Tag Archives: bikram yoga

Work it Off: 3 Ways to Negate the 620 Calories in a Gooey Cinnamon Roll

cinnamon roll

Few things smell better than a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven. (Cinnabon continues to bank on this one basic fact!) That’s one of the reasons I avoid a certain bakery in my neighborhood. Even walking in front of the building makes my mouth water—the cinnamon rolls smell (and taste!) that good.

But sometimes I give in, as I did earlier this week. The sweet scent was just too good to pass up. Of course, this came at a cost. Like, a really big cost: 620 delicious calories, to be exact, which is higher than pretty much any other treat I’ve learned how to burn off—even donuts and biscuits and gravy.

So, how could I help rid my body of the extra 620 calories?

 

doing yoga

I could have done hot yoga for 149 minutes. (Okay scratch that—I can barely stand 60 minutes in that heat!)

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Posted on June 15, 2023 by Jessica Cassity

Which Yoga Style is Right for You? We Match Personality with Practice

Certain people are attracted to certain styles of yoga for various reasons. Just as the color of your yoga mat can affect your practice, your favorite yoga style might say something about your personality.

The following is a fun, light-hearted list of yoga styles, and the personalities they attract.

Restorative Yoga

This style of yoga is for those in need of some serious power relaxing, and not ashamed to admit it. For restorative yoga lovers, there is no guilt in shutting out the world with a lavender eye pillow and kicking back on a fluffy pile of blankets for an hour.

Power Yoga

Active styles of yoga, such as power yoga, vinyasa yoga, Ashtanga yoga, attract the spirited sorts who are looking to improve athletically, and stretch their acrobatic skills.

Yoga in this category is seriously physical, but this is not to say there is no spiritual element to it. People who gravitate toward strength-oriented yoga classes often find spiritual inspiration through physical challenges. (more…)

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Jill

Beth Shaw’s YogaFit Sweat Provides a User-Friendly Version of Hot Yoga

Beth Shaw of YogaFit has done it again. Not only has she created a successful style of yoga that has infiltrated many gyms and health clubs across the country, she just recently developed a user-friendly version of hot yoga called YogaFit Sweat.

I love hot yoga. However, as an educated yoga teacher who understands the value of giving options and offering modifications, I realize there is not much room for hot yoga participants to honor their limits, until now. Too often, hot yoga is an all-or-none situation, and because of the high temperatures, the risk of a systemic emergency, such as heat stroke, is elevated. But thankfully, Shaw’s YogaFit Sweat has made safety a priority.

The hot yoga craze began with Bikram Choudhury of famed Bikram Yoga. He designed a class of 26 yoga postures, practiced in temperatures exceeding one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, in a room with a touch of added humidity. (more…)

Posted on February 19, 2024 by Jill

First Time Fitness Flops: Your Most Awkward Moments in the Gym

Because I am a clumsy person who regularly walks into doors, Zumba was not the best fit for me. I tried it a few years ago in an effort to broaden my fitness horizons. I thought, “I can do this. There’s old people in there and they’re having a great time!” I would always walk out feeling a bit out of sorts, though: I hadn’t gotten a great workout, it wasn’t very fun for me, and the room was covered in mirrors so everyone could see my lack of rhythm. I came to terms with this, reasoning that it’s not the end of the world that I will never be anything close to a decent salsa performer or belly dancer.

Similar stories to mine are not hard to find, I’m happy to say. Sometimes we try a new exercise or sport and we’re so terrible we never do it again; other times it was just that first time that was awkward and then we get the hang of it. This week’s Fit Crypt brings together the incompetence in all of us. (more…)

Posted on July 13, 2023 by SarahS

Jenny McCarthy Credits her Playboy Body to a Clean Diet, Yoga and Lots of Great Sex

At the age of 39, actress and former comedian Jenny McCarthy has done it again: she’s gracing the cover of Playboy Magazine just months before her 40th birthday.

While some will never be fans of this style of modeling, we must admit McCarthy has managed to keep her body in amazing shape for decades, even after having a son, Evan, who is now 10 years old. This will be the star’s seventh time posing nude for the popular magazine, and she’s glad she did it.

“I’m really proud of it,” McCarthy told People Magazine. “The pictures are really gorgeous and classy. They could be out of W magazine…It’s probably a lot more sophisticated than lot of the stuff you’d see of people with their clothes on.”

One of the things McCarthy loves most about Playboy Magazine is that they don’t promote that “anorexic look” so many of the models have today. “The women are voluptuous,” she said. “So I really didn’t want to diet [for the cover]. I Just wanted to tone up.” (more…)

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Dana

How Practicing Yoga Enhances Your Sex Life

In light of the recent sex scandal regarding Anusara Yoga founder John Friend, who admitted in an interview with Elephant Journal to having sex with his employees, yoga students and married women, it is no surprise that the results of several research studies prove yoga boosts libido. Guilty, ashamed or just an excessively aroused yogi, Friend is no exception when it comes to the overwhelming evidence that yoga makes you more interested in sex.

William Broad, the author of the book The Science of Yoga, said yoga started in medieval India as a sex cult to harness the type of sexual energies that could lead to enlightenment. While Friend and other yoga authorities, such as Bikram Choudhury of Bikram Yoga fame and Amrit Desai, the founder of the Kripalu Center in Massachusetts, have admittedly exploited sexual energies, many students of yoga are innocuously tasting the enhancement yoga brings to their sex lives. (more…)

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Jill

Prince Harry’s Found a New Love: Bikram Yoga

What do a James Bond villain and a Prince have in common? Bikram yoga apparently.

Britian’s Prince Harry has recently been turned on to Bikram Yoga by his friend DJ Goldie. Goldie portrayed a villain in the popular James Bond film The World is Not Enough. He is also a popular musician specializing in DJing. Goldie recently met Harry and the two have become close friends.

Goldie’s love of Bikram yoga persuaded Harry to give it a shot and apparently he’s been hooked ever since.

Bikram yoga is also called hot yoga. Participants work out in a heated room, sometimes up to 105 degrees. The heat aids in many aspects of the exercises, including speeding up the body’s metabolism, allowing for better stretching, and injury prevention.
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Posted on January 17, 2024 by Lacy

Common Yoga Misconceptions Clarified

The following is a compilation of some of the most common misconceptions about yoga I come across, and my responses to them.

“I can’t even touch my toes, how am I supposed to do yoga?”

This is a very popular fear and misconception that keeps people from trying yoga for the first time. While flexibility is important to perform certain poses, no teacher expects a new student to be super limber. Flexibility comes with time and practice; it is not a requirement to walk in the door.

“Yoga is too hard.”

Some styles of yoga are very challenging, however other styles such as Hatha, Yin and Restorative Yoga are gentle, and offer a great starting point to build up strength and stamina for harder classes.

“Just sitting there and breathing is not my thing, I need something more active.”

If you want a hard workout that challenges every single muscle group and more, seek an Ashtanga, Power Vinyasa or Bikram Yoga class. These classes are not for the timid and do require a moderate to high level of fitness to attend.

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Posted on September 29, 2023 by Jill

September is National Yoga Month

September is National Yoga Month! The Department of Health and Human Services has designated a national observance of yoga to bring awareness about its multiple health benefits. Yoga is beneficial in many avenues. Fitness, relaxation, and health can all be obtained through the practice of yoga. We’ve compiled some great resources for you and your family to use as you celebrate National Yoga Month!

The Yoga Dictionary
Get started with a basic understanding of yoga and it’s fundamental poses.

Top 10 Yoga Benefits
The positives are countless. Here are the top 10 benefits to get you excited about yoga and the health to be obtained.

Many think of yoga a a quiet meditation time, but that isn’t always the case! Here are some intense forms of yoga to get you into shape.

Introduction to Yoga for Fitness
This slideshow shows multiple techniques for every type of person proving that yoga truly is for everyone.

Yoga For Athletes
Take a in-depth look at the benefits yoga provides for the aspiring athlete.

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Posted on September 1, 2023 by Lacy

Hot Yoga Can be Good for Your Health

By Delia Quigley for Care2.com

Ever since yoga landed on our western shores from hot and humid India some 50 years ago it has gone through quite a few transformations. New styles have emerged to shape the bodies and minds of students of all ages. Yoga is now being taught in gyms, spas, office buildings, schools, universities and private yoga studios. In these settings it is often difficult to control the temperature in the practice room, and so large numbers of yoga practitioners never get to experience the full dimension of their practice due to an air-conditioned environment.

The work of pioneering yogi Bikram Choudhury is legend amongst the yoga community. His class consists of 26 postures performed in 105-degree heat for one and a half hours. Bathing suits replace yoga clothes, towels replace rubber mats, and the squish of damp carpet underfoot becomes the background music. Bikram makes a number of claims as to the physical benefits of doing yoga under heated conditions including weight loss through improved metabolic function, detoxification of toxins through sweat, and greater flexibility in muscles and joints. In actuality it is the postures of Hatha yoga that allow for these improved conditions, while the heat is used to soften and prepare the body to stretch more deeply and without injury. (more…)

Posted on July 22, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Solstice Yoga in Times Square with Patrick Lynch

What better day is there to do a sun salutation than on the longest day of the year? That’s what thousands of yoga enthusiasts gathered in Times Square to do on Tuesday, June 22, 2024 for the first day of summer, including our very own Maggie Badore.

After a hot and sweaty session, she broke free from the crowd and caught up with Patrick Lynch of Bikram Yoga NYC, who lead the session, to hear his thoughts on leading yoga at one of the most chaotic intersections in the world.

Click now to watch our Solstice in Times Square interview.

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Health Buzz