Category: Challenge

How To Survive A 30 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge?

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30 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge

Week 1 – Embrace the muscle soreness

In the first week motivation is not a big problem, its feeling sore in places you have never felt before. 

The first week is important to get right. Don’t push yourself too hard – there are still three more weeks of Yoga ahead of you, so you will need some energy and strength towards the end to get you through. 

Survival tip: Don’t overdo it and be kind to yourself. Unless you are in very good shape, leave out other sports and give your body enough time and sleep to recover between the daily classes.

Week 2 – Push your mind

Additionally to muscle soreness from the first week, I may have to battle with inner temptation on week two. Even if everything hurts, you already know what to expect in the class and you know that you can do it.  

If you catch yourself thinking about that painful uncomfortable posture from yesterday, it’s over before the class begins. And if you hear your mind saying something like “Oh god, this awful triangle again. I couldn’t do it yesterday either. I can’t anymore. That’s too hard, it hurts”, you won’t make it until the end of the challenge. Even if it’s exhausting, you have to learn how to love it, enjoy the benefits and most importantly, stay in the present moment. 

Survival tip: Stay with your thoughts in the moment. Forget about previous classes and the upcoming postures and focus only on the present. Find a positive affirmation that works for you such as “I love Bikram yoga, everyday day I come to class it gets easier and I’m healing from the inside out”. Your body won’t do anything your mind doesn’t push it to do. What also helps to make a commitment is to simply say “See you tomorrow” when leaving the studio.  

Week 3 – Manage your time

On week three, you will be used to the soreness and will be able to focus your mind better. However, you may find you have less time to do the things you are used to, such as socializing.  If practicing yoga is not your full-time job, sooner or later, you may face a little time management problem, after two weeks you will naturally want to do something else and start to make excuses.  

Survival tip: A tactic that works is to split the challenge into weekly challenges and reward yourself for every week or each class completed. A spa afternoon, a massage, organize an evening with friends – whatever makes you feel better. 

Week 4 – Enjoy the results

This week will be easier as you can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. It may be hard as some parts of your body may still hurt and you will need to push your mind every time. 

The good news is by week 4 you will see the results of your hard work. You will see changes in your body and postures, your clothes fitting better, your skin glowing. 

Your body will be more toned and flexible and will be able to hold poses you couldn’t at the start of the challenge. 

Survival tip: Grab a hot yoga buddy. No matter if you are a newbie or a pro, it helps to stick to the challenge if you have an appointment with another person. Your body is different every day, sometimes all you need to do is accept where you are and allow your mind to let go of any expectations. 

Keep hydrated! Now that you are in the swing of things, your body will be needing a lot of fluids replaced daily. As you are working out drink plain water only – a lot before class, some during class, and a lot after class. The drinks you have after class should be made with electrolytes and vitamins to help your body replace some of its nutrients after its big daily cleanse. Lemons are great for alkalizing the stomach, and fruits are great for electrolytes. 

Keep alcohol, cigarettes, stress and chemicals to a minimum. Anything you put into your body, has to come out. During a 30 Day Challenge, the body gets very good and efficient at processing its fuel, but because of the increased amount of performance required from the body, the fuel required is Premium. A well performing body cannot be fueled by empty calories with no nutrition. So make a choice, If you want to make it easiest for yourself – go the natural, healthy and nutritious way. 

10 Reasons to Participate in the BYN 30 Day Challenge

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Challenge yourself to complete 30 classes in 30 days or 5 classes a week for 4 weeks.

We know its not easy, but committing to a regular practice is life changing and a challenge may be just the way to jump start your motivation! Signing up for the challenge is easy. Stop by the front desk to register or sign up online at https://bikramyoganairobi.com/byn2019challenge.

If you are a member you can take the challenge for free, top up if you would like to take the Transformation Challenge, or put your membership on hold.  

Once you register, for the Transformation Challenge you will receive weekly clean eating meal plans, support emails, measurement tracking sheets and access to a private Facebook/ WhatsApp group with the BYN staff, teachers and the director Karim. Still not convinced? Well, here are 10 more reasons you should join either challenge!

1.  Be Accountable

When you work with a group, or set a goal “publicly” it helps to keep our eye on the prize.  Let us know what your goals are and we will check in with you as the days go by.

2. Feel the benefits of a regular yoga practice
Use this challenge to jump start a regular practice!  The more you practice the better the results. 1-2x a week is maintenance. 3+ a week you will feel the benefits a lot quicker.  Get stronger, more flexible and reduce stress.  This practice will make you want to take care of your body more.  Because guess what? If you don’t you will feel it on the mat.  And that is okay.  This practice is not about the postures but about how you feel outside of the yoga studio too!

3. Its a great way to get started
Even if you have just started with us you can join this challenge.  Use these next 30 days to commit to the practice.  Dive in.  See what its all about.  Try different times, different teachers, different classes and see how they feel in your body and mind when you practice FREQUENTLY.

4, Create a long term habit
Once you commit to the next month, you very well may realise that you love the way it makes you feel…and why would you want to stop feeling great?!

5. Be a part of a community
You will be working with a group of like-minded people with similar goals in mind.  You will be able to see how everyone else is doing, share your frustrations, celebrate your victories…and hey, a little healthy competition isn’t a bad thing! Can you do this on your own? Of course you can, but your likelihood of success is amplified with just that bit of accountability and group dynamic!

6. Sleep better
You will.

7. Eat better
You will want to because when you don’t, you’ll feel it.

8. Take time for yourself
You deserve to take time for yourself.  And you may be surprised at how much more accomplished and focused you feel the rest of the day.  You know the routine in an airplane: you put your oxygen mask on first before you help others! Same in life.  Self care so you can be a better human in the world!

9. Feel accomplished
You know that great feeling you get when you cross something off your to-do list? There is just something about it! You will feel accomplished every time you get to check off another class that you have completed! You will be inspired by your own discipline.

10. Be a part of something bigger
People have been practicing yoga for a long time.  By practicing yoga you are part of a long lineage of folks who have found that yoga will make you feel energised and gain self knowledge.  It’s time tested.  We know it works. You will too!

For more information on the Challenge see:

https://bikramyoganairobi.com/30-day-yoga-and-transformation-challenge/

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My Bikram Yoga Journey

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My

Bikram Yoga Journey

I enjoy challenges, especially those I can relate to in terms of benefits and physical exercise. When my sister and I were offered a Bikram Yoga class, we jumped on the occasion; a challenge with my sister is the best challenge their is 🙂

We push each other and try to be as good as the other. We also understand each other without having to speak.

Though it’s increased in popularity in the last few decades, yoga has actually been around for thousands of years. And in its various forms, it is beneficial for not just your physical health but for your mental health and it helps in a variety of other ways too. 

We have been practising yoga for a while, not being naturally flexible, we thought the addition of the 40 degree heat in the hot room would enable us to gain flexibility in no time.

As we entered the silent room, the other yogis already positioned lying down, feet towards the back wall – we looked at each other which meant “hmm, this isn’t quite what we expected”. It was hot.

We lay down and started breathing deeply, as we felt the air was not conducive to normal breathing, we observed what the other students were doing and waited for the instructor to enter the room.

The class began with a breathing exercise, which hurt my shoulders, and made me feel uncomfortable, then came the standing poses. Poses I was familiar with but yet I did not seem to be able to go deeper into them, some I wasn’t able to do at all. My mind started to get in the way, thoughts occurring along the lines of “ Its too hot in here”, “ This is making me uncomfortable”, “How much longer is the class”, “There’s sweat in my eye!”

At one point the Instructor switched on a fan for a few seconds which changed my state of being and I began to relax a bit again. As soon as it went off, I started to obsess about when the next fan time would be, which did not happen for what felt like a very long time.

By this time my sister had already taken a knee, and was now lying flat on her back, she looked drained and was imploring me with her eyes to help her somehow. I smiled at her, or tried to amidst  my own exhaustion – she did not return it.

Not long after, it was my turn, first I took a knee, then collapsed into savasana, breathing heavily, my mind still racing, now I was eyeing the fan pleading with it to come on.

I looked at my sister, she was looking at me – this meant “lets leave”.

We quietly got up, and began to roll up our mats. “ Ladies, please don’t leave the room” we hear, “ the goal is to stay in the room for the entire duration of the class, you can stay in savasana if you need to, breathe normally through the nose, this will bring down your heart rate and enable you to finish the class”. Back we went into savasana which lasted until the end of the class for us.

We swore to ourselves we would never take the class again, the instructor however took us aside as we were leaving  and talked to us about our experience in the hot room. She explained that we were detoxing deeply and rapidly, about the benefits of a regular practice, that we would get used to the heat in no time, that its normal to feel overwhelmed and most importantly, to breathe normally throughout the class.

The personal touch made all the difference to me, within a day I was back in the hotroom.

Fast forward to today – I now practice 3 times a week, If I don’t get in my 3 classes I feel like something is missing. Over time I have felt a shift within myself , I am learning which foods are good for me and which ones don’t sit so well. I’m learning how to control my breath which in turn controls my mind. I don’t obsess over the fan so much anymore, and have come to a point where I actually enjoy the heat. Who would have thought? The more I practice, the stronger I get physically, mentally and emotionally. The more focused and determined I become on the mat, the more focused and determined I become in my daily life. I have come to find that who I am on the mat, reflects who I am off the mat.

I am transforming myself from the inside out, can breathe better than I have done in a very long time and would highly recommend Bikram Yoga to anyone who wants to make a serious lifestyle change. I had heard before that many Bikram students feel addicted to it, I can see and feel now for myself how this is possible.

There are a host of benefits that come with Bikram Yoga including increased blood circulation, improved digestion, flexibility, prevents injuries, glowing skin etc.

Come and take a class, see for yourself,  show up for yourself and be transformed.

Comment with what Bikram Yoga has done for you, or get in touch if you would like to contribute your own article.