Intelligent Cross-Training |
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As the sun shines and summer activities begin, it is tempting to shy away from our regular Bikram yoga practice and health maintenance system. Over the next summer months we will be highlighting common outdoor sports and activities and how a regular Bikram Yoga practice can complement and strengthen our participation in these. So much of yoga is about finding a healthy balancing point in our lives and activities. Just as we provide regular maintenance and care for a car, as we use our bodies more frequently while we run, golf, ride bikes, and chase kids, we must also actively maintain the health of our bodies. This maintenance will then increase the longevity of the sports and activities that we love to participate in.
Golf
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Due to the fact that golfers swing from one side of the body, there is asymmetry inherent in the sport. Overtraining and repetitive motion manifests as larger muscles on one side of a golfer's body. These stronger muscles are also tighter, while the weaker muscles are more flexible. The tight muscles, in turn, restrict the free movement of surrounding muscles, ultimately leading to limited range of motion.
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"A symmetrical golf stroke is not only going to be more accurate and go farther, it is also going to produce less strain on the body. To create more equality on both sides of the body, golfers need to hold strengthening poses on the weaker side of the body and opening poses on the stronger, yet tighter side of the body. This is in addition to a regular yoga program of poses performed equally on both sides."
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"Striving towards symmetry and balance is the essence of a yoga program, which breaks down tension the body has learned to work around. It is an intuitive process that takes practice to develop, much like a good golf game."
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"A balanced body is a flexible body, and flexibility remains the cornerstone of a good golf game. As Earl Woods told his son, "what you're looking for is a soft, flexible, fluid swing - that's power."
Focus on Bikram's Eagle Posture to encourage shoulder range of motion and joint health, and Cobra Posture to strengthen the lumbar spine in a balanced fashion.
- excerpts taken from "Yoga for Golfers", Yoga Journal (2009), Baron Baptiste, Kathleen Finn Mendola
Soccer
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"It only took one Bikram Yoga class for Leslie Osborne, a midfielder for the US Women's National Soccer Team, to become a convert..."
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"I would be exhausted from intense practices. Then I'd go to yoga, and I'd come out rejuvenated." Osborne says
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"...Soccer demands up to 90 minutes of intense focus. Soccer players sprint, stop short, cut left or right, dribble, and kick hard. As a result, the hamstrings and quadriceps become tight, which can contribute to back pain and knee pain."
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Rayburn recommends postures that strengthen connective tissue around the knees, shins, and ankles, while cultivating flexibility in the quadriceps and hamstings.
Focus on Bikram's Triangle Posture, to open up the hips and strengthen supporting ligaments and tissues, and Fixed Firm Posture, to build flexibility and joint mobility.
For more information, read our studio copy of "The Yoga Journal", May 2009
- quotations from Yoga Journal, Play Ball, May 2009, Dimity McDowell
Next month stay tuned for Running and Cycling ...
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| BYWE's Featured Instructor |
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I was asked to do up a bio about myself and Bikram Yoga, what I'm about, why I teach and so on. In keeping with the "25 random things" craze, I have come up with the following as they relate to yours truly and this wonderful yoga. 
Random facts about Shauna:
1. I have been practicing Bikram Yoga since 2004.
2. All we can do is try. But it is your responsibility to try your best on any particular day. It will change and that's ok, but be honest in your effort and always do your best. As your guide through this yoga,that is one of my expectations, that you try your best.
3. I encourage my students to laugh - whether it be at life, at me or my lame jokes,or at nothing at all. I really want you guys to have fun killing yourself in the "torture chamber". The torture is so much better when you can smile about it.
4. It WILL cost you $20.00 to leave my class, and just because the bill collector hasn't come knocking doesn't mean I'm not keeping track. Think about how much you're willing to pay before you trot out those doors.
5. The family that sweats together stays together - my mom, sister and aunt are all practitioners of Bikram. It is an absolute pleasure to see their smiling faces in my class. It is also a great way to take out years of sibling rivalry when you get to hold awkward pose until your sister sits down!
Embrace and enjoy your practice and know that you all make a difference in my experience as a teacher. I'm here for you, the students, because you guys show up for me as a teacher. Remember - to leave the class it's $20.00, but the butt kicking is free.
To read more random facts about Shauna, please visit her bio on our website www.bikramyogawestedmonton.ca
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Feature Posture - Tuladandasana
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What does Tuladandasana mean?
In Sanskrit, it means "Balancing Stick".
Posture number 7 - This posture is the one that sends your heart pounding through the roofs. When doing balancing stick, you lower your heart below your hips, which sends large amounts of blood rushing into the heart. You give yourself that mini heart attack, which makes you stronger and helps to never have one of the unwelcome kind. Balancing Stick is actually much more demanding than those other inversions; for example it would be much easier to stay in a Headstand for an hour than to do this one-legged Balancing Stick correctly for 10 seconds.
The forward tilt of your torso sends oxygenated nutrient-rich high-speed blood pouring into the four chambers of the heart, especially the neglected region, cleaning out the veins and all the coronary arteries, strengthening the heart muscle. The same rejuvenating flood rushes into the brain as well. The effect of this posture is rather intense which is why this posture does not need to be held very long for its tremendous beneficial effects. Balancing Stick is one of the best exercises for bad posture. It also perfects body control and balance; strengthening your concentration powers.
The most important component of this posture is locking the body into one solid line. Imagine that someone is pulling your back foot by your toe towards the wall with all his might while someone else is pulling your out stretched hands by your index fingers as hard as she can in the opposite direction, towards the mirror in front of you. This puts you into a natural human traction, stretching from coccyx to neck.
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