You will sweat a great deal in class, so remember to stay hydrated!

How to prepare for class l What if I feel dizzy? l How often should I practice? l About the heat l How does it work? l What benefits will I recieve?

How to prepare for class
Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water before class, since you will sweat a great deal. Eat a light snack, such as raisins, fruit, or an energy bar, to raise your blood sugar level. Do not eat a big meal within two or three hours before coming to class. Wear shorts, a bathing suit, or workout clothes. Do not wear perfume, since it may distract others from their practice.

Michael Garrett demonstrates a beneficial posture that helps with dizziness.

How to prepare for class l What if I feel dizzy? l How often should I practice? l About the heat l How does it work? l What benefits will I recieve?

What if I feel dizzy?
Dizziness is normal, as a beginner. This is because your muscles are demanding more oxygen and it starts to take your brain’s supply of oxygen. To counteract this effect… stop and breathe deeper!!! You are squeezing one side of your body while at the same time stretching the opposite side. This really gets the blood pressure moving raising and lowering it, distributing it throughout your body. If you feel dizzy, take a break, and lay down on your mat. After about a minute you will feel fine. Then you are able to join the rest of the class. Do not leave the room. Lie down and rest. If you leave the room, your blood chemistry will change, muscles will cool down and it will be a lot harder to have the motivation to continue.

Yoga students in the middle of their effective cardiovascular workout.

How to prepare for class l What if I feel dizzy? l How often should I practice? l About the heat l How does it work? l What benefits will I recieve?

How often should I practice?
Be consistent! Attend yoga a minimum of three times a week, better five times a week. It’s best if you go every day! Bikram Yoga is the most efficient use of your exercise time. It works every system of your body from your bones to your skin, while at the same time healing old injures and making you more resilient to any future injuries. Bikram Yoga is a safer and more effective cardio workout than running, bicycling, or swimming! While running, you are pounding your spine and discs, knees, hips, shins and feet…. some runners have even dropped dead from heart attacks while running long distance races.

Yoga students bending easily and safely because of the heat.

How to prepare for class l What if I feel dizzy? l How often should I practice? l About the heat l How does it work? l What benefits will I recieve?

Things to know about the heat
Your body is just like metal. When you heat it up it bends easy; cold metal doesn’t bend, it just snaps. The heat helps to keep you from pulling or straining a muscle. The heat increases blood flow and synovial fluid to the joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles, by dilating the capillaries. This helps prevents injuries, and promotes rapid healing of the body tissues.

With regular practice, you will sweat more, but your sweat will not smell bad. This is because your lymphatic system has emptied out all the stored toxic waste in the lymph nodes which were waiting for a time to release the waste by sweating. You will find your skin becomes soft and young, radiant with vitality and health.

Students effectively work both sides of their body in each
pose.

How to prepare for class l What if I feel dizzy? l How often should I practice? l About the heat l How does it work? l What benefits will I recieve?

How does it work?
Yoga is not just about stretching out your muscles! While one side of your body is being stretched, the opposite is being squeezed and contracted, ringing out your internal organs like a sponge. You create a tourniquet effect in the arteries, on the contracted side. This causes an increased supply of blood to build up, stretching the arteries – like an expanded water balloon – making them more pliable. When you come out of the yoga pose, the contraction is released, allowing a greater than normal high speed blood supply to flow into the organs, glands, joints, and tendons.

Twisting the spine in all directions allows a greater flow of
energy to the body.

How to prepare for class l What if I feel dizzy? l How often should I practice? l About the heat l How does it work? l What benefits will I recieve?

What benefits will I receive?
Diabetics, thyroid deficient people and others with organ or gland problems, find great benefits from this practice! By stretching the spine in all directions and twisting it, the nerves, which many times are restricted, are opened up, allowing a greater flow of energy to the entire body, giving more mental alertness and concentration as well as physical energy.

Bikram Yoga relieves pressure off vertebra discs, even allowing a slipped disc to move back into place, by allowing the natural oil of the body to lubricate them, thus preventing them from drying out and cracking open. Most people spend their whole life bending forward. Think about it! Every time you are – sitting, eating, driving, at the computer, etc. – you are bending forward. Year after year goes by with this lopsided living habit and no wonder your back hurts!

There are so many benefits to your body and mind and more to be discovered by you. Do ten days of Bikram yoga in a row and experience the transformative benefits yourself!!!