Dear Britomart yogis,

Last week we had a look at some of the benefits of a regular Bikram practice, and even though it may have been narrowed down to 10 for the purpose of the article I think it was pretty clear the list could easily have been twice as long. This week I started thinking about how amazing it is that ailments as diverse and complex as depression, arthritis, and diabetes, can all be relieved through yoga. But it also got me wondering at just how?! this healing happens. In fact the answer is pretty simple; yoga works by regulating the nervous system, more precisely, the vagus nerve, and the healthy operation of the vagus nerve has everything to do with our body's ability to successfully respond to stress.

The vagus nerve is kind of a big deal. It is the largest cranial nerve starting at the base of the skull, wandering down to the colon, and influencing the respiratory, digestive and nervous systems en route. It helps to regulate all of our major bodily functions; our breathing, heart rate, and digestion, as well as our ability to take in, process, and make sense of our experiences are all directly linked to the vagus nerve. It is responsible for the activation of our parasympathetic nervous system, the mechanism which controls our relaxation responses and our moods. In short; the vagus nerve has a pretty long to-do list!

Now, when the vagus nerve is functioning well and vagal tone is high (which is what we want!), the parasympathetic nervous system is activated and the body can go from active, busy states to more relaxed ones pretty easily. The problems arise when the body is stressed, anxious or in a constant state of fight or flight. When this happens the parasympathetic nervous system which controls our relaxation responses is deactivated and the sympathetic nervous system goes into survival overdrive, the heart rate rises,  breathing becomes shallow, and our moods are hard to manage. This is when we really need to wake up the parasymathetic nervous system, and start stimulating the nagus nerve and this is where yoga comes in!

Pranayama! Slow, deep breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, stimulates the vagus nerve. Breath retention followed by slow exhalation is one of the best methods of vagal stimulation. And what is more, yogic breathing momentarily suppresses stress hormones. And how do we start our Bikram class? With 2 sets of 10 deep pranayama breaths, holding air in the lungs on the 6th count of the inhale and slowly exhaling for 6 counts. Perfect! When we come back to our breath again and again throughout our yoga class we are directly stimulating our nagus nerve encouraging high vagal tone (good!) and ensuring that our parasympathetic nervous system prevails. We are actively encouraging our bodies to evacuate stress through our breathing, and as such we come out of the studio in a fantastic mood and feeling incredibly relaxed, which means we all want to go back for more!

And why wouldn't you?! A yoga practice that reduces stress, lifts your mood, and keeps your circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems healthy sounds pretty good to me!

See you on your mats! :-)

EXCITING NEWS! 

TEEKI TRUNKSHOW NEXT WEEK AT THE STUDIO, WEDNESDAY MARCH 4TH AND THURSDAY MARCH 5TH, 5PM TO 8PM.

DON'T MISS OUT ON GREAT REDUCTIONS!

On Saturday March 14th we are very excited to be hosting Amrei Newcombe who will lead a posture refinement/Q & A extended Bikram class from 10am-2pm.

Amrei is widely regarded as one of Australia's best technical Bikram yoga teachers and posture refinement seminars/workshops of this kind are an excellent way for students of all levels to further deepen their yoga practice!



A former Australian champion, Amrei has been practicing for 15 years and has taught over 6,000 classes across Europe, America, Asia and Australia.  She is considered as an authority in the Bikram Yoga world.  Since 2009, she has coached and judged students competing both in Australia and internationally. Amrei is Australia's head judge and international judge for the IYSF (International Yoga Sports Federation).  Her passion for and knowledge of Bikram yoga is astounding and she has a unique ability to inspire others, from the complete beginner to the experienced student.  Amrei believes that everyone can experience the healing benefits of Bikram Yoga and she specialises in injury recovery and pain management.  

Here follow two testimonials from both a student and a teacher who attended one of Amrei's extended posture refinement seminars:

After several years of doing Bikram with guidance from great teachers, I wondered what more I could possibly learn about my practice. Joining Amrei's class as it turns out was well worth the time and investment, for experienced and beginners alike. The class spirit was great, and I liked the renewed focus to the nuances of the teacher's dialogue, both what is said and what is left unspoken.

Tom, student

I’ve taken quite a few workshops in the five years I’ve been teaching Bikram Yoga and this was easily one of the best. Amrei has considerable technical knowledge and this combined with her ability to read a room and be spontaneous makes her workshop highly effective. The structure of the class, with it’s question and answer format, worked really well, and her friendly manner encouraged people to open up and ask questions throughout. The students loved her, and as a teacher I learned quite a bit about corrections for specific body types and issues. I’d love to take her workshop again and can highly recommend it.

Beth, Bikram Yoga Teacher

So make sure you grab this excellent opportunity to learn more about your practice and ask those questions that you may not get to ask in a regular class. The 4-hour seminar is open to everyone so if you have any questions just talk to one of your teachers at the studio about signing up. We are already taking names! And please don't be put off by the length of the seminar... the heat will be reduced and there will plenty of breaks and rests between postures... this is not a 4-hour Bikram class! :-)

And if you need some final inspiration just take a few minutes and have a look at her routine for the 2008 Australian yoga championships. You won't need any more persuasion and your practice will never be the same again! :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85BCtCV9bs0

Dear Britomart yogis,

I have just returned from the first multi-day Wanderlust festival held at Great Lake Taupo and it was absolutely, brilliantly, and wonderfully inspiring! Four days of yoga, music, ayurvedic workshops, chakra cleanses, guided meditations and more thought-provoking talks than you could possibly imagine. The variety of yoga on offer was substantial: We had Ana Forrest with Forrest Yoga, Duncan Peak from Power Living Australia, Cameron Shayne with his Budukon yoga, Eoin Finn and the Blissology movement, Nianna Bray talking about tantra and surrender, Tiffany Cruikshank focusing on anatomy, Mark Whitwell invoking Shiva and Shakti, Swami Govindananda reminding us of our illusions, Kara-Leah Grant urging compassion, not to mention all the the partner yoga, acro-yoga, kids yoga, stand-up paddle board yoga... I’ll be very frank… it was sometimes as overwhelming as it was impressive and it definitely got me thinking about where my beloved Bikram yoga fits in the midst of this.

As many of us here at the studio embark on our 30-day challenge it’s a pretty good opportunity to remind ourselves why we do it. I mean let’s face it, to the outsider looking in there really doesn’t seem to be too much glaringly obvious appeal: 90 minutes, lots of sweat, a challenging series, repetition, a teacher talking pretty much constantly, an emphasis on stillness that seems a little exaggerated, not to mention being stuck in front of the mirror for the entire experience bearing witness to your ever-progressively dishevelled state .. AND being told that you’re supposed to fall in love with that reflection! ;-)



But you do! Or you at least get a hell of a lot closer! Yes it’s a long class, yes we sweat, yes it’s challenging, yes it’s always the same, the teacher indeed talks lots, not moving between postures will always be recommended, and we’re not going to deny that the mirror is sometimes (often?) pretty confronting and tempting to avoid.

But how great do we feel when we finish a class? How empowered, fresh and alert and brank-spanking new? You have risen to the challenge. I often think of the Bikram class as being like a reset button because no matter how dreadful and tired you feel on entering the studio you always emerge feeling reborn. Worries you had before have lessened. You feel less stressed and calmer. You are no longer sweating the small stuff.... probably because you have sweat so much during class! ;-)



And let’s not forget the basics here: Bikram is a BEGINNERS practice. The series comprises 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises and is specifially designed for those who are new to yoga. The sequence is nothing short of genius. It is scientifically devised to ensure balance. Forward-bending after backbending, rabbit after camel, compression followed by extension. The opening Ardha-Chandrasana with Pada-hastasana bends the spine in all 4 directions and therefore is the perfect warm-up for the spine. It is followed by the perfect warm-up for the legs in Utkatasana followed by the perfect warm-up for the legs and arms in Garurasana. The first 25 minutes of class is designed to warm your body up so that you can progress safely into the more challenging postures which come next. It is simple and perfect.

The value of the Bikram series is that it is for absolutely anyone. Nobody will be turned away. There is always some part of every pose that everyone can try, even those with significant physical limitations. I taught a student in Christchurch who had only his left arm but oh my, you should have seen his standing bow! Starting yoga can be extremely daunting for many people. The myth that yoga is only for flexible people continues to permeate but Bikram yoga is doing so much to counteract this.



Even the Tinman will encounter a breakthrough one day! ;-)

Stick with this practice and you will see for yourself. No matter how many times you take a break, no matter how tired you are, no matter how much or how little effort you apply in your class you will STILL emerge feeling the better for it. It's magic!



See you on your mats!