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snow_leopard may have noticed that, in recent months, she's gone a bit evangelical.
When I say a bit, I mean a lot.
Really quite a lot.
However, I have a theory that if anyone endorses anything really wholeheartedly and is not (a) a celebrity, (b) being paid to do so, or (c) a known deranged enthusiast, then it might be worth checking out.
Snow_Leopard's been telling me for a while how amazingly beneficial she's been finding Bikram Yoga. The basic principle seems to be to take one large yoga class, add water, and bake at Gas Mark 4 for 90 minutes.
I don't pass conveniently near a Bikram Yoga studio, but there is the OEM "Hot Yoga" Studio 42 in Reading. They describe their classes as "Classical Hatha Yoga Postures performed in a purpose built Hot Yoga studio."
The general idea seems to be that in a hot room muscles are more thoroughly warmed-up (and thus more bendy and less prone to injury), your circulation improves, and your will-power gets a more thorough testing. (There are also a variety of claims relating to metabolism-boosting, weight-loss and elimination of toxins which my limited physiology knowledge cannot accurately distinguish from bollocks.) However, since my main motivation is to try strengthening my feeble leg muscles which are currently doing a poor job of holding my kneecaps in place, I don't care so much about the weight-loss aspects.
Anyway, along I trotted. I arrived about 15 minutes before the class started, and found that over 20 of the 35 places were already signed up (by start time, it had reached capacity). Clearly, it's popular.
I have never done any yoga before at all (though I used to do a lot of Pilates), so wondered if I would struggle to keep up. For every pose or movement, the instructor used the English name, the Sanskrit name, and a brief description - which was sometimes enough for me to work out what was required, and sometimes not. At the beginning of the class, the instructor had put down some ground rules, one of which was "don't watch other people", but I found I had to in order to work out what I was meant to be doing. Hopefully that isn't considered offensive, and I more or less managed to move in the same direction at the same time(ish) as everyone else.
About two minutes in - while doing the extraordinarily complicated combination of standing still and breathing - I was pretty convinced that I was going to flake out in around ten minutes. The room is hot and I don't really respond well to hot. However, apart from a little sit down about an hour in when I was feeling rather woogly I pretty much kept up.
The trouble with things like Pilates and yoga is that, as far as I can tell, just doing it isn't enough. You have to do it right. The Pilates class I started attending when I moved to Ealing was run by a guy who never corrected anyone. I could see other people in the class clearly doing stuff wrong, and presume that so was I (except it's often harder to tell with yourself). The instructor at Studio 42 constantly prowled around the class encouraging, correcting or helping individuals, which I regard as a very good thing.
At the end of 90 minutes I did feel as if I'd had a thorough work-out, and was really quite knackered. Although, in fairness, I think I'd have been pretty tired just from sitting in a hot room. I'm not sure I felt any particular mental benefits, but maybe that's something that comes with more practice when one is less busy going "what?" and "how she's doing that?" and "really?" and so on. The following day I was pleased to note I didn't seem to have overly sore muscles (although my shoulders did seem to come out belatedly in soreness the day after that).
Classes are quite pricey, so I signed up for their cheapo 30 day trial. Accordingly, I shall try and go once a week until the trial runs out, and then decide whether I want to do it long-term.
snow_leopard may have noticed that, in recent months, she's gone a bit evangelical.When I say a bit, I mean a lot.
Really quite a lot.
However, I have a theory that if anyone endorses anything really wholeheartedly and is not (a) a celebrity, (b) being paid to do so, or (c) a known deranged enthusiast, then it might be worth checking out.
Snow_Leopard's been telling me for a while how amazingly beneficial she's been finding Bikram Yoga. The basic principle seems to be to take one large yoga class, add water, and bake at Gas Mark 4 for 90 minutes.
I don't pass conveniently near a Bikram Yoga studio, but there is the OEM "Hot Yoga" Studio 42 in Reading. They describe their classes as "Classical Hatha Yoga Postures performed in a purpose built Hot Yoga studio."
The general idea seems to be that in a hot room muscles are more thoroughly warmed-up (and thus more bendy and less prone to injury), your circulation improves, and your will-power gets a more thorough testing. (There are also a variety of claims relating to metabolism-boosting, weight-loss and elimination of toxins which my limited physiology knowledge cannot accurately distinguish from bollocks.) However, since my main motivation is to try strengthening my feeble leg muscles which are currently doing a poor job of holding my kneecaps in place, I don't care so much about the weight-loss aspects.
Anyway, along I trotted. I arrived about 15 minutes before the class started, and found that over 20 of the 35 places were already signed up (by start time, it had reached capacity). Clearly, it's popular.
I have never done any yoga before at all (though I used to do a lot of Pilates), so wondered if I would struggle to keep up. For every pose or movement, the instructor used the English name, the Sanskrit name, and a brief description - which was sometimes enough for me to work out what was required, and sometimes not. At the beginning of the class, the instructor had put down some ground rules, one of which was "don't watch other people", but I found I had to in order to work out what I was meant to be doing. Hopefully that isn't considered offensive, and I more or less managed to move in the same direction at the same time(ish) as everyone else.
About two minutes in - while doing the extraordinarily complicated combination of standing still and breathing - I was pretty convinced that I was going to flake out in around ten minutes. The room is hot and I don't really respond well to hot. However, apart from a little sit down about an hour in when I was feeling rather woogly I pretty much kept up.
The trouble with things like Pilates and yoga is that, as far as I can tell, just doing it isn't enough. You have to do it right. The Pilates class I started attending when I moved to Ealing was run by a guy who never corrected anyone. I could see other people in the class clearly doing stuff wrong, and presume that so was I (except it's often harder to tell with yourself). The instructor at Studio 42 constantly prowled around the class encouraging, correcting or helping individuals, which I regard as a very good thing.
At the end of 90 minutes I did feel as if I'd had a thorough work-out, and was really quite knackered. Although, in fairness, I think I'd have been pretty tired just from sitting in a hot room. I'm not sure I felt any particular mental benefits, but maybe that's something that comes with more practice when one is less busy going "what?" and "how she's doing that?" and "really?" and so on. The following day I was pleased to note I didn't seem to have overly sore muscles (although my shoulders did seem to come out belatedly in soreness the day after that).
Classes are quite pricey, so I signed up for their cheapo 30 day trial. Accordingly, I shall try and go once a week until the trial runs out, and then decide whether I want to do it long-term.
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no subject
Date: 2012-06-06 10:39 am (UTC)I am however, a bit of a fan of full-on intensive Yoga to start with and looking to gain fitness and tone from it. A girl at work claimed to have gone from a size 14 to a size 8 in 3 months (3 sessions a week, but not losing weight as she gained in muscle) which seems like a rather wild and improbable claim, there is no way I'll ever be a size 8 even if I was locked in a cell and starved for 6 months. I shall reserve judgement on the alleged miracle results of Bikram until after I've done my cheap-deal intro month.
I did 2 sessions 2 days running this weekend (Sunday-Monday) and felt a little bit sore on Tuesday, but considering I've not done any Yoga for 5 years I was surprised that I wasn't more sore.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-06 10:53 am (UTC)A pretty good rule of thumb is that any sentence which includes the word "toxin" is bollocks. (Although not necessarily the entire organisation responsible, since sometimes it's included for the subset of customers who practically insist on its presence.)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-06 10:57 am (UTC)I'd like to go to more than one class a week, but realistically I think I'm going to struggle to fit it in (my class is near my work rather than my home). When we have a proper week that doesn't have bank holidays everywhere maybe it'll be easier.
Having never done any yoga before, I was worried that a 90 minute class would be overdoing it it - and that the hot room would have meant I overstretched myself without realising. So I was vaguely concerned that I'd wake up the following morning unable to move (something that happened the first time I ever played squash). My arms were more than a 'little sore', but I really don't have very much strength in my upper body at the moment.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-06 11:01 am (UTC)Botox, the toxin extracted from clostridium botulinum which can grow in damaged cans of meat (more common in the early days of canning), usually thought of as a wrinkle-reducing treatment, has in recent clinical trials been found effective at reducing the muscle spasms that cause urge incontinence of the bladder.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-06 11:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-06 11:03 am (UTC)A pretty good rule of thumb is that any sentence written for the purposes of marketing which includes the word "toxin" is bollocks.
(I'm sure it's still possible to construct a counter-example, but for naturally-occurring sentences in the wild I think the above will hold almost all the time.)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-06 04:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-07 03:22 pm (UTC)I shouldn't worry to much about not being able to do the full extent of a posture. the Bikram teachers say that so long as you are trying in the right way (even if you can't do the posture fully) you still get the benefits. Will have to lend you my Bikram book as it shows the "ideal" for each posture and how to do it for best benefit if you can't do the ideal.
They also say that in your first class the aim is just to stay in the room for those 90 minutes, anything extra you do is a bonus! As the heat does take some getting used to. It does help to ensure you are hydrated before teh class (I tend to drink about a pint of water an hour before class).
Oh and if you are ever in Manchester you should come to a "proper" Bikram session with me!
no subject
Date: 2012-06-08 10:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-08 11:00 am (UTC)I like the idea that yoga is a cure for TLAs, though! Maybe I should claim I have SCK syndrome instead of just saying I have a slightly crap knee :)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-08 11:18 am (UTC)