Day 41 ! Bikram Yoga

According to thebesttimetovisit.com (a real website), the average max. temperature in June is 32^oC (Indonesia), 31^oC (Maldives) 35^oC (Vietnam) and 34 ^oC (Thailand, Malaysia). If you were fortunate enough to have been to any of these countries, my guess is that you spent some time on the beach – perhaps working on a tan, reading a trashy novel (the Twilight series or 50 Shades) or spying on any fitties from the safety of behind your sunglasses. Either way, if someone had asked if you fancied doing a 90-minute yoga class on the midday sun, most (not all) of you may have politely declined.

So practicing yoga for 90 minutes in a 42^oC room (I peeked at the thermometer) with 40% humidity (I’m guessing, as it’s the recommended amount) may not sound too fun at first. In fact, according to my trusty weather website the next closest max temperature to the yoga studio was 44 ^oC, in …Death Valley, USA. I’m not even making that up.

What is Bikram yoga? Designed by Bikram Choudhury, it is a 90-minute program covering 26 yoga postures in a heated room. The temperature is to allow for deeper stretching, to thin the blood to clear your circulatory system and to open up pores to force those baddie toxins out. The postures and the sequence are intended to pump fresh blood around the whole body and stretch out the muscles, ligaments and tendons in the order they “should be stretched.” (Disclaimer: My summary only - the many websites on Bikram Yoga have much more detail!).

So, in theory, it all sounds velly velly good for you. And, actually, I believe it is, based purely on the fact I have had a twinge in my back for a wee while (which would seem better while I was exercising (warm muscles I guess), but then seize up a bit after cooling down and/or staying in the same position for more than 5 minutes), which has now totally disappeared. If it’s back tomorrow morning, I’ll edit this post but so far, I can touch my toes again, which is a relief – there are gymnastics, freerunning (parkour) and capoeira on the Hitlist!

But, no pain no gain and so it should not be a surprise when I say that the class was tough. Not necessarily in a frantic, high-energy way, I found it more mentally tough, for both endurance (beginners are advised to try and just stay in the room for the 90 minutes, even if it means sitting out some postures) and for concentration (there are a.lot of balancing moves). Physically, some of the postures were complicated to get into and involve a lot of twisting, stretching and compression but a great thing is that each posture is performed twice, so you can usually see a visible improvement for each move. Practised regularly, I can see how satisfying it could be to see your leg straighten a bit more, your back stretch a bit further back or your balance postures become more solid, not to mention that you would presumably get used to the heat eventually and be able to focus only on the postures themselves.

There didn’t seem to be allocated beginner classes on the timetable but it transpired that it’s not necessary for Bikram Yoga. Beginners’ stay in the back couple of rows, which means it, is easy to see the more advanced students in front. And besides, Instructor Alexis was a superb teacher – she knew who the beginners were and kept an eye on us, calling out corrections while also looking around the whole class continuously. It could have been that she had taught the whole class on one breath as she was constantly calling out instructions, corrections, what you were supposed to be feeling and also telling us what particular moves are intended for as we were doing them (it was very interesting to know). It’s good to know when a teacher is holding the class to a high standard and corrects your posture, no matter how small the correction might be. Only then can you be sure you’re doing it right!

I would class this as a Fitivity that you would definitely need to try more than once. The first class, to be honest, will not be that fun. But, if you stick with it, I can see how the benefits might start to show soon enough. It’s surprising, but I’m almost itching to go again to see if I can straighten my leg in the Standing Head to Knee! (See http://www.bikramyoga.com/BikramYoga/TwentySixPostures.php)

The Need To Know:

- Where: Bikram Yoga London (http://www.bikramyogalondon.com)

- Nearest Station: South Quay DLR (3mins), Heron Quays DLR/ Canary Wharf Tube (5mins)

- When: Everyday, throughout the day

- How Much: Intro Offer 20days/£30, else drop-in £15 else packages

  

The Want to Know:

- Who’s it For: For those who like it hot and sweaty.

- Sweat Scale: 10/10 First 10/10! It doesn’t get much sweatier

- Strength / Cardio / Flexi / Tone: Toning and flexi

- Complexity: 8/10. Some postures are trick.sy.

- Fun Factor: 7/10. Class itself would rate as 6 - it’s really hot.

- Changing Facilities: Decent sized changing room, communal showers and a couple toilets

- Instructor Inspiration: 7/10. Constant instructions and attention on everyone from beginning to end!

The Stats:

- Total Time: 90mins – clear your schedule!

- Calories Burnt: 223 or 2.5 calories/min – similar to Reformer Pilates (Day 5), Pole Dancing (Day 6) and CrossFit Level 1.2. (Day 39)!

- Average Heart Rate: 102bpm

- Max Heart Rate: 147bpm

Smiley but Strict Instructor Alexis!

Can You Tell When We Went from Standing to Sitting Postures?