(The Magic of) Practicing on Consecutive Days

In the first half year of my Bikram Yoga practice, I tried to keep an "every-other-day" schedule, for example taking a class on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. I figured, since I cannot come every day, this would be the next best thing.

Along came my first 30 Day Challenge, and after that a few months during which I struggled to keep a regular schedule. Somewhere during those months, I came to a conclusion: practicing every other day is not a great plan and certainly not "the next best thing" to practicing every day.

For some reason (or probably multiple reasons), practicing on consecutive days is so much more worthwhile. The classes seem easier (by no means easy though), the postures get prettier, and most importantly, the health benefits are greater.

-- Awesome! Now how do I do it? Ideally, I want to take class three days in a row, then take a 1-2 day break. Yeah, that is still a huge time commitment, but as everything in life, fitting class into my schedule has gotten easier with practice. It's still never easy (just like class), and so December & January so far have not looked too good.

I love looking at November for inspiration though (in my favorite App "Calendar Tracker Lite"):

Awww, I want to practice like this every month ♥

Here's to hoping I'll have a few months like this in 2012!

Resolutions

When everybody around me seemed to be talking about New Year's Resolutions, I've started thinking back and I can honestly say that I've never made any before. When I though about it some more, I've come to realize that I probably never will make any, either. Not because I'm so perfect already (ha!), but because I'm a very self-reflective person. I think about and re-think my life/relationships/goals/yoga/nutrition/everything all. the. time. If a change is needed, it is implemented as soon as possible. I don't see a reason to wait for a new month/moon/year.

Recent plans/changes/resolutions or whatever-you-wanna-call-its:

• Green smoothies: drink as often as possible, at least one per day. (The challenge: having fresh ingredients at home, preparation time.)
• "3 days on, 1 day off" Bikram yoga schedule (The challenge: lack of time/funky work schedule, balancing quality time with myself and/or my partner.)
• read more (The challenge: same as with Bikram class.)
• cook more (The challenge: same as with green smoothies.)

Sooo, the common challenge seems to be time-related. All of these things are quite time consuming (what isn't, right?) and I have recently added 1.5 hrs driving time to my work days, sooo... Yes, I often have to prioritize and no, I have not been able to achieve all of those goals satisfactorily in the same week. But that's life or at least: that's my life. I'm not going to beat myself up about it, because ultimately, all those goals are supposed to make my life better and not more stressful than it already tends to be.

Maybe I should have added another major goal: balance.

Namaste :)

Meh.

Yeah, so about that 30 Day Challenge... it didn't happen. It turned into a 7 Day Challenge instead.

Benefits from only seven consecutive days of Bikram Yoga:
- more strength (Yay, finally progress in Balancing Stick!)
- back bends are getting... back bendier (Hurray, Half Moon and Camel!)
- forward folds are getting... forward foldier (Wow, whole new perspective on Stretching Pose!)
- ...?

I'm sure there was more, but I cannot remember right now. After my vacation I quickly gave up the romantic idea of making yoga a major priority right now. A stressful work project had (still has) me traveling through metro Detroit and working 10 hour days, day after day. after day. after day. after day... I realized, putting the additional pressure of a challenge on myself was stressing me out and making me anxious.

Alas, this was not the time for a 30 Day Challenge. My challenge is making it to yoga 2-4 a week and that is OK for now.

Namaste.

My Bikram Birthday (and a new Challenge)

The end of August marked the "One-Year Anniversary" of my Bikram yoga practice. In this one year, I've done a 30 Day Challenge (but mostly had a 3-4 times per week schedule), I have taken a couple of brakes, I have practiced at three different studios (on two different continents), I have practiced at home a couple of times... all in all I have practiced 150 times.

I am happy with my practice: my postures are decent enough and always evolving, but more importantly, I see tons of benefits from my practice both physically and emotionally. Life sure has been interesting in the past 12 months... what with moving across the Atlantic ocean and stuff... a lot of things have happened underneath the surface, too: I have found new direction and purpose in my life, I have found a deeper awareness and kindness and happiness and ♥ and lots of other big words, and I'm sure 90% percent of that has come directly or indirectly from my yoga practice. It is safe to say, this yoga has transformed my life... or maybe I should say: I have transformed my life with this yoga.

In the last couple of months, especially during the summer months, it has been hard to keep up a regular practice. It is still a struggle to make it to the studio some days. What do you expect? This yoga is freaking HARD and it's freaking 105 degF in the room (that would be 40.5 degC)! In some weird way, it was easier to get my butt to the studio during my 30 day challenge in March than it is now. Reason being that now I have a choice... do I go and challenge myself in class or do I sit on my butt, eat a pizza, and cuddle on the sofa? Take a wild guess what I often picked... if you need another clue: I currently only fit into 2 pairs of the 8 jeans that I own.

So it's time for another challenge! I'm doing my own little 30 Day Challenge in September. It's going to be very different from my first challenge in March... the weather is still nice and summer-y now... I have more of a social life now than when I had just moved here... I'll be the only person (that I know of) doing a challenge at my studio (in March there were about 40 of us)... I'm actually practicing at two different studios right now, so at times I'm out of my normal environment, without my usual yoga friends... but yeah, my body really needs this now and my practice always improves so much when I practice on consecutive days.

Either way, I have started a 30 Day Challenge on September 1st... let's see what happens :)

Love this App!

Just a quick shout out to one of my favorite apps on my iphone... Tracker Lite!

I use it to mark off the days on which I've taken a Bikram Yoga class. It was especially useful/uplifting during my first 30 Day Challenge in March. Actually, even now during non-challenge time, I just LOVE ticking off another day in my calender after I've dragged my butt to gracefully finished a yoga class, YAY :)

Here's the screenshot from this past month... I'm happy with how often I've made it into the hot room, considering I'm busy busy enjoying summer and all that it entails this year :)

Namaste.

PS: Total number of  Bikram classes attended since starting eleven months ago... 141... yeaaaah :)

Recommitting to Bikram Yoga: a Recap

Two and a half months ago I made the decision to concentrate on my yoga and practice as often as possible, preferably every day for two months. Well, daily practice for two months didn't quite happen, but I still did very well... in numbers:

end of Feb 2011:   8 classes
March         2011: 30 classes
April            2011: 18 classes
-----------------------------------------
                              56 classes

I am very happy with the turn out! One thing I have realized though: it was - in a way - easier to go "every day" as opposed to "as often as possible". When I was going "as often as possible" (in April), I had to decide if I'm going to go each day. So every day, there was a struggle, a decision to be made...

Anyway, I would love to do another official challenge (or two, or three) where I would actually go every day. However, I don't feel like my work load allows this right now. Oh well, until then, I will have to go "as often as possible" :)

PS: For official recaps of my "30 Day Challenge", click on the label Bikram Yoga Challenge below this post.

Tips for a Bikram Yoga Challenge

It's been about three weeks now since I've finished my first Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge. It was definitely a challenge, but I am very happy I did it as I have seen A LOT of benefits in my well-being (physical and mental) as well as my yoga practice. I recommend doing a challenge like this to anybody who is considering it!

So if you're interested, my tips for you would be:

• tell your friends/family/coworkers about it! You will not have much time for them during you challenge and you might have to leave work early on occasion to make it to class. If they know that (and why) you are doing this challenge, they will probably be much more understanding/supportive.
  
• plan your outfits and laundry day! Doing a Bikram Yoga Challenge means tons and tons of laundry. Before you start, figure out how many yoga outfits and yoga towels you have. I personally like to have 4-5 outfits, so I only have to do yoga laundry 2-3 times a week.
• expect dietary changes and plan for them! Even before the challenge starts, stock up for your increased need of water, electrolytes, protein, vitamins, and food in general. You will have less time for quick trips to the grocery store once your challenge starts, so buy as much of what you'll need beforehand. I recommend: yummy spring or mineral water, electrolyte supplements or at least lemon and salt, nuts or whole wheat snacks or protein bars, fruit or multivitamin supplement, snacks to satiate possible increased hunger. Your body needs good nutrition to transform itself!
• plan to concentrate on yourself as much as possible! Don't plan any big trips or changes for the duration of your challenge. It is supposed to be a time to concentrate on yourself (your Self), your body, and your yoga. You will be plenty busy, especially if you work full-time or have other commitments you cannot get out of.
• plan to take class every day; don't plan to do many doubles! I have seen many people miss classes multiple times each week, and then do doubles and triples on multiple (consecutive!) days to catch up. This is not really what a Challenge should look like. A Challenge is meant to be a commitment to focus on your yoga every day, with consistency. No offense to the folks who had to do multiple doubles and triples to make the Challenge. That is great commitment, of course! But is also adds unnecessary anxiety and stress to it, while the point of doing a Challenge is the opposite: de-stressing and adding stability to your life. (This is my understanding of a Challenge, so no offense intended!)

 If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to ask :)

Namaste.

Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge: results, benefits and a recap

About two weeks ago I wrapped up my first 30 Day Challenge, meaning I practiced Bikram Yoga 30 times in 30 days. I skipped 2 days and caught up by doing 2 doubles on other days (taking two of the 90 minute classes on the same day).

I am quite proud of myself for having finished this challenge successfully, esp. because work has been pretty busy during that time. In this post, I want to give you an overview of the changes I have seen and the benefits I have received from this Yoga Challenge.

Food cravings:
Overall, I think my food cravings have stabilized in the second half of the 30 Day Challenge. I have realized though, that I really needed to take electrolyte supplements. Coconut water, lemon, salt, and foods weren't cutting it anymore with that much sweating every day. (How did I know? When you have too little electrolytes in your body, your muscles will feel VERY tired and weak. You might also experience muscle cramps.)

Energy and Sleep:
Bikram says, Yoga makes you need less sleep. I have not experienced that during my 30 Day Challenge. I have, however, experienced that before when I was practicing three to four times a week.

Body:
I feel A LOT stronger now and I have definitely toned up everywhere! My arms, legs, core, butt, back, shoulders, feet, everywhere! I am particularly thrilled about my back muscles (most back problems have disappeared!), my core strength (good posture! and abs are always good, of course!), and strong feet! You might think, huh? Strong feet? Yeah, most people's feet muscles are way too weak, because we wear shoes every day. Weak feet muscles can lead to over-pronation and thus knee pain or even hip pain and back pain! I have noticed stronger feet means no more over-pronation for me :))
Also, as I have mentioned in a previous post about this challenge, my skin is now SO amazingly soft... I haven't used any moisturizer since before the challenge! Not even on my elbows or knees and they feel baby-soft now. (I do use moisturizer on my hands due to frequent hand washing, and on my face for sunscreen.)

Mind:
The 30 Day Challenge has definitely helped me become more calm and less moody. It also gave me a great sense of accomplishment :)

Yoga:
The 30 Day Challenge has been great for my postures! I've become much stronger and also more flexible (in muscles AND joints) and can balance so much better now (thank you, strong feet), so almost every posture has improved. Still makes me very happy when I can do stuff that I couldn't before!

However, I still struggle with the heat. It is much hotter in this studio than it was in my German Bikram studio. On some days I wonder, if it really has to be THIS hot. I've barely had any classes in which I did every set/side of every posture.

Weight loss:
Many people ask me about weight loss with Bikram Yoga, so I want to address it here. First of all, I do not own a scale or take my measurements, so I cannot give you any numbers. This yoga is not purely about exercise, but if you have weight to lose, you will definitely see some great changes in your body if you practice regularly.
This yoga will help you balancing: balancing on one leg or your toes, but also balancing your mind and your body. For your mind it looks like this: you will feel less stressed, less anxious, less depressed, and you will be able to handle difficult situations better. For your body/weight, more balance will look like this:

• you will crave foods that are good for you,
• overeating or "undereating" will not happen so often anymore,
• you will build more muscle and become stronger.

All of this will add up to a healthier and stronger body. If you are underweight, you will gain muscles and strength and probably crave protein to help you get to a healthy weight. If you are overweight, you will become leaner and stronger, fat will slowly be replaced by muscles. Whatever your current state is, Bikram Yoga will help you get your balanced body (and mind).
Personally, I don't really have weight to lose. I do have some padding ;) and I have definitely seen a reduction in that. I can definitely feel less padding (read: fat) between my skin and the muscles when I push down on my stomach or butt. I doubt that I have lost any weight though. I have probably gained some, because I have gained quite a bit of muscle mass. That's perfectly fine though, because it's about balance and I was pretty well balanced when it comes to fat even before I started the Bikram Yoga.
If you have any questions about this, please don't be shy! (No account needed to comment.)

All in all, this challenge was great for me! It was stressful, because I was working full-time (and more). But it was great to see that I could do it and that my body LOVES this yoga!


If this made you curious about Bikram Yoga, you can find the closest studio location on Bikram Choudhury's official website here: Bikram Yoga studio locations.

Bikram Yoga Challenge: 30 day recap... coming soon!

My friend recently mailed me this card... The kitty is very cute, of course, but wait 'til you see what the inside of the card says.....

"I meditate, I do yoga, I chant... and I still want to SMACK someone!"

LOL!!!!! And before you ask: Yes, my friend specifically pointed out that the card reminded him of me :D

Now, what to make of that... If you know me, you probably know that yes, I do have little patience sometimes. But it actually has improved a lot since I've started practicing Bikram yoga half a year ago. Yes, I still get worked up about stuff at work sometimes, but I have learned to stay calm most of the time and to settle down fairly quickly if I failed to stay calm. I'd call that improvement!

Another thing that has improved BIG TIME is my so called "road rage". I used to get very impatient in heavy traffic (no "rage" involved really, only tenseness an impatience). But, if you live near Detroit and get impatient in heavy traffic... you are going to feel impatient A LOT. Anyway, my road rage has pretty much disappeared. Yay for Bikram Yoga!

I have not put together a 30 day recap yet. I will probably think some more about it and post it later this week!

Bikram Yoga Challenge: 30 days -> done!

Yep, I made it through 30 Bikram Yoga classes in 30 days. Yay!

This is the wall in my yoga studio where the challengers mark down their progress. See the yellow stickers? Those are for 60 day challengers! I'm still debating on putting one of those up for myself ;)

Still here...

My yogi tea shared this with me today: "Happiness comes when you overcome the most impossible challenge."

Wow! I think the yogi tea must know me personally! It is day 29 of my challenge and I only have 2 more Bikram yoga classes to take to finish it. When I think about being "almost done", I feel mostly three things: happiness, pride, and anxiety. Yep, you read that right, anxiety... I feel slightly anxious when I think about NOT going to the yoga studio after work. But... the good thing is, of course I am still free to go every day :)

Bikram Yoga Challenge: 20 day recap

The 20 day recap is a over-due, but I haven't really seen any major changes compared to when I did the 10 day recap. I will still do a quick recap and I will use the same categories as before.

Food cravings:

• Water is really all I drink throughout the day, so I have stopped drinking filtered water and only drink specific brands of spring water now. I crave it and I truly believe that it means, it's what's best for me. No matter how expensive. I prefer Dasani and S. Pellegrino. I have also tried electrolyte water (smartwater), but I don't think there is a difference to Dasani (which also has added electrolytes).
• I don't crave salt as much anymore. It might be because I've switched to good water though.
• Generally, I think my body has gotten used to this new activity level, so I am not as crazy for protein anymore. (Am I not building as much muscle anymore?)

Energy and Sleep:
I'm not as exhausted anymore, but I doubt that it has anything to do with improvement due the yoga. I am working a little less, so I am less stressed and I have made it a point to get to bed earlier. Many people report needing less sleep with this yoga. I have experienced it when I was practicing 4 times a week, but with my 7 times... no such luck. It really is quite a challenge to work full-time and do a Bikram yoga challenge.

Body:

• still super-soft skin
• almost no sore muscles, did have sore muscles after my double last Sunday though :)
• generally stronger! And I definitely see more definition, too! Helloooo, abs :)
• no more knee pain, lower back pain is getting better, too.

Mind:
no changes... I do feel more calm and relaxed, but it is probably due to less work (read: travel time) rather than the yoga. To clarify: I do feel waaaay more calm now as opposed to when I wasn't practicing Bikram yoga at all. There just hasn't been that much of a difference between 4x compared to 7x a week.

Yoga:

• my balance is getting better, yeah!!! So those postures, where I balance on one leg for a minute at a time while doing funky stuff with the other leg, are getting MUCH better! (Standing Head to Knee Standing Bow)
• Getting even stronger, so Balancing Stick is more manageable (but still a toughie for me!)
• Also because I am getting stronger, I can concentrate more on better alignment, for example putting the same amount of pressure on both legs in Awkward pose.

Other:
Still considering doing a 60 day challenge, but I have pretty much decided that I will go with my own rules... as I have mentioned about a month ago (when I didn't even know about the official challenge at my studio). My rule will be that I get one or two days off per week (haven't decided yet if one or two). My reason is that I don't really see much of a difference between practicing 6 as opposed to 7 days a week. It does put me under a lot of pressure though and I would welcome a day off so that I can catch up on sleep and the piles of yoga laundry. I think 6 days per week is still challenging, but it might mean much less stress for me, so I think it's the right thing to do. It is supposed to challenge me after all and not destroy me. I do have to work on the side, you know ;)

Namaste :)

Bikram Yoga 30 Day Challenge: 20 down, 40 to go?

Yesterday I took classes 19 and 20 of my 30 Day Challenge. Doing a so called "double" (two Bikram Yoga classes) in one day was awesome, even though I was a little scared and intimidated by the idea at first. Bikram Yoga is practiced in a room that is heated up to 105-115 degF (40.5-46 degC). There is humidity, too. At least 40 percent. The yoga postures are very challenging, not what you would call "relaxing" at all!

Why would one do such a thing? Well, it trains the body and the mind. The body, because the postures are HARD, so you build muscles. The mind, because the postures are HARD and it is so hot, and you just wanna get away, so it trains your determination, your self-control, your ability to get through a rough situation by concentrating on what's important without freaking out... it's great body-and-mind training!

Anyway, because it is so hot in the room, and each class is 90 mins long, the body loses a lot of water and electrolytes through sweat. So doing a double can be quite tough on the body. But it worked out great! I hydrated well, ate a tiny bit in the 30 min break  between classes, and gave my body some electrolytes. My body was happy-happy and super stretchy in the second class :) It felt super-short, too!

BTW, I am thinking about extending my 30 Day Challenge to a 60 Day Challenge. I'm not sure yet, because work has been quite stressful (not the actual work, but the long commute to our customer) and I'm not sure if I want to put more pressure on myself for additional 30 days. I might do 5 classes per week instead of 7, but it all depends on this work project.

Bikram Yoga Challenge: 10 day recap

The following is a list of changes I've noticed in the past 10 days. (Actually, I had been practicing 'almost every day' in the 10 days before the challenge.)

Food cravings:

• water!!! (not filtered, but actual spring water including yummy minerals)
• more food in general (seems like my body is busy busy keeping up with the yoga!)
• protein (thus the salmon and hummus... seems like my body is also busy building muscle!)
• salt/minerals
• fruit/vitamins (low-dose multivitamin, fruit, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and pomegranate juice to fulfill my body's requests)

Energy and Sleep:
After day 5 of the challenge, I started being sooooo tired! It might also have to do with the busy schedule I have right now. I leave the house at 7/8 am, work, take yoga class, and get home at 9/10 pm. When I get home, I haven't eaten yet (can't eat before yoga class), so yeah, there is not much time left for sleeping.
Another thing I've noticed: I think my sleep is deeper than usual.

Body:

• no more cold feet
• super-soft skin, no more lotion needed - except for hands (due to frequent hand washing) and face (sunblock)
• only slightly sore muscles... nothing too bad :) 
• stronger legs, core, arms (esp. lower arms!), stronger everything
• tiny bit of knee and lower back pain, but those are my "troubled areas" and supposedly, before they heal, they will hurt for a short time. I just make sure to keep proper form when in postures (locking the knee to make it easier on the knee, tightening the abs to make it easier on the lower back)

I didn't notice any other huge changes. I do feel like my muscles have gotten stronger, generally... legs, feet, arms, shoulders, core, ... but nothing particular stands out


Mind:

• can concentrate better
• more calm, can handle stress better
• more positive attitude

Yoga:

• half moon pose is not (as much) torture anymore, I feel much stronger in this (yay, core strength!)
• cobra & full locust pose: I can activate a new muscle group in my lower back to rise much higher
• back bends are getting better
• much deeper stretching on most days, esp. in hands to feet, sit-up, standing separate leg head to knee and head to knee poses
• can handle the heat better (I'm really interested to see how I will handle heat outside the studio, ie in the summer)
• I'm able to contract my stomach muscles throughout the whole class -> better postures, safer for the lower back! (Before the challenge, I would get so tired/weak during the class that I couldn't keep them contracted tightly anymore toward the end)

Other:
I am very tired all the time, because I don't get much sleep, but I just go to yoga every day after work without thinking about it. To an extent, it feels like my will was broken. It's a good thing though, because this will of mine is lazy and wants to go and sit on the couch. It's broken though, so now I go every day without (much of) a struggle. And the yoga is and will be so good for me (and anybody, really). A routine has set in and it's just normal to go to the studio every day. One of the super-cool things about that is, that I got to know the fellow yogis at the studio better and we motivate each other, yay! :)


If everything goes according to plan, I will finish the 30 Day Challenge on March 30th.

Namaste :)

Yoga tonight

This is what I did today at yoga... errr, yeah... had an issue to resolve at work today, so I couldn't make it to the last class at my yoga studio, so... I seized the day and had a healthy dinner instead ;)

Gonna do a double tomorrow: 7 am class, work, 6:30pm class... sounds like a plan, huh?

Bikram Yoga Challenge: Class 7 done!

Today I took the seventh yoga class of my 30 Day Challenge. That means I took a Bikram yoga class every day in the past week. I've never done that before!

Between the long commute I have to work at the moment (on-site at our customer's development center) and well, the yoga classes, I have had very little time at home. I leave my house at 7-8am and don't get back in before 9-10pm after my yoga class. Before I go to bed, I still have to fix myself dinner, pack breakfast and lunch for the next day, pack my yoga bag for the next day, and often wash yoga clothes/towels. So yeah, let's just say, I don't have much time for anything besides work and yoga during the week. As you can see in the pic above, I've started preparing 3-4 yoga bags at a time though to save a little bit of time ever day... Let's see if this system works :)

Bikram Yoga Challenge: And... Begin!

My 30 Day Challenge has officially begun yesterday! The aim of a Bikram Yoga challenge is to practice the Bikram Yoga series daily for the specified time. If you can't make it on a certain day, you can do two classes on another day to make up for it.

I've started using my beloved SIGG bottle from Lululemon to celebrate my first 30 Day Challenge!

The challenges of a challenge

This is one of the more obvious challenges of a challenge: piles and piles of yoga laundry! With every yoga class you get shorts, a top, and (at least) one big towel.

I faced another challenge today when I tried making it to the last yoga class of the day at my studio and the work was just not finished and it couldn't be postponed... what to do, what to do? Well, I'm not officially in a challenge right now... just my self-imposed goal of going "almost every day" for two months. So... of course I stayed at work until way after the last class FINISHED and I will go to the 7 am class tomorrow! Never done yoga that early, so it'll be a first :)

Challenge

No pic today because I am at home sick and I don't know how to post a pic from my phone... Remember, still no Internet at my house. Anyway, in my last post I told you about my commitment to practice Bikram yoga daily in the next two months. Now, this time frame wasn't randomly picked by me. Bikram (the guy) promises everybody who practices daily for 60 days a new body. Yes, everyone! (Quote: You're never too old, you're never too sick, to start from scratch once again.) So... A new body in 60 days... Sounds like magic? Not really. Bikram yoga classes are extremely challenging. Even people who are in great shape will be challenged immensely. But there are amazing rewards if you practice regularly. There are thousands of people who are living examples of it. Check out this story: Student of the Month. It is amazing, and it is not the exeption! Bonnie went from obese with high blood pressure, diabetes and high
cholesterol, to healthy, trim, and full of energy. All with the help of Bikram! Ok, of course this didn't happen in 60 days, but a 30 day challenge (30 days of daily practice) jumpstarted her progress.

Anyway, this post wasn't even supposed to get this long. Because of Bikram's promise of getting a new body with daily practice, most Bikram yoga studios organize 30 or 60 day challenges where participants challenge themselves to practice daily. And I just wanted to say: apparently the universe knew I was going to start this private 60 day challenge, and didn't want me to have to do it by myself. My studio will start a 30 day challenge soon and I've already signed up for it :) Yay!!!

Recommiting to Bikram Yoga

Bikram Yoga is a fixed sequence of Hatha Yoga postures, put together by an Indian yogi named Bikram Choudhury. Bikram (the guy) promises that his yoga sequence can heal the body and the mind, no matter how old or how sick. Now, I am a scientist, so it is in my nature not to believe blindly. But, after a couple of months of Bikram Yoga practice and a lot of reading on the topic of Bikram Yoga and yoga in general, I know it works... and I know it works for anybody, no matter how old or how sick. (If you have any questions, ask away! PS, you can post anonymously, no login required.)

I am recommitting to my Bikram Yoga practice and plan on practicing often, preferably daily, in the next two months.

Deutsch: Bikram Yoga ist eine feste Abfolge von Hatha Yoga-Stellungen, die von einem Indischen Yogi namens Bikram Choudhury entwickelt wurde. Bikram (der Mensch) verspricht, dass seine Yoga-Abfolge Koerper und Geist heilen kann, egal wie alt oder wie krank. Nun bin ich Wissenschaftlerin, also liegt es in meiner Natur, Aussagen nicht blind zu glauben. Nach einigen Monaten Bikram Yoga-Praxis und viel Recherche auf dem Gebiet Bikram Yoga und yoga im Allgemeinen, weiss ich jedoch, dass es funktioniert... und ich weiss auch, dass es fuer jeden funktioniert, egal wie alt oder wie krank. (Falls ihr Fragen habt, nur her damit! PS, ihr koennt anonyme Kommentare hinterlassen; man braucht kein Login oder Passwort.)

Ich widme mich wieder meiner Bikram Yoga-Praxis und plane in den naechsten zwei Monaten oft zu praktizieren, wenn moeglich taeglich.