By Michael Hawkins
Bikram Yoga is a form of Yoga which consists of a series of 26 poses performed in a hot room. When we say Bikram Yoga positions that is the same as calling them postures, poses, asanas or something else. Bikram is also commonly referred to as "Hot Yoga".
Bikram Yoga was created by Bikram Choudhury, a self-styled Yoga entrepreneur who moved from India to the US to teach yoga. He developed his own version of Hatha yoga that consists of a tightly scripted sequence of 26 positions and two breathing exercises. The temperature of a Bikram Yoga studio is usually at 105 degrees or even higher! The idea behind it is that the heat will help to loosen your muscles, improve flexibility, and increase your heart rate. And, although quite to state the obvious, the heat also makes you sweat - a lot!
Bikram's 26 hatha yoga postures are, like most other styles of hatha Yoga, designed to stretch your muscles, compress your cardiopulmonary system and improve your circulation. The practise can be uncomfortable or mildly painful at first and you may get lightheaded or nauseous during the session. These sensations are often symptoms of detoxification taking place in the body, but be caution is appropriate as they may also be signs of dehydration.
The first 60 minutes of a practice session is usually spent doing standing exercises, followed by 30 minutes of floor exercises. The routine includes Bikram Yoga positions such as the Half Moon Pose that strengthens your abdominals and helps with back pain. The Awkward pose that strengthens calves, thighs, and hips. And the Wind Removing Pose that straightens the spine and increases flexibility. The last mentioned one also exerts pressure on your colon, which perhaps is the origin of the name of the position.
The only copyrighted Yoga?!
On an interesting side note, one can mention that the entrepreneur in Choudhury wants to have monopoly on who can teach this form of Yoga. He has made it clear that he thinks Bikram is "his original version of yoga". He claimed copyright protection for this particular set of Yoga positions and even sued some yoga studios that taught Bikram Yoga without paying his franchise fee. His argument was that "just as a sequence of musical notes or dance steps can be copyrighted - so can Yoga". Others claim that this is nothing else than pure greed, stemming from Bikram's want to make a lot of money, and that Yoga has it's firm roots in the public domain.
Be that as it may, if you are considering to take up Bikram Yoga for yourself, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First of all, due to the intense heat, Bikram yoga can be tough to endure for certain people. Those who have low resistance to heat, have high blood pressure, heart problems or any other serious health condition, should check with their doctor before trying this form of exercise.
Even if you are in top shape, you need to mentally prepare yourself for the heat. The room is between 105 F and 110 F degrees Fahrenheit (although some instructors keep it high, but under 100 F) and classes usually last about 90 minutes, so you will be sweating a lot. You need to drink plenty of water throughout the day - both before and after the class. During the class you should only sip small amounts of water though, as gulping it down may cause nausea or other discomforts.
If you attend a class to get some first hand experience with this series of poses, and notice that you start to feel ill - sit down cross legged on your towel (remember to bring one, you will need it anyhow). If that doesn't help you may lie down for a bit until you feel strong enough to continue. You may then take a sip of water and continue doing your Bikram Yoga positions.
About the author:
Michael Hawkins is the author of a guide called No Nonsense Yoga. Read more about this guide as well as about Bikram Yoga positions on his website.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Hawkins
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Why Zen Yoga Poses Can Improve Your Health
By Rebecca Prescott
Zen yoga poses are part of an Oriental system that combines the practice of asanas with Traditional Chinese and Japanese Medicine. Postures are categorized according to the primary meridian they affect. A meridian can be understood as similar to a blood vessel, in that it has an energetic structure that corresponds with the human body, but which is instead a channel for energy to circulate (instead of blood).
The alignment of these exercises with specific meridians is what makes zen yoga such a powerful healing modality. In fact, teachers of this Oriental system emphasize its' capacity to help treat the basic causes of illness.. This article will explore what is meant by that, and provide some illustration on how zen yoga poses can be adapted to an individual's problems.
Meridian exercises work by facilitating the natural flow of energy in areas where we experience blockages and stagnation. We may feel those areas of blockages as stiffness, aching, tension, pain, or simply a feeling of being uncomfortable. Zen poses open up their primary meridians, and as a result, they dispel 'ill' energy, and allow healthy energy to flow instead.
A little background on meridians may be helpful. There are 12 meridians, and they are named after different organs of the body. So, we have the Lung meridian, large intestine meridian, Heart constrictor, triple heater, liver, gall bladder, spleen, stomach, heart, small intestine, kidney, and bladder.
It's important to note that although these meridians each have an energetic relationship with the organ after which they are named, they are not just referring to the organ when we speak about them. Their primary meaning is an energetic reference, to a type of energy that runs along a specific channel, which just happens to be associated with a physical organ as well. So, when Oriental practitioners and yoga teachers talk about a particular meridian being out of whack in some way, this definitely does not mean that our organs are! I emphasize this because a lot of people tend to get alarmed by some of the terminology, and it just stems from a misunderstanding of the context in which it is being used.
By understanding how important the energetic aspect is in Oriental philosophy, it is easier to understand how they look at the symptoms of disease, illness, or any problems we feel in our bodies. Instead of focusing on the symptom itself, Oriental diagnosis looks at what is going on in the meridians, and a healing approach is based on this, instead of a rigidly defined solution for a set of symptoms. What this means in practical terms, is that one person's ideal solution to a bad back, or a stiff neck, may be very different to another's.
The good news is that you don't have to know a lot of theory to do zen yoga successful. And neither do you need to understand the intricacies of Oriental diagnosis to apply zen yoga exercises for your own specific problems. Masunaga offers this useful guide: "first find the exercise which is hardest to do... and then look for another one which is the easiest... If doing the easiest exercise causes an improvement in the performance of the most difficult one, or relieves a ... symptom, it is effectively reinforcing the Ki [energy] in the Kyo [deficient] meridian".
Masunaga was a leading shiatsu teacher in Japan who organized meridian exercises into a system that people could use themselves. He actually wrote that the best way to learn about zen yoga poses, was to practice them! Zen yoga seems more difficult in theory than it is in practice. It's actually a very fun, playful and gentle style of yoga that can readily be adapted to any level of fitness and health. Like tai chi, it has great health benefits, which can be explored in more detail through classes or publications.
References: Zen Imagery Exercises by Shizuto Masunaga
For more articles on different yoga types, click here. Rebecca presents yoga tips and articles here.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Prescott
Zen yoga poses are part of an Oriental system that combines the practice of asanas with Traditional Chinese and Japanese Medicine. Postures are categorized according to the primary meridian they affect. A meridian can be understood as similar to a blood vessel, in that it has an energetic structure that corresponds with the human body, but which is instead a channel for energy to circulate (instead of blood).
The alignment of these exercises with specific meridians is what makes zen yoga such a powerful healing modality. In fact, teachers of this Oriental system emphasize its' capacity to help treat the basic causes of illness.. This article will explore what is meant by that, and provide some illustration on how zen yoga poses can be adapted to an individual's problems.
Meridian exercises work by facilitating the natural flow of energy in areas where we experience blockages and stagnation. We may feel those areas of blockages as stiffness, aching, tension, pain, or simply a feeling of being uncomfortable. Zen poses open up their primary meridians, and as a result, they dispel 'ill' energy, and allow healthy energy to flow instead.
A little background on meridians may be helpful. There are 12 meridians, and they are named after different organs of the body. So, we have the Lung meridian, large intestine meridian, Heart constrictor, triple heater, liver, gall bladder, spleen, stomach, heart, small intestine, kidney, and bladder.
It's important to note that although these meridians each have an energetic relationship with the organ after which they are named, they are not just referring to the organ when we speak about them. Their primary meaning is an energetic reference, to a type of energy that runs along a specific channel, which just happens to be associated with a physical organ as well. So, when Oriental practitioners and yoga teachers talk about a particular meridian being out of whack in some way, this definitely does not mean that our organs are! I emphasize this because a lot of people tend to get alarmed by some of the terminology, and it just stems from a misunderstanding of the context in which it is being used.
By understanding how important the energetic aspect is in Oriental philosophy, it is easier to understand how they look at the symptoms of disease, illness, or any problems we feel in our bodies. Instead of focusing on the symptom itself, Oriental diagnosis looks at what is going on in the meridians, and a healing approach is based on this, instead of a rigidly defined solution for a set of symptoms. What this means in practical terms, is that one person's ideal solution to a bad back, or a stiff neck, may be very different to another's.
The good news is that you don't have to know a lot of theory to do zen yoga successful. And neither do you need to understand the intricacies of Oriental diagnosis to apply zen yoga exercises for your own specific problems. Masunaga offers this useful guide: "first find the exercise which is hardest to do... and then look for another one which is the easiest... If doing the easiest exercise causes an improvement in the performance of the most difficult one, or relieves a ... symptom, it is effectively reinforcing the Ki [energy] in the Kyo [deficient] meridian".
Masunaga was a leading shiatsu teacher in Japan who organized meridian exercises into a system that people could use themselves. He actually wrote that the best way to learn about zen yoga poses, was to practice them! Zen yoga seems more difficult in theory than it is in practice. It's actually a very fun, playful and gentle style of yoga that can readily be adapted to any level of fitness and health. Like tai chi, it has great health benefits, which can be explored in more detail through classes or publications.
References: Zen Imagery Exercises by Shizuto Masunaga
For more articles on different yoga types, click here. Rebecca presents yoga tips and articles here.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Prescott
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