June 2013 Top Logo
This June, Be Jubilant!  
 

LAST DAY! 
12 Classes for the Price of 10 - last chance! 

Today is the last day to take advantage of May's amazing deal of 
2 FREE CLASSES 
when you buy 10.

Offer ends at midnight tonight! 

The maths.... 
12 for the price of 10 (6 month expiry)
�115 = �9.58/class. 
(Concession Rate �103 = �8.58/class)

The (not so) small print:
Ts & Cs apply.
Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers or discounts. 
Concession rates only available at the studio with valid ID.
Offer available until 31st May 2016.
Limited to one purchase per student.

 
Posture Clinic 
Balancing Stick   

Balancing Stick, the longest 10 seconds of your life... or is it? 
Learn to love this pose and your spine will be forever grateful! 

As with all our postures, setting them up and moving in and out of them maintaining alignment is just as important as what we do while we are in them.

Feet together, toes and heels in one line.  
Weight equally distributed through both feet.
Bring your arms over your head sideways until your palms are together. 
Interlock your fingers and release your index finger. 
You arms should be touching with your ears, throughout this posture from beginning to end. Engage your arms, actively press your palms together, locking out your elbows, so your arms are straight, no gap between your arms and head. 

Keep your chin up and eyes focused forward at one point in the mirror. 
Lean back very slightly in the set up to open your chest. 
Engage both legs, tightening your quadriceps and locking both legs out.
Engage your core, pulling your belly button to your spine 
and pulling up on your pelvic floor.

Inhale and step your right leg forward. This should be a large step. 
Transfer your weight into your right foot and begin to lift your left leg off the floor, pointing your toes. Simultaneously, bring your upper body forward with your arms fully engaged by your ears and your legs solid, concrete locked out. 

The goal is to bring the upper body down and stretch the left leg back, until your whole body, arms, head and left leg are all parallel to the floor. 

You will often here your teachers say, "you body should look like a T as in 
(insert a T word)  not a broken umbrella." 
As you are building strength and gaining flexility, you may be more umbrella then T, but always keep that T in your minds eye. Picture yourself in the perfect posture and one day you will be!

Balancing Stick tips:
 
- Keep your chin forward, anchoring your eyes to a spot that is approximately 4ft away from your weight bearing foot. This helps you to balance.

- Continuously stretch your body forward, trying to touch the mirror. 

- Focus on your core and your balancing leg, as they provide a firm foundation.

- Keep your arms locked out and next to your ears. Shoulders down and away from your ears, press your shoulder blades down and together, whilst squeezing the arms to the side of the head. 

- Keep the hip of the stretching leg down, hip bone facing the floor. 

- Feel the power from your finger tips to your pointed big toe, stretching apart.

 - Remember to breathe. Breathe in and out through your nose for the entire posture. Never hold your breath, it will not help!

- Continuously stretch your body forward, trying to touch the mirror, all the while stretching your left leg back though the pointed foot. Every muscle in your body contracted, you are solid and strong.

Body Down, leg up, body down, leg up. Toe pointed, leg up, chest down, stretch forward, stretch back, stretch and stretch and stretch and .....

Inhale, move your upper body up, arms still engaged and pressed against the side of the head. Move your left leg back down to the place next to the right. Keep everything engaged, arms, legs, core, until your are back to your starting upright position, ready to move straight to the other side. 

After the posture embrace the feeling of your heart pounding in your chest. Lengthen your exhales. This is a small but mighty posture and is doing awesome things for your body. 


Yoga Is for Girls!

Who ever said that hasn't tried 
Bikram Yoga (or any yoga for that matter)! 
Wasps
Wasps Rugby Team Getting their BYC on.
 
We've all heard that old adage "Yoga is for girls". We question whether anyone who says that has ever actually tried it! As any BYCer knows, yoga is for all! Yoga, itself, comes in many wonderful and varied forms, and is an amazing way to bring unity and balance to our body and minds, whoever you may be.

While we love yoga in all its forms, our specialty here at BYC is obviously hot Bikram Yoga and we can tell you that it will rock your world, whoever you are!

Over the years we have had everyone and anyone come though our doors. The beauty of the yoga is that it is for everyone: ballet dancers, professional rugby players, gymnasts, footballers, tennis pros, golf pros, coach potatoes, teachers, bankers, Olympic athletes, models, actors, mums. All sweating, learning, growing and focusing together.

With June seeing major events in both Rugby & Football, we thought we would look a little further into what BYC Hot Yoga can offer these sports women and men -professional to Saturday/Sunday leaguers. BYC Hot Yoga is here to enhance and prolong your career.

In an article for The Telegraph, Wasps and England forward James Haskell, 28, says about Bikram Yoga: "I use yoga to give me an advantage in my game and keep me on the field...When I was 18, I'd just go straight out and train hard. Now my first port of call is to get out the mat - otherwise I'm like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. I seize up."
English Rugby Union & Former Wasps Player Tom Vardel perfecting his Triangle pose - now playing for Bristol Rugby.
 
Dense muscle is notoriously inflexible, but the benefits from yoga-style stretching are measurable. "We test various physiological aspects, and one is range of flexibility," says Bitcon. "We have seen as much as an extra couple of centimeters in areas like the hamstring. Any marginal improvement in an area like that can be very useful."
 
Nick Chadd, the strength and conditioning coach who introduced Wasps players to hot yoga, says: "We have found it has a real impact on the way the guys perform, and that comes from aspects of relaxation and focus."
 
For you footballers among us, you are in good company. David Beckham and Ryan Giggs have both been reported to have used Bikram yoga to help the longevity of their careers, both mentally and physically.

When Ian Baraclough took over Motherwell FC he made his team take up Bikram yoga as a trick to keep them injury free.

An article for the Daily record reports: "
Motherwell general manager Alan Burrows said: "Since we've started it (Bikram yoga), we've hardly had any tissue injuries - in fact, we've only had one. So there's been quick results."
 
A BBC article, about the multitude of sports men and women who have taken up Bikram hot yoga as an important tool in their training, reports: "A lot of athletes are turning to Bikram yoga because it undoes the wear and tear." Michele Pernetta, who has 23 years teaching experince and owned 4 bikram yoga studios, before she launched her own hot yoga Fierce Grace, told BBC Sport.
"Most sports have long-term effects, but yoga is the science of putting the body back the way it's supposed to be."
 
Michele knows this from experience. She even put a high-level martial artist, runner, boxer, rugby player and golfer through a week of classes to see how much damage sport had done to their bodies, and how Bikram could help heal. "After seven days, all the athletes showed improvement with noticeable loosening of their joints and improved flexibility."

Even the boxers are at it: back in 2012, Mayweather told the Las Vegas Sun that he had never stretched in his entire career until he began doing Bikram yoga. "I think I can push myself and perform a lot better with yoga."

However benefits to BYC hot yoga are not solely physical, as any Bikram yogi/ini can tell you, BYC hot yoga also helps control the breath, improve focus and calm the mind.

So, whoever you are, whatever your goal, get in the room and see what BYC hot yoga can do for you today!




International Day of Yoga
Tuesday June 21st 
�10 Drop in at all classes
 
Yoga is a 5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice, originating in India. The aim of all yoga is to transform both body and mind. 

On December 11 in 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared the June 21st as the International Day of Yoga. Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, during his address to UN General Assembly stated: "Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise, but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. " 

The chosen date of June 21 is because it is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, with special significance in many cultuers around the world.

To celebrate International Day of Yoga and the Summer Solstice we are offering 
ALL Drop Ins for �10 on the 21st (usual price �15/ �12 for concession).  

Only purchasable at BYC reception on the 21/06/16,
and only usable on day of purchase.
T's & C's apply.  


Father's Day
Sunday 19th June 2016 

This Father's Day, instead of a pair of socks or a bottle of whisky ,why not gift you father health, vitality, peace of mind... and it won't cost you a thing (but you don't need to tell him that!).

This Father's Day, 
Sunday 19th June 2016, 
bring your Father with you to class
and he will practise for FREE!
 
If your father has never been to BYC before, please arrive 20mins before class to register him. 

Offer valid at all classes on Sunday 19th of June 2016, while spaces are available.

You need to practise with your father to claim his FREE class! T & C's apply.



BYC Mat Etiquette
Too attached to 'your spot'?
 
Dear BYCers,

Please always be mindful of your fellow yogis when claiming a spot for class. Before laying your mat down in that special spot you desire, please check around you and make sure you are not directly in front of anyone, or very close to someone on either side of you.

Obviously, in very busy classes, your options may be limited, but it should always be possible to position your mat so the person or persons behind you can still have a view, even if it is partial, of themselves in the mirror.


Please do not fear the middle of the room.  It's tempting to hug the corners of the room, as though the middle of the room is made of molten lava! We promise it isn't.

Yoga is about freeing our mind and letting our worries go. Every spot in the room is as amazing as the next. Next class, try a different spot and, who knows, you may surprise yourself. Letting that fixation on a specific spot go, will help you move your mental yoga on to the next level. 

If someone comes into the room and puts them self down directly in front of you, please do not let it steal your peace or invoke mat rage. Often, new people to the studio simply are not aware of the yoga etiquette yet, so always feel free to speak to a member of the BYC team and we will be happy to spread the message of peace, love and mat etiquette. 
 



 
See you in class very soon. 
Signatures
and the entire Team at BYC

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Bikram Yoga Chiswick                  bikramyogachiswick@me.com                     020 8995 9955