It's almost five months since I started Bikram Yoga. John and Lyn, friends visiting from Adelaide suggested I try Biikram Yoga with them. (I don't think they really believed I would actually stay in the room).
"Oh No! I can't do that. For one I have a frozen shoulder and can't even straighten my elbow. I hate the heat and never sweat! It's too strenuous and I'm too old."
Lyn gave me a sympathetic look and said, "Ooh yes, your shoulder, that's going to be difficult for you to do the poses."
"Josef will go though, won't you?" I said, as a way of compensation for my refusal.
But I went, thinking, once won't hurt. Sure enough I found it hot and I didn't sweat, uncomfortable and my left arm looking like a boomerang for most of the session. I looked in disbelief at some of the poses and thought, "Are you kidding! Not only can't I move my left arm but all my other joints are refusing to bend. This is definitely not for me."
Well I actually got through that gruelling 90 minutes despite all my negative reasons for not doing Bikram Yoga.
Then I thought, "Perhaps I could try another session just to make sure IT'S NOT FOR ME."
The second time I found the session harder and I didn't sweat, but I attempted all the poses and got through the whole session once again, struggling with the heat, refusing to sweat, and thinking, "Dead body pose? Well I'm almost there!"
"Hmm, well perhaps if I give it a third and FINAL go, then nobody can say I hadn't given Bikram Yoga a fair chance and I could say I tried that three times! So I know what I'm talking about."
The third session was no easier than the other two BUT I came out thinking, "you can't quit just after three tries."
AND LUCKILY I DIDN'T because after about the sixth session or so something happened. I sweated for the first time and now it pours off me. Then my frozen shoulder started to thaw and within weeks I could straighten my arm. My body started changing in that I started to move better and my energy levels shot up. Even the heat didn't seem so debilitating. I found myself sitting up straighter and walking with my head up. Even my stomach aches subsided. Now I cant give it up! The benefits have been amazing, mentally and physically and my attitude has changed completely.
Before Bikram I thought, well I'm getting older so I'll go with the flow of ageing.
After Bikram, I think, I'm feeling rejuvenated. Bugger ageing, I'm getting younger!
Thank you for all your support and encouragement.
A very Happy Christmas and New Year!
Jackie Egger
I work part time, go to university at USC, my wife is at Uni also and we
have 3 boys under the age of 10. I have had many different attempts at the
usual running swimming and exercising in an attempt to stay in shape. I am
also a very good excuse maker; I haven't got the time, I can't afford it,
and a myriad of other excuses which I conveniently use.
All I can say about this Bikram yoga is that it works like nothing I have
ever tried before, "unique" is an understatement. I have lost 20kgs in the
first 3 months, my flexibility has improved, my standing posture feels
great, and my mental resolve and all around wellness is constantly improving
and surprising me on a daily basis.
I would recommend anybody that wants to significantly change their life to
take on a 30 or 60 day challenge. Give your body sixty days of your life and
observe the changes that you deserve, and you will realise that like me the
excuses I was using were worse than excuses they were lies, i.e the money
excuse, time excuse and any others I could come up with at the drop of a
hat.
So don't plagiarise any of my excuses; I believe you can't afford not to
join Bikram yoga. I recommend to anybody that is serious on change to take
up the Bikram 30 or 60 day challenge and experience what Bikram yoga can
offer.
Thanks to all the teachers at Noosa Bikram yoga
Ben Quennell
I was going to the gym and doing boxing for over a year, however, I always ended up with lower back pain. My knee was also playing up and I felt stagnant and in need of something more. I hadn't done boxing for some months now and started putting on weight, and sitting behind a computer most of the day/night doing Uni assignments did not help much at all.
I passed the Bikram yoga centre on a number of occasions and after a period of some months kept feeling like it would do me good to get involved in this yoga doing the disciplines. I decided to risk it and sign up for the 10 day special for $20, and decided to monopolise on this 'special' and go as often as possible, which ended up being 2 sessions daily. I thought in 10 days worst case scenario I would get a lot out of it and happily move along...., maybe go back now and then as I was busy with Uni.
In the 10 days I was there, I ended up quite enjoying the postures, the company and the effect this yoga was having on me. I lost an inch off my waistline in 10 days, my back felt like it was improving, and I felt super-relaxed much of the time. It was like going to a good sauna for a couple of hours, which I used to do, but had the added benefit on increasing flexibility, circulation and dislodging toxins etc...more rapidly.
I could not believe I got so addicted to this yoga, I ended up signing up for another month, which flew by, and then for another 7 months...., and I'm going every day, sometimes twice...., so far its been 3 months, and in that time, I have lost about 3-4 inches off my waistline, I can see my ribs/muscles in my chest, EVERYONE keeps telling me how my weight has just drastically dropped (just a bit more to go) . I found I had no interest in the unhealthy foods I used to eat, and ended up eliminating sugar from my general dietry habits, (except if I eat at someones place), and avoiding too many carbohydrates. This in turn accelerated my weight loss and I have people now asking me how I did it. This was done with no other excercise than Bikram yoga and spending most of my time doing assignments at a desk with this dietry consideration.
In addition, its just amazing that I can get up and not feel back pain, and that I can take a full stride again without back pain. The physiotherapist told me that my knee was definately improving and that I looked generally better. I have my own beliefs and I thank God for, I believe, leading me to this yoga among other things, for He does work in mysterious ways. All I can say is, ...
1. The postures work, this yoga has done me a lot of good
2. The company and atmosphere is friendly and fun
3. I like the people that go there and run the place
4. I look forward to my daily yoga sessions. I am improving all the time
5. It's fun to stir the staff now and then I recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their physical and psychological well-being; increase their flexibility- and have fun while doing so with easygoing pleasant people...
Daniel from Noosa Junction
I have been practicing Bikram Yoga at the Noosa studio for just over 6 months now. My son had been suggesting to me for a while that I should go but being stubborn I didn't take any notice until I was told in no uncertain terms that if I wanted to fix the back & neck pain that I had experienced for most of my life then my best option was yoga. It was also suggested to me that heat would help these problems as well so Bikram Yoga was the obvious choice. I started on the 10 day intro package & even though I thought it might kill me before it fixed me I managed to keep going for 9 out of the 10 days & by then I could see that my body was starting to open up just a little bit so I signed up for a month & then 6 months after that.
After practicing quite regularly for a couple of months I decided to do my own 30 day challenge as after that time my wife & I were planning to go out west & help some friends on their sheep property for a couple of weeks so I figured that I needed to be as fit as possible for helping out with dipping the sheep etc. Well 2 weeks ended up being 3 weeks & we worked every day so I was so glad that I had done my 30 day challenge as that increased my strength considerably & I managed to handle the work on the property quite well. I sure did miss the yoga practice though for those 3 weeks but got straight back into it when we returned.
I now practice at least 4-6 times every week and after 6 months I can honestly say that I can see considerable improvement in my back & neck pain issues. I'm not completely free of pain yet but no longer do I wake up during the night feeling stiff & sore. My health generally has improved & I certainly feel younger.
Thanks very much to Manyia, Tony & the rest of the teaching team for their encouragement & support. I think they are going to have to put up with me for a long time to come.
Fred 63 years young.
Being a grumpy old buger in my late sixties I started this Bikram yoga stuff and as of June 2010 I am seventy-three years old and still at it. A few years back I had bypass surgery and I have found that Bikram’s heated yoga sequence of poses helps me be in charge of my body, particularly as I'm getting older. I am a beginner and will always be a beginner as each day is different for the same asana. I get the discipline of doing yoga by doing it and have know made it a way of life. The studio sees me three times a week. Here muscles and tendons practice flexibility and joints are oiled.
During the class the heat is great for sweating out the gunk. The teacher sets up a steady dialogue and saves me bothering to think. Both of us are happy if I just actually listen and try to do exactly what is said. I do notice however that if the pose is done correctly a much better feeling is obtained. The session is nicely tiring and do not now suffer from insomnia and I feel I definitely have clearer thinking. Have done one advanced class, which I found inspire ring.
There is a playful side to Bikram yoga where I have some real neat folk and made super friends and companions. The studio shop is well stocked with yoga supplies including Bikram's books, which have been very helpful. Here I also get an awesome massage form time to time.
Owin Jameson
Hi Bikram Yoga Noosa
I have significant joint problems, at times; my knees give me great pain. However since starting Bikram my soreness has steadily reduced. I sleep better when I practice and feel more relaxed. Bikram Yoga has had a positive impact on my physical and mental health.
Regards
Jack Ellison,
Noosaville
I come from an era off not only really bad aluminous high cut leotards, but a notion that fitness has to be hard, high impact.
So after many years of pounding the studios and pavements, I gained many injuries to prove it!
After a little mishap resulting in the lose of a lung. I found myself needing to start right back at the beginning. Each time I got to a point where my fitness started to improve, an old ugly injury would pop up, leaving me feeling extremely frustrated. A friend suggested Bikram Yoga!
When I arrived at my first class, I believed that I was giving in to age and injury; the easy option. I took up the 10-day starter package.
OMG! How wrong was I. I cant believe how much better I feel both physically and mentally, in just 10 days.
I have a long way to go, but at last I have found what I have been looking for.
Lisa, Noosa Heads
Jessica’s Yoga Testimonial… of sorts.
ADDICTION. Sounds bad right? Alarming? Terrifying? It sort of is, unless your vice encourages moments of reflection, fine tunes your concentration, pushes you to your physical breaking point making you stronger and healthier, (not to mention helps shed those rude kilos of fat) and leaves you with heaps of new genuinely sweet- and stretchy-friends.
Hello. My name is Jessica, and I’m a Bikram Yogaholic in Noosa. Today, while Manyia- joint owner and instructor of Noosa’s Bikram Yoga- twists my arm to write this testimonial, I am on Day 67 of my own little self inflicted ‘100 classes in 100 days’ challenge (the real hottest 100).
It started out harmless. Just over a year ago I was getting married, had spent WAY too much cash on the dress and shoes (totally worth it) and was determined to make sure I fit in them. Some ‘friend’ took me to a Bikram studio near her, and voila! The dress fit. After the wedding I got way too busy with work and travel and just like every gym membership I’ve ever had, Bikram fell to the side.
Fast forward to December 2009. I was in a rut, again, about my weight and eating habits- some things never change, but I like food, so that’s that. I had ALL the pre-wedding weight (plus some) back on. Back then I wasn’t an addict, just a casual visitor tot he land of hot n smelly.
“Hi! Welcome to Bikram Yoga’ said Sarah, one of many instructors I would come to both love and loathe in class, as she signed my husband and me up for our into classes. Like I said, that was December. The seemingly innocent intro classes led to 5 or 6 days a week classes. Then in January the instructors began talking about this mythical 30-day challenge that yogis do. You’ll be amazed at the differences in your body and the journey you’ll go through… they said. So, off I went. February, Day1, 2 and 3, totally jet lagged from a wedding trip over seas so I don’t remember the beginning. Maybe it’s better that way. Day 15, as a reward for my hard work, I booked in for a massage. Amazing, but EVERYTHING hurt. Day 25,26,27… still going, hitting postures like never before and inturns out, I DO have flexibility in my hamstrings. I was actually having fun. Finally, it was here. Day 30. Just like Christmas. I got another massage, felt incredible! Walked around the shops near the studio on cloud nine… But wait! What happens tomorrow? Do I take the day off to celebrate? No way, the thought of not coming to class for a whole day… That’s insane! How does this work? What do I do? The answer of a true addict: Keep going! I even tried doubles- taking two classes in one day.
AWESOME. Twenty or so other yogis were just starting their 30-day challenge. I’ll just tag along and make it a 60-day thing, I thought. Yeah… Day 60 came and went. It’s day 67. What about 90? It’s a cool number and it’s impressive, but lets make it 100. It’s just sound better. 100. Call me crazy, but that’s what I’m shooting for.
Yeah yeah, I’m a long-winded American. I suppose I could have just written. I love Bikram yoga at Noosa. The instructors are incredible, caring and encouraging. The studio is soothing, safe and hot as. It has helped me become physically strong, lean and fantastic. It’s challenge everyday as well as an addiction, but I’ve made some really wonderful friends… All of this is completely true, but for some on the ‘Hottest 100’, that would have been too easy to write. Oh yeah, my husband, a fellow addict, thinks I’m hot… and sweaty ;)
Jessica, Noosa Heads
“Your heart and lungs will eventually fall in love with each other”, so said Manyia in one of my early classes. Ah… I thought, as I struggled too breathe and felt my chest was going to explode, that’s NOT happening at the moment! That was about six weeks ago. Since then my heart and lungs have finally met, gone on a few dates, sized each other up, realised that they live next door to each other, so they might as well start getting along with each other. And there’s the rub’. The love part, the self-love part; the missing ingredient from my life.
Bikram yoga for many may be about getting fit, flexible an fabulous, what I’ve discovered and am joyously grateful for, is that the physical benefits are just the ‘side show’. The main stage action is in the union that starts to take place between mind and body. Because Bikram yoga is above all else an open eye 90 minute meditation. It stretches the body, opens the mind and gives us all the opportunity to get in touch with who- we-really-are.
Six weeks ago, I found it hard to bed my right knee, my neck was in constant pain and I had nightly headaches, opening jars was impossible because of the sharp pain that would shoot through my wrists and up my arms, every time I rose from a chair I was experiencing sharp pain in my hip joints, I had a frozen shoulder and TMJ!! I had attended yoga classes in the past. Usually in the local church hall on a week night, with a well intentioned instructor whose name was inevitably Starlight or Moonray, who spoke barely above a whisper and reeked of garlic and too much patchouli! I would leave the class feeling stiff and deeply disappointed, never to return.
Then I walked into what ‘Bikram’ himself refers to as the ‘torture chamber’. A room heated to 40 degree Celsius, in which you spend 90 minuets attempting 26 postures and two breathing exercises. Is it hard? Yep. Is it hot? Oh yeah. In fact it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s made me cry. It’s made me feel faint and dizzy and sometimes so sick in the gut that I get close to throwing up! BUT… here’s the thing… all these things are great signs. Signs that my 46yr old body is opening up and as it opens up it’s releasing all the crap (and disease) that I’ve been holding onto all my life. I am calmer, braver and more confident and that self-love that I lost so many years ago is starting to reappear. As the fog of negative thinking shifts and is literally sweated out of my body and mind, hope returns. And its hope that clears the way for self-acceptance and love. Old anger and grief and depression are released along with all the other toxins that find their way into our bodies and minds.
I’m only two months into the bikram experience that I can now bend my right knee, my hips though sore are opening up, my right shoulder is no longer ‘frozen’, my neck feels longer, my spine feels straighter, my constantly clenched jaw has cracked open, my buttocks are sore daily as my sciatic nerve I’m opened and cleansed and all the grief and disappointment and self sabotage and Bullshit that we buy into psychologically and ends up in knots throughout our bodies is being gently and efficiently flushed from my being. And that is why I keep going back, day after day. Bikram yoga has given me back to me!
So part of me wants to disagree with Bikram when he refers to his classes as the ‘torture chamber’ because they are inevitably a place of nurture, healing and renewal. And the instructors, beautiful compassionate angels that guide you every step of the way. So… if you really want to ‘heal’ yourself physically, mentally and spiritually then give this wonderful gift of yoga a try. Come and flush away fear and pan and experience the sometimes-overwhelming relief that comes from letting go of the old and welcoming the new.
Caroline, Peregian Beach
After 5/6 years of chronic back pain i was at my wits end. I love to surf, wakeboard and play basketball, but within minuets of these activities i would find myself sitting down on either the beach or a bench angry and in excruciating pain and I didn’t know where to turn next.
The expensive chiropractor, physiotherapist and acupuncturist were not able to help. Orthopaedic and rheumatology specialists both examined my MRI scans and their only comment would be “its deep tissue, nothing can be done”. This is until I found Bikram Yoga 4 months ago. I now have a new spine that works properly.
I attend 2-4 classes a week and this is enough to keep the pain away and get me back to the active lifestyle I love. It has transformed my life back to the way it used to be. My girlfriend thinks my new back is pretty good too! Thanks to all the Bikram team at Noosa, loving your work!
PS. You will NEVER get me in those tight yoga shorts though!
Ian 33yrs
In mid 2008 I was diagnosed with Lymphoma, at age 62. I began seeing Naturopath Kimberleigh Joblin regularly, and she recommended Manyia for massage. Manyia’s massages are excellent, thoroughly enjoyable and have proved to assist greatly with my health.
A significant amount of lymphoma was in my spleen, hence it was removed in February 2009. Weekly post operative massage was a major contributor to my swift recovery. Manyia introduced me Bikram Yoga which I now practice regularly, I have no doubt that a regular Manyia massage and Yoga has greatly assisted in my recovery and general well being. Medical specialists expect i will need no treatment for Lymphoma for some years. Thanks everyone!
Graham 63yrs