The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Weight Loss and Hot Yoga › New to Hot Yoga
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I have been trying to find a form of exercise that I enjoy so that I will keep it up. I tried Hot Yoga for the first time 1 week ago – I have been 3 times already, and I plan on going 4 times a week. I enjoy it – I don’t feel completely out of place, even if there are a few looks that I receive from other participants. I should explain that – I am morbidly obese, so I definitely stand out in the class. But, generally, once the class starts I concentrate on what I am doing and the rest of the stuff does not affect me.
My question/concern is just regarding the fact that I cannot do all of the poses as instructed because there is just too much fat in the way (to put it bluntly), and I wonder if I am still receiving the benefits of the workout. For example, the pose pictured on the top right hand side of the screen – we are instructed to put our forehead on our knee, even if we have to bend out knee to do it. But, not matter how much I bend my knee, my forehead won’t get there because of a) belly fat and b) my breasts. I can put my hands around the bottom of my foot with my knee locked, but my forehead is not even close.
I honestly feel that this is a workout I can stick with, but I just wonder if I need to try to lose the weight by some other means before continuing with it.
Thank-you.
Welcome to Bikram Yoga! Yes, continue. 4x a week is a great start! If you keep it up for 2 months you will notice improvements in your strength, flexibility and appearance.
As for the poses, each pose, I find very difficult. Some more so than others each day…and it changes day to day. What you will find as you continue is that you will slowly improve. Now, some poses the improvement will be faster than others…and it may seem that in some your “loosing ground”. Don’t give up! Keep at it and you will slowly improve in all the poses. Even if you an not do a pose at all, just being present, aware, in the room…you get quite a bit of benefit.
Keep it up!
Hi Heather!!!
Bravo! It’s wonderful you found your yoga and it’s great to have you here.
It’s incredible that something as seemingly simply as putting your forehead on your knee can be OH SO DIFFICULT. In fact what makes it difficult is that you have to try and grab the foot (correctly). You have stumbled upon a real difficulty for anyone who is either overweight or very inflexible or both. Overweight and inflexible don’t necessarily go together of course, so for you, as you say it is simply bulk in the way.
If I can ask you please to review the technique posts on Janushirasana quite carefully. I am concerned that you could really damage your back by pulling on your foot with your head off your knee. As hard as it’s going to be for a while, you should try to sit there with your foot near your hip, knee up and try to hold your foot. It WON’T happen the way it should for a while. Just be patient. You will make so much progress elsewhere in the series that you will find the ability to do this little (but currently insurmountable) task one day. Just exercise your patience.
While I am at it, please go and see the blog post Opening Up Your Hamstrings With Hot Yoga. You may be tempted to have straight legs before you’re ready so just see if this is relevant to you. Have you been told to separate your legs to hip width for Hands to Feet Pose?
Anyway, it’s a great thing that you do for yourself (and your girls! 😉 ). Just know that there are thousands of people out there sending you the best wishes for your practice and your life.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂phred7 – thank you for the encouragement! I am looking forward to seeing some of the changes!
Gabrielle – thank you so much for your post! You have no idea how much that helped me, and how much better I feel about everything!!
I am fairly flexible, but I am going to try as you suggest and hopefully as I lose the weight I will be able to relax into it more.
Your encouragement and support is appreciated. This website is a great source of information!
Thank-you,
Heather.I practice Bikram and I am also overweight. My breasts get in the way and my stomach. I do my best and my instructor will give me tips on what to do. For example in the Eagle Pose I cannot get my arms in that position because my breasts are too large. So I cross my arms and grab my alternating shoulders, as was suggested.
I have been reading Bikram’s book and been listening to my instructors. It seems to me it’s not about doing all the poses perfect it’s about doing them to the best you can do. Your body still gets the benefit. Your organs get the compression and the blood flow and your spine still gets the stretching.
I talk to myself and I am amazed with myself that I am even doing the things I do! I never even thought I could do half of what I do there. At the end of it, I am sure I am getting something out of it. My brain sure gets a lot out of it! (haha)
Let me tell you, for YEARS I thought my boobs were too big and I just would never be able to do certain postures properly, one in particular was Locust pose, I NEVER thought I’d be able to get them squished between my arms. Suddenly, one year, one day, can’t remember exactly when, it happened and I realized it wasn’t the said boobs, but the tight shoulders! Or maybe the shoulders got a little looser and the boobs got just a tad smaller…
Sometimes, after many years, the changes occur at glacial speed, but they still do occur. Patience is a never-ending virtue!
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