New to the Forums

Community Welcome New Members
#1

Hi, my name is Shiva and I’ve been a yoga teacher for 10 years and a practitioner for 13. I am currently becoming reinvigorated with my teaching and hoping to make it a larger part of my life. In this resurgence of interest and passion, I am looking for places to discuss and read about the living yoga community.

I have been trained in Forrest and Prana Flow Yogas. I teach an eclectic mix of those, with the room heated to about 85 degrees. I run a massage school + yoga studio which is in its 3rd year and doing well for my small town.

Well, there’s more to say but I’m sure it will be coming in our discussions. :slight_smile:

Shiva

#2

Hi,

I’m thinking of trying Bikram yoga, worried about the heat and what should I wear? Any advice?

Take care,

Pragna

#3

Hydrate a lot the whole day before your class. I think a lot of Bikram practitioners wear minimal clothing…like a bra top and hot shorts…or capris or something. I would probably wear my yoga bra top and form fitting capris. Also make sure to tell the teacher you’re new to Bikram and that you’re concerned about the heat. They should be able to guide you and give you some good advice as well. If you get dizzy, just take a break and sit or lie on the floor. Bring a towel and water to class. Good luck!

#4

Thank you for your advice. I’m planning to go to the 10am or 12noon class, is it OK to have breakfast? I assume I will lose salt due to the sweating, will that make me dizzy afterwards?

Take care,

Pragna

#5

I’m not sure what time it is in London, so I don’t know how much time you have before class. I would not want to have breakfast before a Bikram class, but I also would not want to have a totally empty stomach. I think I would want about 4 hours between a full meal and a Bikram class. I might have a small snack 2 hours before.

I don’t think losing salt will make you dizzy, but having all the blood flow in your body go to the periphery for the purposes of cooling down might, depending on your normal blood pressure and your constitution. I get dizzy easily, so when I have gone to Bikram classes that were heated to 104 degrees, I would usually take a break or two on the ground with my head on the floor because of dizziness. You may or may not have this issue.

ETA: I am not an expert on Bikram! The classes I teach are heated to only 85, while Bikrams classes are usually much hotter. I’m just giving you my personal experience with the few Bikram classes I have taken. You might be better off asking these questions on a specifically Bikram thread, or from an actual Bikram teacher.

#6

Hi Shiva, welcome to the forums. It seems you’re already attracting people to you :smiley: