Tag-Archive for » hot yoga «

Jul
20

Got My Bikram On!

Over these past several years, I’ve dedicated more than one post to the wonders of Baptiste.  I’ve read and followed his books, been to a Bootcamp (which I loved!) and generally, let the Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga dictate my practice for the better part of a decade… and love it!

However, recently, I’ve let myself succumb to the charms of another… whose methodology has opened a new door into a whole new way of practicing yoga.

Yes, I’d heard of him.  I’ve even written about him here.

But… I’ll be honest, I never really took him seriously.   What with the yoga competitions and all… he just seemed like just another egomaniacal one-named guru cashing in on the trend.

I mean, really.

But then, thanks to an extended trip to the city and the modern wonders of the Groupon… I received an offer I couldn’t refuse.  An inexpensive opportunity to experience that known simply as Bikram…

And, lo and behold, I’m hooked.

The first class nearly killed me… sending me into a claustrophobic anxiety attack, gasping desperately for fresh breath in the suffocating heat- never has savasana been so welcome.  But damn!  Even after that first class I felt transformed.

Cleaned, pulled and emerged, not unlike the slimy pupa freeing itself from the restriction of her shell.

And sweat?! Holy moly… I felt purged from the inside out.  All the yuck seeping out through my pores.  Not to mention the 600 calories I supposedly burned!

And more wondrous, throughout the rest of the day, the experience stayed with me, so much so that I enjoyed a heightened consciousness and deliberateness in everything I chose to put back in, from food to media.  Weird.

Everything about my day felt different… true renewal.  A feeling I want everyday.

But alas… my return to the sticks.  And trying to recreate Bikram on my own.

Category: bikram, health, Just Crazy... In A Good Way, people, Postures, Practice, strength, surrender, Trends, yoga  One Comment
Sep
11

Oh Those Canadians: Yoga… ‘Cannabis Enhanced’

Leave it to the Canadians and their legalized marijuana to find yet another excuse to get high:  yoga class!

I suppose to some, yoga and pot are synonymous anyhow.  But to those of us who practice regularly, the high we get from a practice, any practice, from more mellow Iyengar to balls out Bikram, is just so satisfying and remarkable on its own, it keeps us coming back to the magic of the mat as often as we can.

But, apparently there is another faction of yogis that feel there’s just that much more can be achieved through a practice enhanced by the ganja… the herb… the tea… by the cannabis that they’ve developed a series of classes incorporating the hallucinogen to maximize their yogic experience.

Dee Dussault, founder of Follow Your Bliss center and Ganja Yoga classes, told Relaxnews that she has “been smoking marijuana for four years, practicing yoga for 15 years” and “teaching cannabis-enhanced yoga for about one year.”

Classes range in participation from four to fifteen students, and along with mats, towels and water bottles, it’s a strict policy of  BYOP: Bring Your Own Pot.  There is no sharing or mooching and there is certainly no buying or selling.

Classes include “a vaporizer café and chat (approximately 30 minutes), followed by a profoundly trippy yoga class, set to mystical music (approximately 75 minutes). Light munchies served afterward” for about $15 CDN.

Most of us don’t live in the Toronto area to take advantage of this unique approach to yoga, but if you’re interesting in experimenting with your own ganja infused practice, Dee Dussault offers a few pointers:

-  Focus more on the sensations that one feels in the body than on trying to achieve more intermediate or advanced postures while high.
-  Really slow down, focus inwards, let go of your idea of what “yoga” is supposed to look like. Just “be” in different poses. Hang out there, let the ganja take you to new realms of experience. Notice your breath. Notice how the body moves and feels. Do some simple stretches, whatever your body calls for.
- Always listen to your body, and err on the side of doing less than you think you can.
- Stay away from balancing poses unless you are used to them, as marijuana can negatively impact balance for some people. Spend a lot of time in meditative poses.
- If your mind wanders, just come back to your breath. If thoughts interrupt or distract you, see if you can commit to focusing on the breath and the feeling of the body.
- Marijuana is great for making us super-interested in things for the short-term. Be super-interested in things you’ve never noticed about your body before. Continually commit to coming back to the breath, to the body.
- If you feel anxiety or cannabis-induced paranoia, try “Child’s Pose” – kneel on your knees and lower legs, with your hips reaching down towards your heels, and your forehead on the mat. You can have your arms extended over your head, or by your sides. Child’s pose reduces mental tension and anxiety.

Category: Articles, Class-y, health, Just Crazy... In A Good Way, news, Practice, yoga  One Comment
Dec
17

The Balancing Series… Love on One Foot. Part 5: Natarajasana… Dancer’s Pose. Oh Yeah.

bal-dancerI’ve been known to wax enviously about this posture and those who are able to enjoy its full potential… but despite my own challenges in the posture… ILOVE IT!

I consider it the most beautiful- strong, graceful, intense.

Myself, it takes some time resting in Tadasana- Mountain Pose to gather myself before I embark upon this energetic journey that is Natarajasana.  Breathe… fix gaze… breathe…

With gaze fixed, supporting foot- let’s say, left- is grounded toes spread, weight centred throughout all points from heel to balls (ahem…;)  Reach for the right foot with the right hand, gently grasping around the inner arch.

In tandem, the torso and leg being raised pull in opposite directions simultaneously out and up, the heart reaching forward.  The left arm is extended forward guiding the torso.  There should be a delightful energy- a blissful tension- as the leg and torso work to extend opposite one another, while engaging a graceful arc in the back.   Ooooohhhhh… tingles!  Yes, tingles… I said I LOVED this posture!

The supporting leg is strong and long, the head of the thigh bone pulled up deep into the hip as it provides solid foundation.

If you’re more ambitious, or more flexible, the arm extended forward can also reach back to grasp the outer arch of the foot, drawing the shin again, both out and upwards. Strong.  All the while, the heart reaches up… as though a string is attached pulling towards the ceiling.  Yum.

Category: health, Postures, strength, yoga  One Comment
Dec
09

The Balancing Series… Love on One Foot. Part 4: Dekasana… Airplane!

bal-split-bLovely, lovely… and, despite the exertion involved a nice relief from the previous posture, Dekasana- airplane.

The support of one, or two hands if you wish, certainly helps.  The support of the arms provides leverage, allowing for greater extension through the lifted leg, with that foot active and energized.

With a last inhale in airplane, getting a little bit more from the slight backbend, heart reaching forward and up, maintain straight back and exhale, hinging at the hip, draw the torso forward down the long line of the thigh.

Be conscious of the line, making sure to keep the trunk turned to lay against the supporting leg.  With the forward bending motion, the extended leg reaches, long and upwards, the toes eager and active towards the ceiling or up the wall to the rear.

This is an energetic posture and the torso extends long down the leg, pulling in the opposite direction of the reaching toes.  Long, long… oh so long!  The arms are engaged, with hands either on the floor, on the ankle or one of each, pulling offering assistance to the extension happening through both the torso andhttp://www.mommyom.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=761 leg.  A block is absolutely encouraged to offer assistance in support with the hands, to keep the torso properly aligned, if the floor isn’t going to happen without it.  That leverage is important in maximizing the benefit of this posture.

Regardless the height of the leg, the idea is length and energy… down into the floor through the supporting leg and foot and the hands and up through that long, extended leg into and beyond the toes.

Breathe, breathe… BREATHE!!

Feels good, don’t it?!

Category: Postures, strength, yoga  Leave a Comment
Dec
08

If I’d Known Bikram Was Coming….

I’d have cranked the heat… but it is Canada, after all!

bikramIn our neck o’ the woods we’ve seen celebrities of all stripes, most notably the whole Twi-hard phenomenon as they make their homes locally (roughly) to film the monster vampire franchise.

Anywho… a celebrity nearly as big, at least in his own mind, and certainly more interesting, recently graced our northern shores.  With mouth, cocked and loaded, attitude and cash in abundance, the ‘bad boy’ founder of Bikram, Bikram Choudhury, did Vancouver.

“It takes six hours,” the Los Angeles-based yoga mogul said, before laughing: “And I buy all the junk. I love it, you know?”

Here to conduct a lecture as well as judge the Western Canadian Hatha Yoga Championships- who knew?!- Master Bikram, whose efforts and commitment have manifested in a veritable empire founded on heat, sweat and just plain balls(!), boasts more than 350 affiliated studios around the world and the devotion of millions.  Without doubt, were it available to me and given my penchant for celebrity yogis, I’d probably be sitting sweaty and happy on the Bikram train as well.

The roots of Bikram’s methodology lie in a childhood devoted to hours of practice, where he became more and more aware of the positive effects of heat on his body and it’s response to yoga.

“When room is more hot, then I can sweat more, I can stretch more, I can push more, I can go more deeper and deeper and inside the body, it hurts less and you never get injury,” he said, recalling early days in India when he’d shut doors to keep in the heat.

“So I developed this with my own practice,” he said. “Years and years and years and years.”

Guru to any number of celebrities, Shirley McLain chief among them… oh, and Tiger Woods as well, along with the likes of Madonna, Elle Macpherson and the lovely George Clooney.  Despite his roster of notable clientele, when it comes to giving them the celebrity treatment, Bikram states emphatically,

“This is the way I run my kingdom: my way or the highway,” he said in a tone that leaves little room for dispute. “I don’t listen to anybody. You need my help: Come to me, shut up, forget who you are. I will take care of you. And I do my job.”

For anyone perhaps considering taking Bikram to a more competetive level, take a peek… Here’s Mari Dickey, number one woman at the competition.  A little inspiration:

Category: news, people, strength, Trends  2 Comments
Jan
27

New! All New!

A new site design… to represent our renewed vision and spirit!

Mommy Om is shaping up to be the formost presence of yoga for families on the web.  In addition to first hand accounts of parent’s practice, with or without their children, Mommy Om will provide a wealth of resources for introducing and involving your children in the remarkable world of yoga.

Category: Blog, Practice  Leave a Comment
Jan
06

Ebb and Flow

Wow!It’s been quite some time since I announced I’d be back NEXT WEEK!!

So next week came next year….

Anyways, after the turn of a new year… and the turn of a new decade, I turned 40 last month, and in the last months and years leading up to this milestone birthday I have come to better embrace the ebb and flow that is my creativity, my motivation and my progress. Basically, my life. That isn’t to say during certain points I can be found lolling endlessly on the sofa until the flow kicks in… no. I just know that there is an ease that can be found and luxuriated in at times and at others, things come with a little more difficulty and can’t be forced.

That said, as we settle into 2009 and back into our homeschool winter, I am also in the face of some exciting challenges professionally and need to look to yoga and meditation as a means to best approach and overcome these challenges helping me to meet my goals. I am leaving a period of relative ebb into a wonderful flow, where I want to be able to access the inspired, the creative and the most productive in me.

I know a regular practice to be, in times of busy-ness and a little craziness, an effective tool but also a welcome respite, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

To keep me from losing my mind.

Category: Good Intentions, Meditation, Practice  One Comment
Sep
29

Tomorrow… Abso-freakin’-tively!

We have officially settled into our Mexican vacation.  Day #2 has come to an end and I do believe everyone will be in a better sleep cycle beginning tonight.  Which means, an early, uninterrupted, practice tomorrow morning.  I love practicing yoga when we’re here… it’s just a matter of making time for it and early mornings are my favourite here.  The waves, the sunrise… before the workers are up clanging down by the pool… before the other vacationers are up, all boisterous, setting up for the day or heading to breakfast… before the smell of bacon fills the air.

Doors open, breeze off of the Caribbean…. breathe….. tomorrow it is!

Category: Blog, Destinations, Good Intentions  Leave a Comment
Aug
04

Cool Summer… Lazy- I Mean, Crazy- Summer

I can’t believe summer is already half over! And what have I done? What has become of training? What has become of yoga practice?

Ack!

Well…. let’s see. There’s been camping. There’s been managing kids and whatever school we are squeezing into our days. There’s been lots of company. And recently, there’s been work- yup, paid work. I’ve been shooting a lot! And of course… there’s the beach. We go to the beach. That’s it in a nutshell. And currently, we are entertaining more company… Oh, and potato chips. Yes, lots of potato chips!
However, despite a crazy, busy work week ahead (causing me to bail on half-marathon as I booked a wedding that same afternoon and thought it best not to run almost 13 miles beforehand lest I puke on poor, unsuspecting bride) and a hectic visit to hubby’s hometown in Northern Virginia, I am going to implement change.

Documented here. Yes, here. Change. OK. Not great, fundamental change. But after I booked the gig for next weekend, I pretty much gave up training, in any form. Over the past three weeks I have done largely nothing of a physical nature.

So, MommyOm to the rescue. Good eating… yoga practice… walking and/or running… and hey, five pounds, to boot, happens here. Motivate me, Mommy Om… I’m relying on the power of public record….
Heeeeere we go!

Category: Blog, Good Intentions  Leave a Comment
Jun
22

Baptiste… When I’m Struggling With Motivation

When I’m having a little trouble getting a practice going myself, I turn to Baron.

I don’t have the benefit of a class nearby to depend on when I’m in need of guidance so this handy dandy set of CD’s is great in a pinch… and when I just want to merely follow rather than be thinking about what postures I want/need to come next. I just plain love this set of CD’s.

There is the 75 minute Vinyasa. It never seems like over an hour and I feel like I’ve touched on every muscle by the end.

There are a couple of shorty 20 minute practices for when I’m in need of just a little perk.

Now that I have something of a dedicated space, with a CD player, and as I continue training through the summer (after this next fun tri, half marathon second weekend in August) I plan to be using these more.

I get so tired of my own voice in my head I have to remember I’ve got a session with Baron I can always turn to….

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