Sunday, January 10, 2010

Bikram

"It's never too late, it's never too bad, and you're never too old or too sick to start from scratch again." -Bishnu Ghosh

Today I went to a Bikram yoga class at Betsy's Hot Yoga on Shelbyville Road. I've been practicing for over two years now, and it is a challenging yet enriching experience that I get to enjoy over and over again every class. Bikram Choudhury developed his series of 26 postures that remain the same in every class around the world. The classes are traditionally 90 minutes long, held in a room with a temperature of over 100 degrees. Reading that you might think, "Now why in the world would I want to participate in something like that?" Because it's amazing! Bikram yoga challenges your strength, your flexibility, your endurance, and your balance. It changes your body and it changes your life, not to mention that it is a wonderful supplement to running.

Today's class was extremely full due to many New Year's Resolutions folks that walk through the door this time of year. I shouldn't judge them too much because I was once one of them. I could write about yoga all day, but I encourage everyone to try at least one class and see if you like it. It will be the best workout you've ever had!

Before class I was flipping through Bikram's book that was released in 2007. It's a wonderful book, filled with stories from his life and how he came to develop his practice and also he examines the postures and reveal how they help and fine-tune your body. One criticism that I have of the book is that he shoots down every other form of exercise, among other things. For someone who is so enamored with opening up his body to yoga, he sure is narrow-minded.

This brings me to the main topic of this post. I truly believe in the statement, "All things in moderation." We cannot put all of our eggs in one basket. Exercise-wise, we have to keep our muscles wondering what is coming next. By doing lots of different activities, we use different muscles and keep our body guessing. If I ran two miles every day, I would at first be reaping the benefits, but after a while it would be mundane for both my body and my mind. In terms of the mini marathon, I have to run a lot to build endurance, but it's not the only thing I do. Overall, I choose to engage in many different activities and maintain moderation in order not to fatigue myself.

Tennessee just beat Kansas!

1 comment:

  1. RW- I just read an article about how lack of sleep can lead to weight gain! What is your knowledge on this subject?

    ReplyDelete