Feature Posture

PRANAYAMA

What does pranayama mean?
In Sanskrit, Prana means life force and Yama means control.

When is it done?
First! Pranayama prepares the body for yoga practice by charging the body with oxygen and life force. Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class was designed so that each posture prepares you for the next. In this case, by saturating your bloodstream with oxygen, you are fueling your body for the entire class.

What is it good for?

• brings the body out of cold storage.
• initiates breath control. Breath is the bridge between the physical body and mind. Pranayama encourages a state of mental and physical equilibrium.
• increases lung and chest expansion capacity, lung elasticity and power, and calms the central nervous system.
• utilizes all lobes of lungs, and helps to open otherwise closed alveoli.
• stretches and strengthens the diaphragm, intercostal muscles, and abdominals.
• #1 way to detoxify body is through the breath.
• Excellent for asthma, shortness of breath, headaches, and nervousness.

Bikram's Tips (from Bikram's new book - Bikram Yoga: The Guru Behind Hot Yoga Shows the Way to Radiant Health and Personal Fulfillment):

• You must breathe by compressing the throat; as you inhale strongly, the stream of air should be so powerful that it makes a snoring sound when it hits the back of the throat. Do the same for the exhale.
• In the beginning your lungs will feel tight and small, and with each class your breath will feel deeper and fuller; inhale deeper each time and exhale longer each time.
• Pranayama can be done anytime out of sequence to warm up the body before any exercise, and also for respiratory problems.

Teacher's Profile

TANYA CHERNOV

• When did you attend Teacher Training?
  I attended teacher training in Los Angeles Fall 2002.

• What are your hobbies?
  I'm in2 gettin' my sweat on for 90 minutes, I tend to gravitate towards things that keep me centered, I love city living and all of what the city has to offer, but I also like to get out of town on a regular basis; being in the mountains and close to the sea is something I can't live without. I do have my moments when I like to rip it on the dance floor; a night out with friends is always good for my soul. I'm reading more now that I've given up TV; gee I'm going to miss the pussycat dolls! You'll see me cruising around on my bike this summer, something I haven't done in a very long time.

• What is your favorite posture and why?
  Well I'd have to say rabbit. From the beginning I've always found rabbit pretty effortless. Now that I have been practicing for a few years I have been able to continuously challenge my strength and stretch. I have a deeper appreciation and understanding about how it's all supposed to come together.

• Least favorite posture?
  I have a soft spot for every posture, but if I have say one, it would be bending in half moon - only because it hurts like hell.

• What was your most memorable class and teacher?
  My favorite kind of Bikram class is when it's on the verge of being too HOT and the teacher is calm and relaxed but ruthless. The more a teacher pushes me physically and mentally the better. Yoga in the small room, L.A. with Juan is the ultimate for me. At one point the room is almost unbearable, the waves of dizziness begin, I am fighting it just to stay on my feet. In my mind it would be just a waste of time to lie down. I can still hear Craig whispering in my ear "suck it up buttercup". I remember we were at floor bow, second set. It took everything I had just to grab for my feet. I am working my hardest to kick up and I lost it. I came out early, and without missing a beat Juan calls me out in front of the class. He pulls the headset microphone close to his mouth and with his deep accent says "Canada what happened to YOU?" It was a glorious moment of torture, because all I could do was laugh, when I wanted to cry. For me that's what Bikram Yoga is all about.

• What is the key to your practice?
  Show up and do your best, the rest will take care of itself.

DAVID TRASK

• When did you attend Teacher Training?
  I attended teacher training at L.A. headquarters during the spring of 2005. I attended with Egan Chung, Amy Hume, Monica Telford and 13 other Canadians, 135 Americans, and 43 people from 13 countries around the world.

• What are your hobbies and do you have any related education?
  My hobbies include bicycling, snowshoeing and hiking. I am trained as a massage therapist and have been giving massage treatments for 15 years. I am also trained in mediated thinking ( F.I.E. levels 1,2&3), various assessment techniques and strategies for working with students with cognitive delays, social and emotional difficulties. I have been working for the Vancouver School Board for 11 years.

• What is your favorite posture and why?
  My favorite posture is triangle. This is my favorite posture because when I began practicing yoga and for a long time it was the most difficult posture for me. Now I feel like I can successfully express triangle, hold still and breathe normally.

• What was your most memorable class and teacher?
  My most memorable classes were:
  1) at teacher training when Craig Villani was teaching and the power went out and the consensus of the 194 yogis was to keep going...so he did...at 50 minutes into the class the rest of the class was taught in the dark.
  2) in Vancouver, Andrea's class during training when Andrea asked me what my favorite posture was and then during class asked me to come up and teach that posture to the class. (I came back to Vancouver for 48 hours during teacher training to see my ailing Nana who shared a last piece of wisdom with me before she slipped into a comatose state and passed shortly after. I kept practicing while I was en route to keep my commitment to teacher training and really needed the class after a convoluted emergency trip back home with lots of delays in airports, at the border and with the ferries. The last words that came from my loving Nana: "Share what you have and you will never have any regrets.")

• What is the key to your practice?
  My focus. My gratitude to be in that yoga room - to teach or to practice. I do not take for granted the ability to walk and talk and move my body. I am incredibly grateful for the love and support of my daughter, my three sisters, my parents, my aunts, uncles, family, and friends who have helped me through devastating injuries from several motor vehicle accidents where I broke my nose, teeth, wrist, elbow, and dislocated and broke my leg, all more than once. The many nurses, doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, massage therapists, naturopaths, homeopaths and acupuncturists that helped to put me back together after such physical, mental and emotional setbacks are some of the most loving people I have ever met. If I could give one piece of advice to someone struggling with some difficulty with his or her body, mind or heart (read yoga practice) it would be to believe. Believe in yourself. Believe in your ability to create what you want. Believe in your body's innate ability to heal and transform. Believe.

Studio news

Help keep our yoga rooms a place for quiet meditation by saving any conversation for outside the yoga room.

Want to share your story? Email it to bikramsyoga@telus.net, or drop it off at one of our 3 studios.

Bulletin Board

Are you pregnant or do you have a baby in diapers? Save money, the environment, and your baby's bottom by using cloth diapers. An alternative to washing your own - diaper delivery service! Email laura.werner@hotmail.com for details.