bonmar

She might have trouble with Eagle too, twisting her arms/wrists like a preztel!

Thanks very much, Gab and RF! I shall see if I can put that together here.

Stefania:

I hope you didn’t overlook the part in Cyberry’s message that said, “…mindfulness and core strength should never be underestimated.” A male teacher at my studio who is in fabulous shape and is a past yoga champion recently hurt his back. He has the usual gorgeous male body with the six-pack abs. A therapist told him he has a weak core! You’d never know it to look at him! Please do check out Gab’s core building exercises if you haven’t already. Good luck with your recovery!

Hi, Gab, thanks for your answer.

I couldn’t slow my entry any more or I might miss the pose altogether! I always go slowly, always have in mind your comments in your Master Class book regarding procrastination. I sometimes think I move too slowly into it and that’s why I fall out, but really I think it’s from not kicking back hard enough.

And my breathing is always calm, but I will make a point of checking tonight to see if my breathing’s gone funny in this pose.

By “comfy” spot I meant that spot where I reach the balance between pulling and stretching, which is usually a micro second before I fall out. Could it be this has become a habit?! How can it possibly be that in all these years I can’t hold Standing Bow for the full 5 minutes of the pose?!! (I realize I said 5 minutes, it wasn’t a typo.)

I’ll let you know how it goes in tonight’s class, doing it more slowly and more calmly.

Thanks!

Rebecca, I just happened to come across this article and thought of you!

http://www.bikramyoga.com/testimonials/HerniatedDiscs.htm

Gab, what do you say about all this face wiping? You’re the one that told me a few years ago, “CHANGE YOUR PRACTICE, LOSE THE FACECLOTH.” I wasn’t using it to wipe my face, but my hands, before Standing Bow. I realized quickly that it’s not your skin and sweat that are important, it’s muscle to muscle that holds you in the poses, the muscles in your hands against the muscles in your leg, the strength in your hands.

Your cooling system is your sweat, wipe it off and your body now has to work hard to replace it ASAP, so now it’s taking precious water from your system to put back on your face. It always comes back after you wipe it, right? That’s because it’s SUPPOSED TO BE THERE. This is your body’s job in the hot room, to keep you as cool as it can, and every time you wipe you’re working against yourself, making your yoga practice harder!

Just stand quietly and blink it away. I’ve read that if it burns your eyes maybe it’s too acidic and your diet needs to be adjusted.

Here’s an excerpt from an interesting article by Dr. Joel Brame:

Reduces Acidity:

First, acidity. The work of many holistic professionals from around the world
has shown that an imbalanced pH within the body is dangerous. In a toxic or
stressful lifestyle, the body becomes excessively acidic. Just as many fungi love
an acidic environment in which to live, so does cancer.

Bikram yoga greatly contributes to removing acids from the body. This
happens through several routes. The lungs are a powerful vehicle for
eliminating dangerous acids within the body. In chemical terms, they are
called volatile acids, which means they can diffuse into air. The deep breathing
techniques throughout yoga helps to clear out many of these volatile acids.

The kidneys are a major route of eliminating acids. This is easily demonstrated
by testing the pH of a first-morning urine sample. In other words, upon
waking, one can use a pH strip (available at most pharmacies and supplement
shops) to test the pH of their first urination of the day. The vast majority of
the time, this urine is highly acidic. It often falls around 5.0-5.5 (below 7.0 is
acidic). Ideally, you would want the urine pH to be above 5.5. The more
acidic the body, the more acids will be eliminated by the kidneys (except in
cases of kidney failure). A higher urine pH usually reflects less acid buildup.
Because Bikram yoga increases metabolism and heart rate (and possibly
glomerular filtration rate), the kidneys will clear out more acids. In addition,
the extra water you drink during and after class helps to flush out additional
acids.

Another major route of acid elimination is through the skin, via sweat. Bikram
yoga induces more sweating than almost any other form of exercise! It is
comparable to the native American sweat lodge. When I go to class, I always
notice that my sweat feels more acidic in the first half, and more like water in
the second half. Imagine how the body must feel to have released so many
stored-up acidic toxins.

Yes, for sure, Jeffrey, the left side of the studio is the cool side, looking at it from the lobby, or the side closest to Future Shop.

Hey, Random:

I hope you’re not doing any face-wiping whilst in class? As in, smooshing all that stuff back in?

Jeez! Let me retype that!

I too have been doing Square *pose* immediately after my Bikram yoga class. At first it was a killer, but after maybe a month of doing it every day after class it’s getting easier. I *now* lean back a bit and push down on my right knee, as it feels like it’s the front of my hips that need to open, whereas when I started I could feel it more in the back of my hips.

Amy! Good to see you back on line. How’s your hip?