Folks, I have not yet traded in my role as multisport coach for a new title as yogi. Fellow SF Bikram convert, Ralph Pickett, pointed out that the foot wrap that I referred to having executed was done in the eagle pose, and not the camel pose as I had mistakenly written.
I have now done about 20 of these sessions, and report back more of the same: Tremendous improvement continues to berealized in these pertinent areas:
- Balance
- Strength
- Flexibility
- Heat acclimitization
- Swim, bike, & run all feel looser and better
Rumor has it that Karen Smyers was featured on a local news broadcast in Boston doing Bikram Yoga; now, I wonder where she got the idea to give this a try. She swears that I was mentioned but got edited out..
Blue Collared Shirt recipient Art Hutchinson almost had his recognition withdrawn however when he didn’t listen to his body during a class here in SF. Art was in town visiting from Boston and I took him to a class with me. He nearly passed out. Bear in mind that the temp in the room here is 120-125 degrees, and not the rather wimpy 100-105 that is reported to me back in Boston.
Since my original Bikram posting, I have now done some 8-9 sessions and am hooked on this practice. Tremendous improvement has been realized in all pertinent areas:
- Balance
- Strength
- Flexibility
- Heat acclimitization
- Swim, bike, & run all feel looser and better
A couple of tips if I may:
- achieve balance before you attempt the more advanced postures
- attention to the details of the poses as they have a purpose
- be conservative in your stretching; I have found that with the heat and the subsequent easier stretching, it is possible to overstretch.
- if the room is hot as it is here in SF, then it will take 4-5 sessions before you find the routine not to be a bit of an ordeal.
Major breakthroughs:
-wrapped one foot around on the camel pose; now have to work on the other leg -actually made it through one class without drinking (forgot my water) while Art Hutchinson from Boston joined me here and almost
Health/Training Tip for 2001
Try BikramYoga. I have done two sessions and am very intrigued by its potential benefits. My good friend Tom Onda, the ballet dancer who led the stretching at Pyscho Weekend 2000, has been insisting that I accompany him and I finally did so.
The key element here is that it is done in a room at 120 degrees, session lasts 90′, and it methodically works total body doing the same routine each time so you can monitor your progress in the various poses and stretches. I have done other types of yoga, but find the movements here to be much more relevant to what we do–swim/bike/run. The heat aspect can be rather brutal. Important to drink a lot before, and of course bring water with you. You sweat buckets.
I have done two sessions and plan on continuing my participation. The second session showed me much improved, but I am still needed to take several “sitting 8 counts” to regroup. You walk out of the place feeling cleansed, and a bit loopy, and as if you have done a long swim workout— kind of that worked but not brutalized feeling.
I am curious as to the possible heat training effect;figure that there must be something to be gleaned in this deparment, even though I have raced well in the heat. Tell me if you give it a try, I think you will find it to be a rather interesting experience. Do not schedule anything serious afterwards though.
