Friday, December 04, 2009

Bikram Yoga

I'm trying a two week membership to Bikram Yoga. In case you don't know, a Bikram yoga class consists of two sets of 26 moves done at 105F. A class lasts ninety minutes. I like regular yoga, but have a hard time fitting it in my workout schedule because I don't necessarily find it to be a workout. It's stretching and I feel great after, but my heart rate is not too high and I'm not sweating. The 105 degrees takes care of that. I can feel my heart pounding for at least some of the moves and am sweating balls the entire time. I still don't know where I stand on it though. I feel like I'm not getting enough of a stretch with Bikram, but that is probably because at 105 degrees, my muscles are already warm and pretty pliable. I wish they worked in some different moves too. But it is always the same 26 moves. And my biggest gripe: the yoga room is carpeted. It's like a big old nastiness incubator. It was difficult not walking out the first class because I was so disgusted by the thought of the carpet. On the plus side, when I swam recently, I did notice that my breathing was easier. And I have lost a pound or two, but this may also be credited to a slight change in my lunch routine. I don't know yet if there are other benefits. A friend of S's did it for two years as an alternative to surgery for a torn ACL. He said it made a big difference. And in my three classes, I have been able to increase the bend in my knee. I think I'll have to try it a little bit longer to see. If you've tried it, let me know what you think.

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