How to Benefit from Bikram

Dear Stacie,

good to hear your have found your way back to hot/bikram yoga.

It is alright to have it as a little inner goal to get a slim and strong body (as it sounds like your teachers has:) But yoga is not a quick fix – it is much better! It is something that you will have for the rest of your life, to help you find balance, and help you to maintain that balance. It demands patience and you will quite surely go through times where you do not feel the progress, and when you will feel like it is going the wrong way. When I look back at my years of bikram yoga, it has taken me so far compared to where I was when I started, and I sometimes have to remind my self of that, but I certainly do not want to forget the times of feeling a lost either. It has all been a part of my transformation. All the things we have exposed our body and mind to over the years, can go away, but it should happen over time. Often, the harder the class is, the more desperate/lost/angry we feel – the more of the negativity from the past we are letting go of! Enjoy the journey, you are on the right track!!

You have some extra lbs on your body. I have experienced many people loosing weight with yoga, myself included, but not because we are burning abnormally many calories in the hot room (cause we are not) but because the yoga helps us find a better balance between our body and minds, and for example we get better at listening to our bodies, treating it better, eating whats good for it, and in the right amounts!

Treating overweight with extra amounts of exercise is not the optimal solution (if you ask me) No amounts of exercise can offset a bad diet. If you do it the right way, try the right way, give it all you got, dont cheat yourself, the amazing thing about a good set of hot yoga poses is that it gives your body what it needs. Muscle workout, heart workout, flexibility, mental strength etc. Sometimes I go for a run, but that is only if I need the fresh air or cannot make it to class. And I clearly feel it is no way as good for my body as bikram yoga, even through is does clear my mind a little too 🙂

To get rid of your extra lbs, do the yoga, listen to your body. I dont think you need to put more on yourself that that! Not worth it. Keep it simple, realistic and effective. Correct me if I am wrong, but you should accept that the weight has not come on, due to lack of exercise. More likely it is bad habits in your diet. A little bit too much of the wrong foods, maybe a little bit too much food in general? I say this, as i it was happened to me, and what I have seen often. With the yoga I learned to listen to my body. I stopped eating when I wasnt hungry (e.g. out of boredom or because food is all over, and sometimes it sounds like we will gain weight and destroy our metabolism, muscle production, etc. if we skip one meal, dont get enough of this, and that, and that and that..) I learned that I prefered my body to feel light and flexible. To be ready for a bikram class almost 24/7 😉 I learned that the best advices on what and when to eat comes from my own body. Not fitness magazines, food companies, etc…

My progress has been slow, but on the other hand I would rather say it has been real!

You just have to not give up. Enjoy the journey.

And by the way, my digestion issues went away too. As I got the medical benefits form the postures and started eating less, and giving my system some “peace”, it now all works as it should 😉

All the best to you. Just do your practice, and all is coming.

Ah — I’ve been where you are and it took a life change.

Here’s my story which I posted somewhere else…

In 2008 I tried on my favorite coat and could not fit into it. And being the vain gal that I am, that was the final straw. Like when I quite smoking, I had to mentally get to the point where I was completely fed up and therefore completely motivated.

No I wasn’t ever really big, but I was bigger than the me I’m used to and was not recognizing myself.

So here’s what I did with that motivation:

I got a personal trainer and he was very clear, exercise would mean nothing at all if I didn’t change what was going in my mouth.

Breakfast — get the metabolism going, breakfast by 6am
Meals — eat every 3 hours, breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner
Snacks — fruit, yogurt
Calories — count them, be sure you’re counting accurately. I eat packed meals, organic, with a calorie count so I’m sure. I ws eating 1300 calories per day. Amy’s, Kashi, etc. I used LoseIt on my iPhone.
Calories — 20% fat, 25% protein, 55% carbs
Alcohol — 2 small glasses of wine per week, not more (was drinking much much more)
Water — lots of it. As long as I was eating the meals I listed above any time I think I’m hungry I drink 20 ounces of water (one of those large camelbak water bottles) — the brain has trouble telling hunger from thirst

Exercise. Cardio. I was seeing trainer 3 times per week. And yoga.

I took off 40 pounds in 4 months. And that was over 2 years ago. And it’s still off. And now I eat a bit more. Don’t count calories any more.

The big deal was that I wanted it badly and was willing to do what I needed to. The other thing is that I am more naturally this size, I have not had a lifelong issue with weight so I didn’t have that history and issues to work through.

Fortunately I’m not one who has struggled with weight for years. I’m simply an aging gal who was packing on the pounds unchecked. I wasn’t a big eater although I was docking away waaaaay to much good wine, solo. And I’m a gal who didn’t eat a lot, I ate poorly. And by that I mean one meal a day, often late in the afternoon. And didn’t feel hungry. My metabolism had slowed down to nearly a standstill. My body insisting on holding on to the weight due to my eating habits.

I’m probably eating more calories than I was. But the first thing I needed to do was jump start the metabolism. So the 5 meals a day was essential. Also, I’m vain. I needed the gym to build muscle cause the body doesn’t care how it takes off weight and will go for muscle as well as fat. And I wanted not just be lean but lean and muscular.

This regimen may not work for all. But it worked for me. Took the weight off in 4 months and have maintained for three years.

Today I continue to eat breakfast at the crack of dawn as well as all the other meals. I don’t usually count my calories but I have a better sense. I ray probably more calories now but having my metabolism kick back in helps. And I weigh myself every day, understanding my weight cycles but making sure I don’t stray from my tolerance zone.

Haven’t been in the gym in 6 months but am still at yoga ~5 times per week.

Maintenance mode.

so that’s what I did. It wasn’t just yoga for me. But it is just yoga now.

And all along, I’ve tried to listen to my body. Recalibrate it so that I understood the messages it was sending. ANd then being OK. Sometimes 5+ days a week is too much and I will skip a couple of days. And then when I come back, it’s still good. So no need to worry about getting worn out, whatever that really means, as long as you listen to what is going on for you in the moment.

Hi Stacie

It’s great to read all the supportive comments! To answer your first question: 3 times is not enough. 4 times minimum is what you must work towards (IMHO) and do 5 – 6 per week (no pressure! 😆 ). And always, ALWAYS take a day off every week. If you find yourself being too sore or dizzy or nauseous you probably need a day of recovery (or even 2). That usually happens when you don’t take enough water, or electrolytes or if the room is too hot.

If you find yourself being too tired and unable to keep your eyes open then try classes at different times of the day and see the effect.

So – and this is repeating other advice above – LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!!!

And go 4 times minimum. If you do 5 times per week then you won’t need to supplement with any exercise. And if you are supplementing, for a little while (2 months) just go for a walk (where you walk with a pace and alternate that with leisurely walking). Give the yoga a chance to work on your body and your mind and you’ll find the extra ellbees slide off you

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂