Someday I'll learn how to create hyperlinks in my blog, but today is not that day.
OK, so it's almost September. I've been to 11 classes at the Bikram Yoga studio near my home since I started on July 21st, and I really like how I feel after doing a 90-minute session. I also enjoyed going to a couple of sessions with Angie, who was finishing up the last of her 10 sessions for $20 introductory offer and promises to come back for more. Way to go, Angie!
The last time I went was with my mom, who was giving this form of yoga a test drive. That was on August 14th. She decided that it's not for her. I don't blame her. I think Bikram Yoga would be harder to start in your 70s than it would be in your 40s or 50s unless you had major health problems and/or chronic pain issues for which no other course of treatment was helping. Some turn to Bikram Yoga as a last resort when doctors' recommendations no longer work, when pills don't do the trick, or when doctors scratch their heads and give up on what more they can do for their patients. Boyd Martin in Portland, OR is a good example. He wrote a terrific article entitled,
The "World's Stiffest Person At Age 50" Tries Bikram Yoga.
This article can be found on About.com:http://healing.about.com/od/bikramyoga/a/bikramyoga.htm
Boyd followed through on attending Bikram Yoga classes for 60 days straight, and then after a break, went for another 95 days straight. That's commitment!! That's perseverance!!
I look at young people in their 20s and 30s and think to myself, "Get started now with a good Hatha Yoga program and you'll be doing yourself a favor for the rest of your life!" Ah, to have the wisdom at 30 that we garner by the time we reach 50.
GREAT NEWS! The Bikram Yoga studio I go to will be open on Labor Day. Woo hoo! Time to get back on track...Session #12 here I come! My goal is to go four times a week -- Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Losing several pounds and several inches while gaining flexibility and core strength are the benefits I am hoping to experience by following through on B.Y. sessions and trips to the gym to swim and use the elliptical machine.
I'm hoping that this blog will inspire everyone who reads it to build in some sort of flexibility training (Hatha Yoga works great!) and core strength training (ditto!) into his or her exercise routine. I also hope that the aforementioned blog readers are doing some sort of exercise -- not just the "hand to mouth" variety, weightlifting forkfuls of food or handfuls of M&Ms. For Bikram Yoga inspiration, read some of the testimonials at the Bikram Yoga website. Pretty amazing stuff.
