Balancing Stick Bikram Pose or Tuladandasana

This is a post by one of our fab Bikram teachers Vicky...

Photo by Cory AronecThis posture is one of the most exhilarating, yet challenging postures in the Bikram Series. Just like Standing Head-to-Knee Pose and Standing Bow Pulling Pose, bringing the chest parallel to the floor helps to stimulate and bring strength to the heart, which is exactly why it is also known as “heart attack on a stick posture”! Stimulating and increasing blood flow through the arteries, strengthening the heart and preventing any future cardiac problems. Just like Bikram says, “It’s a heart attack in the hot room, so you never, ever have one outside on the street!”

Bikram’s Tip:

“Come down absolutely straight, and use your strength immediately”.

Craig’s Tip:

“Use your eyes to continue the stretch of the spine, the spine stays straight but the eyes look forward”.

Craig Villani says that your set up will determine how well you will perform your posture. Lean back slightly in the set up to stretch up toward the ceiling. Lifting your chest and as you step into the posture lock and contract everything even before you start, this will improve stability in the posture.

~Stretch your arms forward, lifting your shoulders up above your ears.

~Lock your elbows, lock your knees

~Bring your chest down, chin forward, pumping fresh nutrient rich blood all throughout the body.

Tuladandasana stretches the spine, relieving stress from the total spine, top to bottom. It also builds strength in the upper thighs, glutes, shoulders, abdomen, deltoids and ankles, and at the same time stretches the hip joints and the shoulders.

Rajashree Choudhury says that 300 calories are burned in this 10 second posture. That’s how much internal work your body is doing!

Tips to help improve your Balancing Stick

Breathe slow and even! Because this posture is only 10 seconds long, people often try to hold their breath here.

Stomach, stomach, stomach! Stabilizing your core is key in this posture and will help you balance. Remember dead weight is heavy weight, so keep everything contracted and you’ll feel light as a feather.

Imagine like your body is being used in a game of tug-of-war. Your arms and legs should be stretching each other apart in opposite directions!

Benefits of the Balancing Stick Bikram Pose:

This particular Bikram yoga pose improves balance, increases endurance, increases lung capacity, stimulates the heart and arteries (strengthens the heart), helps to clear blockages from arteries helping to prevent future cardiac issues, helps varicose veins, burns fat, relieves tension spine, improves concentration. Physiologically, this posture stimulates the pancreas, liver, spleen, kidneys, and nervous system.

Xo Vicky

Tannis and KaleeStafford Street Hot Yoga will now be hosting Open Houses once a month...

Kalee, Tannis and Amanda will be here to share information on the special healing arts of Ayurveda, Macrobiotics, and of course Bikram Yoga!

The first one is February 26th from 10am-4pm. We hope that you can join us!

If you know anyone who is afraid of or interested in Bikram Yoga, but hasn’t made it through the doors yet, this is the day to bring them! They can ask questions, take a tour and meet our lovely staff. Or if you have any questions/concerns and are looking for more information, come on down!

This is a post by Colleen Rogers, current Stafford Street Hot Yoga student and experienced challenger...

My Experience During the Stafford Street Hot Yoga Challenge

I’ve been a yogi for a couple years now and I want to share with you my personal experiences during my Bikram yoga challenge.

When I began my journey I wanted to be prepared. Unfortunately, there really is no way to be prepared! I, however, would like to share some of my personal tips with fellow yogis that are gearing up for their first challenge...

1)    Stock up on coconut water. You will be sweating out water, impurities, and electrolytes (sodium, potassium).  I look for the “no sugar added” variety. I found this to be helpful to drink after class. Especially when it’s nice and cold!

2)    One word: GOMASIO. Ever heard of it? It’s a macrobiotic condiment in which sea salt is cooked with sesame seeds. During the first week I noticed that I was sweating so much during class and, despite how much water I drank, I didn’t seem to retain the fluids that I was drinking. Also, I had extreme salt cravings. So I purchased a bundle of gomasio from SSHY (it’s made on site) and noticed immediate differences. The amount of sweat lessened and the salt cravings decreased as well. My favourite way to eat gomasio is sprinkled on avocado - amazing! I made a habit of putting it on my lunchtime meals in order to allow my body to retain fluid in my body prior to class.

3)    Take it easy on the garlic and raw onions prior to your Bikram yoga class. This one explains itself. What you eat WILL come out in your sweat. Be mindful for others around you. Odours can be quite strong! Because I tend to go to the classes in the evenings, I found that eating a nice salad with chickpeas or hard boiled eggs, avocado (I used half for each meal), bell peppers and gomasio was delicious.

4)    Treat yourself to some nice yoga outfits. Yoga will pretty much become your life. (Or maybe yoga IS life hmmm), so you might as well look and feel good. You deserve it! The studio has a great selection of clothes.

5)    I personally do not enjoy hauling a smelly mat and soaking wet towels around with me. I took advantage of the towel and mat service rental and enjoyed it!

6)    Set your intentions! Every day I set my intentions for the class that I was planning to go to. Once we make up our mind it’s actually quite easy to do what we want to do.

7)    Focus on small improvements. You will struggle during the class. But that’s ok. Yoga is a practice. I found it helpful on those days to just focus on one thing. For example, flexing my toes, the sit-ups or just staying in the room!

8)    Expect challenges to happen. That is normal and completely OK. You know when the teachers say during Camel Pose “you might notice some emotions, dizziness occurring” ? There was one class about halfway through that I had injured my back and felt so emotional during and after class that I completely broke down. The teacher was kind and understanding afterwards and talked about it with me. I’m not sure what happened but perhaps something had opened up and my emotions were set free. Set free from expectations, fear, anxiety, worry. I was mad at myself that I couldn’t just perform “at my best” that day. So now I try to roll with the punches. If you have a bad day, you have a bad day. There’s always tomorrow.

9)    Visualize yourself in correct alignment. This is very useful because if we visualize us doing something we will eventually get there. So I did this during the postures. It helped me keep my focus and balance during class.

10)     Mix it up. Take classes with different teachers if you can. Although the dialogue is the same, each teacher is different. I found that I was able to pick up tips on postures and words of encouragement from each teacher.

I noticed that during my challenge my life had become yoga. I lived and breathed like a yogi. I purchased the book Bikram Yoga and read about Bikram’s life and the different postures. I am much more mindful of my breathing and grounded to the earth - meaning that I am much more peaceful and who doesn’t want more peace in their life?

In short...
The challenge changed me from the inside out; affecting all areas of my well-being.
As my strength and flexibility improved I realized how unbalanced my body was.
As my balance improved I realized how mindful I needed to be to notice this.
As my mindfulness improved I realized how much I need peace.
And as I created peace in my life I realized how necessary yoga is.

~ Colleen Rogers (SSHY student)

Hi Everyone!

Let's start off the new year with a kick!  Bikram has been around a long time, and he has been saying the same things over and over, he has not faltered in his convictions!  Look at what great shape he was in in the 7o's, thought you may like this for a laugh!  And to remember, the beginner's postures can do wonders for you if you stick to it and make it part of your lifestyle, you never lose it!

xo

Amanda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv0eVb_RyWU&feature=related

 

Standing Bow Pulling Pose - Dandayamana-Dhanurasana

Standing Bow Pulling pose is the sixth posture in the Bikram Yoga series. It is directly after Standing Head to Knee Pose, so before you set up, breathe deeply to recover and prepare for the demands of this posture.

The set up is vital in all the Bikram postures but in Bow the set up is often the most challenging aspect. Many students have difficulty reaching their foot and bringing the knees together to start. This is most often due to tight hip flexors and/or quadriceps. These muscles are commonly tight on athletes and non-athletes alike; so don’t be discouraged if you have difficulty. Remember that you should “never build a house on a weak foundation”. Be patient and set the posture up properly.

The most common error I see in Bow is students allowing their ego to get the best of them. Leave your ego at the door and do the posture with your best form and alignment; depth will come with time.  Bikram says, “Take the time to get yourself firmly grounded and set on your standing leg before you bring your body forward and down. When you begin to move, take your time and stay in control. The most important advice I can give you here is don’t be in a hurry to dive into this position.”

When you enter the posture, stretch forward and kick back equally and simultaneously 50/50. “In one solid piece from the hips to the fingertips, roll forward like a wheel until your abdomen is parallel to the floor.”  Lock your standing knee and “let the power of the kick do the work”. Watch for your bent knee in the mirror. If you see it peek out to the side of your body, bring it back into alignment, straight back and up. Do not let your knee “wing” out to the side. If you can see your knee it should be above your head in the mirror. Most humans will be happy to see their foot above their head but make sure it is in the centre of your head when you see it. Stretch your fingers forward toward the mirror and try to “touch your eyebrow, not your chin, not your nose”. Encouraging words from Craig Villani.

If you fall out of Bow (and sometimes you will), try to get back into the posture, but be sure to set it up again from the beginning. Don’t rush! Personally, I use the first set for endurance, adjustments and alignment, so I don’t try for my “edge” in the first set. In the second set, I push myself to that “edge” and work on greater depth.

Benefits of the Bikram Standing Bow Pose:

•    Standing Bow moves the blood from one side of the body to the other, then back again.
•    It develops balance, increases the size and elasticity of the rib cage and firms the abdominal wall and upper thighs.
•    It improves the flexibility and strength of the lower spine.
•    Standing Bow builds patience, determination and concentration.

Enjoy Bow Pulling Pose! ~Todd