Perspectives from a Student

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jrbauer01
Participant

January 7, 2013 at 11:03 pm

Post count: 6

#2463

I’m a “Bikram Enthusiast” – a convert from other YOGA types to practicing Bikram 5-6 days per week now for almost a year. And I am also an “active observer”. I am always watching others in class as well as myself to understand what motivates me and others – and that has given me a number of perspectives that I thought others might enjoy.
[strong]
How Will You Know When It’s Working? [/strong]

Bikram yoga is tough – its hot and challenging. And I always hear others asking – “When does it get easier?” and “When will I know if it’s worth it?”

Then I had a revelation after months of practicing. In addition to the poses becoming routine and easier class by class – with my balance improving and my pose depth always inching forward, I noticed this: For many of the poses, as I stretch to my current level of depth, I’m no longer in pain. In fact, now reaching that depth actually feels GOOD! I liken it to how we feel when we wake up in the morning and do common stretches first thing – those don’t hurt – they feel good, and the good feeling is the reward for the stretch.

That’s a wonderful reward for constant practice – that not only will our poses improve, but the practice itself will be rewarded with feeling good during – as well as after – practicing. You will know that it is working – because your body will feel it. For newbies – you need to keep the faith and keep practicing, and you WILL feel good as you do those poses. And that will only make you want to come back for more!

jrbauer01
Participant

January 8, 2013 at 12:04 am

Post count: 6

#10202

[strong]How Will You Know It’s Working II[/strong]

I was trying to analyze my own compulsion for doing Bikram five or more times per week. After all – it isn’t an entirely pleasant experience. It’s hot and exhausting,and it takes up a lot of time – probably 2.5 hours per session all in. So where does the “addiction” come from? I already related that feel-good experience of stretching in my last post.

So I came up with an analogy for that “addictive” feeling. I don’t want to seem gross or crude, but I kind of liken it to a daily bowl movement. (Sorry!) You know how you feel when you are slightly constipated? You aren’t in pain or real discomfort, but something is just “off” in your body and it bugs you throughout the day. So you have this compulsion for fixing that feeling (and we know how that is fixed).

I think practicing Bikram most days is like that – when I practice, I feel really good – super “normal”. And when I haven’t practiced, especially for 2-3 days, I feel “irregular”. So I have this compulsion to get back in the hot room and right my body once again. And when I do, I feel great again. “Normal” again.

I guess that’s not a bad lot in life when you consider how really good hot yoga is for your body!

jrbauer01
Participant

January 8, 2013 at 6:55 pm

Post count: 6

#10207

[strong]Bikram Teacher Styles[/strong]

I have always thought it interesting that Bikram’s dialogue and regimented poses were designed to provide a consistent experience for students wherever they take a Bikram class. Yet each teacher delivers a slightly unique class experience based on how they emphasize different parts of the dialogue. And that is a good thing. My studio purposely changes the teacher schedules day by day so that students are exposed to as many different instructors as possible.

One key difference I have found among teachers is the tendency to “call out” students by name – recognizing good poses and correcting errors when observed. Some teachers do this all the time, so that the session is full of specific corrections and recognition of students. Other teachers simply do their version of the dialogue and make general comments about how to do the poses correctly without ever calling out a specific student.

Which style is better? For me, the teacher that calls out specific students delivers a class that is superior to the teacher who only makes general comments. Why? Even if I am never “called out” in a class by the teacher, if other students are being named, then I know that the teacher is watching us – is noting when we are doing poses well or when we need correction. And that makes me perform better – to try to be more exact in my own poses. If an instructor simply goes through the dialogue, then they might as well play a recording of the dialogue and stay out of the heat! I like to know that my efforts are being observed. My poses get better when an instructor provides specific direction to me. And, yes, it makes my day when an instructor notices that I am doing a pose well and announces that.

The best teachers tune into their class – learn the names of their students, and make each class unique by identifying good and not-as-good performances by their students. And they expand the dialogue to help us understand why we do what we do in those poses.

What type of teacher are you? Or what do you like best in Bikram instructors? What makes one teacher better than others for you?

kfi2000
Participant

January 9, 2013 at 3:08 pm

Post count: 108

#10208

I completely agree about teachers who give feedback versus those who don’t! If I get any feedback (compliment or correction) I’m amazed at how I’m suddenly working even harder, though I would have thought that impossible. Of course correcting misalignments is critical, and not all instructors do that. For the teachers who simply recite the dialogue, I feel like they are “phoning it in” and I end up doing the same.

Of course I also like instructors who bring a degree of energy and enthusiasm to the class. Even though it may be the same words I’ve heard countless times, they say them as if its the first time they’ve spoken them. That keeps me in the class, mentally.

sonidochi
Participant

January 12, 2013 at 5:56 am

Post count: 7

#10221

I definitely prefer instructors who call out individuals, or comment on an observation of the class as a whole. Mention something that we are ALL doing wrong and tell us how to correct it please!

I REALLY love it when an instructor takes just a minute to demonstrate even just 1 pose in between sets and slightly strays from the dialogue. In a recent class, in between the sets of the standing separate leg head to knee pose, the instructor demonstrated it and used the “angry cat” analogy to describe the curve of the spine that we are trying to make. I don’t know why, but just those 2 words made it clear as day what I SHOULD be doing in that pose. That was my best attempt at that pose ever!

Oh, and the occasional giggle in class is a real stress buster! So instructors: Don’t be afraid to say something funny every so often! Just in between sets please. 🙂

jrbauer01
Participant

January 25, 2013 at 6:53 pm

Post count: 6

#10264

[strong]THE ART OF SHAVASANA[/strong]

We hear throughout the Bikram Dialogue that one of the most important “pose” is the Shavasana rest we take for two minutes midway through the 90 minutes and then for 20 seconds between each pose and set. And most instructors do a good job of filling that time and our ears with all the reasons why Shavasana is so important to the practice.

But I think most instructors miss an opportunity at the end of the 90 minutes to help students make the most of the final Shanvasana. It seems like most of the instructors spend about 15 seconds reinforcing that last important rest and then hurry out the door leaving students to finish on their own.

I do try to make the most of that time, but is seems like many of the students quickly pack up and chase the instructor out the door – completely missing the value of those extra few minutes. When I practiced in Australia at the South Melbourne Bikram studio, (http://www.bikramyogasm.com.au/), most students there seemed to be more advanced than at my studio in Chicago (http://www.bikramyogaburrridge.com/). I am used to opening my eyes to an empty practice room after about three minutes of Shavasana at my home studio – but I noticed that most of the Melbourne students were still relaxing and getting the benefits of the rest at that point – suggesting that [em]it is the more advanced student who understands the value of the last rest and takes the time for it. [/em]

ITS MEDITATION.
One technique that a really good instructor can do is to guide students through that resting pose more – it is a meditative pose, and many students don’t know how to do that. A guided rest walks students through how they should be breathing. Some instructors will walk through the major body sections suggesting that students focus on relaxing that part as they concentrate on the breath. “Feel the floor pushing against your feet. Relax your feet as you breath. Now think about your calves. Breath in, breath out. Relax. Now think about your thighs…” etc.

Another great suggestion that I have used is to count backwards from 10 or 20 with each “in” breath. This meditation technique helps to clear the mind and also helps a student relax and stay the extra couple of minutes that are so helpful to the body.

I’d be interested in techniques other instructors or students have used to make the most of their Shavasana.
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