Monday Motivations

30day

 Well done for making it to 2015 everybody. With the old behind us and the new ready to be painted on the blank canvas, it is time to pick up the tools we have acquired from life’s lessons and prepare our bodies, minds and schedules for the coming months.

February is only three weeks away, which means our 30 Day Challenge is right around the corner! This week’s motivations are designed to help you prepare for a 30 day Bikram yoga challenge, weather it is your first or 5th one. Preparation and determination are key values for a successful 30 day challenge.

How to prepare for a 30 Day Bikram Challenge?
  1. Try to free-up the month as much as possible. Tell your non-yogi friends that you will be a little busier than usual so the pressures and distractions of social life don’t make things harder for you.
  2. Keep hydrated. Drink as much water as you can in the days leading up to the challenge. Add some lemon juice and/or orange juice for an electrolyte and vitamin boost! Lemon is also alkaline making it a great acidity regulator in your stomach.
  3. Fit in a couple of classes a week before the challenge just to get into the swing of things, especially if you have not practiced in a while. Get your head into the zone of the coming challenge and ease yourself into it.
  4. Make sure you have enough Bikram Yoga clothing to last in case you run out of time to wash your clothes each day. A good tip for beating the sweaty odor is a tablespoon or two of vinegar in your next yoga clothing wash.
  5. Getting to class every day can become stressful if you don’t prepare. A good way to keep organized and motivated is to book and treat your classes as you would an evening outing or a trip to the theater. Make it an event. Pick a time for the event, and then work out the logistics. After a week of strict planning – the rest of the month will be much easier to manage. It’s easy if you are prepared!
How to survive a 30 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge?
  1. The first week is important to get right. Don’t push yourself too hard – there are still three more weeks of Yoga ahead of you, so you will need some energy and strength towards the end to get you through.
  2. Keep hydrated! Now that you are in the swing of things, your body will be needing a lot of fluids replaced daily. As you are working out drink plain water only – a lot before class, some during class, and a lot after class. The drinks you make after class should be made with electrolytes and vitamins as well, to help your body replace some of its nutrients after its big daily cleanse. As mentioned before – lemons are great for alkalizing the stomach, and fruits are great for electrolytes. Adding some table salt to your fruit drinks increases the electrolytes even more.
  3. Fruit smoothies should become a daily treat, packed full of fatty nuts, nutritious berries and vegetables and of course some calcium through milk or yogurt. As the 30 Day Challenge gets under way, we will be posting some wonderful smoothie ideas for all our Yogis, to help you get through February in the healthiest, most beneficial and delicious way.
  4. Keep alcohol, stress and chemicals to a minimum. Anything you put into your body, has to come out. During a 30 Day Challenge, the body gets very good and efficient at processing its fuel, but because of the increased amount of performance required from the body, the fuel required is Premium. A well performing body cannot be fueled by empty calories without nutrition. So make a choice, how do you want your body to perform? If you want to make it easiest for yourself – go the natural, healthy and nutritious way!
If you are considering taking up the 30 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge, call us for a no obligations chat today. We will answer any questions you may have, and give you all the details you need. The rest is down to you making the decision and taking the first few steps towards making it happen.

We do these things for ourselves, for a new lease on life. And we guarantee you will look and feel absolutely great!

Visit: www.bikramyogabritomart.co.nz
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Monday Motivations

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It is the last Monday of 2014! Well done to everyone for making it through another year of trying to be the best You that you can be. Despite the natural urge to look back at all the moments gone, now it is time to be in the present moment. This time of year is always challenging and full of distractions, and the pressures to meet all our physical, financial, social and personal goals can become very stressful.

The easiest way to combat holiday stress is to remain in the present moment; in the now. If you are finding this time of year particularly difficult, especially when it comes to focusing on the now, try to fit in a bikram yoga session before New Year’s. You will feel the weight of the past and the anxiety of the future lift off your shoulders leaving a pure you, ready to celebrate the New Year in harmony.

Bikram yoga helps us get into the present moment and to stay in it regardless of outer distractions. It helps strengthen the muscles in our brain that deal with focus and being completely present in the moment.

One of Bikram Yoga’s keys to bringing awareness into the present moment is breathing. Focusing on your breathing both in class and out in the big world is an immensely powerful tool to combat the worries and unnecessary weight of the past or future. After all, all we have control over is the present moment. No matter how hard we try or how much we want to travel back in time or into the future, all we have ever had and will ever have to play with is the present moment. The most successful, happy people are the most present, self-aware people.

Being in the present moment is a tension-free experience. Once fully present, the fears, anxiety, hurtful memories and chaos of life melts away, everything we hold on to from the past or future becomes redundant, and we become fully empowered to make the most of the current situation - the given moment.

So if you are looking for some relief, and a holiday from your holiday the key is to be present in the moment - be in the now – and you will have no trouble making it through this hectic time of year :)

If you need to fit in some Bikram sessions before New Year’s, see our class schedule over the next few days below.

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All you have to do is get here, we will help you achieve the rest!

Happy New Year Yogis !  :)
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Monday Motivations

The New Year is just around the corner and as we look ahead at the potential of what it might bring, we also look back on the things which we hope it won’t bring. Before the noise and festivities of Christmas and the days leading up to the new year start to blend in to one big rush towards the finish line, now is the perfect time to reflect and to set new goals; a time to get out a pen and paper and take the first step towards the achievement of your wildest dreams.

Setting goals or ‘new year’s resolutions’ can be quite a daunting task. Firstly, there are usually so many to pick from it is hard to know which are the best ones, secondly not all of them are achievable in the current time and place, and thirdly, writing down fresh new goals you have set yourself means you then have to work towards reaching them. But having the list is the first step and the biggest one, so do not be afraid to go wild and dream big.

Think back on the year 2014 and honestly ask yourself, ‘how did I do?’ Did you do enough good stuff for yourself? Did you feel like you could have been doing more? Or maybe you felt times when you were doing too much of something; eating unhealthy food, doing unhealthy things to your body, feeling stressed and tired too much, not sleeping enough. Once the questions are asked, the answers start to make themselves a little clearer, and with more asking there will be more answers.

Ultimately we all want similar things from life (love, friendship, money) but health - both physical and mental – is the most important and therefore popular on our ‘to do’ lists, and understandably so. We all know that a strong and flexible body and mind are the required ingredients to any other of our goals being achieved – so starting with our bodies is a very good idea.
The documented health benefits of Bikram Yoga are not far from our fingertips online and through the experience of friends and colleagues, but the best way to find out about Bikram Yoga’s positive health effects is to do it yourself!

This week’s article is not designed to highlight the domino effect of positive changes and decisions our lives start to experience on our Bikram yoga Journeys as most Yogis do, but it is intended at motivating you to push the envelope of good health and vitality even further in the new year. Go deeper.

As Bikram Choudry said himself – ‘It is never too late, it is never too bad, and you’re never too old or too sick to start from scratch once again.’ Keep these words close to your heart when writing out your new year’s resolutions and you will end up aiming higher and therefore achieving more than you ever thought possible.

In February everyone will have the opportunity to embark on another 30 Day Bikram Challenge which is a class of Bikram yoga every day for each day of the month. Our regular yogis have been enjoying and reaping the rewards of the personal challenge for years. Is it your turn to start a new personal challenge? There is over a month to prepare and get organized and set the intentions. Are you ready? Get out a paper and pen and see for yourself.

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Monday Motivations



 When it comes to thinking about gifts and presents this year, think outside the box of spending money in exchange for something which you will wrap and pass on to someone else who will either like it or need it, or won’t like it or need it at all.

Think back to the last present you bought for someone that you really wanted to have yourself. In most cases the thought is as far as it goes and you only get the one, but the action usually leaves someone without the gift they want – you!

This week, we have a very simple solution to all your gift giving and receiving worries this summer. Firstly, it is about You. Give, give, give the self - everything it wants, needs and desires! Everything you would love for someone you care about to have or be doing this summer – do it for yourself first.

Putting yourself first is the most important and biggest step towards giving the best gifts to your loved ones. In fact to the people who love you, looking after yourself is the best gift you could give them – and they you.

If a friend is unhealthy, unfit and unhappy, filling my Christmas stocking with the most lavish gifts would not fulfil me or make me feel like a happy friend at all. A friend making the right decisions for themselves because they care about themselves – that is a present worthy of giving and receiving, any time of year.

When it comes to being a fabulous gift giver, the first step is learning how to give to yourself and receive the gifts of the self wholeheartedly, without guilt or feeling selfish. Know that every step you make towards a healthier, more vibrant you is only going to help lift the spirits of those around you and maybe even motivate or inspire someone else to follow in your path of self-love and development.

Gifts come in many shapes, sizes and forms, but think about what You want for yourself this Summer and work towards getting there, starting from Today. Because a happy, healthy You, is surely the greatest, most unique gift to the world.

Call us today and start your journey :) 0800 hotyoga

Happy Hot Yoga!

Namaste
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Monday Motivations

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 For us beginners the world of yoga seems appealing enough – we get to tone up, become more flexible, learn about better nutrition for our bodies, gain self-awareness, mental strength and peace of mind, as well as meeting like-minded people along the way. But for the more experienced yogis - the ones who have made it through years of personal and physical challenge and thus rewards, the world of yoga is much more colorful and lighthearted than we perhaps thought. It seems that things only get better and better.

Inside the studio the pace and noise of the outer world is only a view from the large windows. Nobody seems to care about anything beyond their control. There are sleeping bags and yoga mats scattered as though each sleeping bag is incomplete without its nearby yoga mat. The sounds of giggles and laughter are a consistent soundtrack to the bare-footed yogis who have come, some from as far as Argentina, to stay with us for the JFC Training and Weekend with Esak Garcia.

In the yoga world there are always events, or rather, there are always events to go to where yogis have the most fun. Years of Bikram Yoga take years off a person’s heart and mind and the bright, youthful air of experienced yogis is contagious. After all, what do they have to worry about? Years of consistent yoga practice has taught them to consider life less seriously. The weight of the world is not carried on the yogis shoulder because their yoga mats and towels get in the way :)

Life is a beautiful event but only if each person makes a decision with themselves to be the best that they can be – inside and out. Make this the focus, and soon the pace and sound of the world outside will not be able to penetrate your bubble. Some of us don’t even have a bubble!

It is inside this bubble that experienced yogis find all the amusement in the world - and it is a full time bubble for them. It only takes spending a few hours at a week-long event in the Studio, where everything and everyone are everywhere yet in the most organized, relaxed and humerus fashion, to understand how lighthearted, welcoming and truly enjoyable a yogi’s company and their overall life experience is.

Veteran yogis are pro’s at having a good laugh and fooling around – after years of self-discovery why wouldn't you laugh? How could you possibly keep a straight face? In order to discover one-self truly, it is imperative to be able to laugh because none of us are perfect. Once we start digging deep we find that we are utterly strange, bent out of balance and surprisingly awkward. And that is ok! Humans are complex beings living in a complex world. With a consistent yoga routine the inner child in us starts to let go, eventually not wanting to get caught up in all of life’s little or big complexities. The inner child wants to celebrate and share its new found energy with other youthful spirits.

Yogis take each day as it comes because they have spent years treating their bodies with the same respect; taking each posture as it comes, day by day. With each gathering, big or small, Yogis from around the world rejoice and let a little loose, between the focused class-time, taking themselves ever closer to the ultimate reward of them all; full-bellied Laughter :)

Become a part of this colorful, reward-ridden world, where the noise and pace is what you make it – not what you can see outside the window.

Namaste
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Monday Motivations

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 Here comes another week full of days and hours and minutes and hopefully some more summer temperatures. As the days get longer and warmer it seems our calendars get fuller faster, regardless of the extra sunlight each day. From every which way we look there is an increase in activity in early spring and summer; from sports to dinner parties and barbecues; this time of year seems to be when outdoor gatherings are in bloom and it can become quite challenging meeting everyone’s needs, including our own. In fact by the end of summer, many of us will be feeling exhausted from all of the activities and will be gladly awaiting the darker, shorter days which allow for more time to reflect and plan.

But now that we are aware of the pattern, we can begin to develop solutions before they turn in to problems. Now is the time to be thinking about how to have a fulfilling and healthy summer that is rewarding for you, your body and your mind, so that when the colder days swing back around, you are ready to face them with zest!

Time management is one of those common, everyday phrases that only some of us are actually making the most use of. Time management is about asking yourself first thing in the morning, or at the beginning of the week – any time is a good time to ask; what is it you want to achieve? The rest is about figuring out how to achieve those things, with the given time and circumstances.

Living a fulfilling, healthy life is about listening to our own bodies’ clock and living with the word’s clock as harmoniously as possible. For morning Yogis, a 6.30 am Bikram class as opposed to an afternoon one, is a fantastic way to start the day and keep motivated to stay healthy and fit. The start of the day is an important time to set your intentions for later, so make the most of that time.

If you are a night or evening person, afternoon classes are a great way to get social and fit at the same time, and you will walk out the studio feeling full of natural energy, ready for the evening’s activities.

My challenge for you this summer is to keep doing what is good and right for you. Be the social or outdoor butterfly summer loves you to be, but do not forget to make your personal development goals a priority.

The extra sunlight we have is only as valuable as we make it; quality over quantity Yogis!

www.bikramyogabritomart.co.nz
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Yoga Clothing of the Week

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Onzie have won our Yoga Clothing hearts this week with this light, loose and comfortable Yoga top. The minimal design of the stitching and effortless fabric make this the perfect accompaniment to your next Bikram Yoga workout. This singlet also comes in Navy and Grey, and we still have a good size range available :) Well done Onzie!

Check out www.onzie.com or come see us in the Studio @ 13 Commerce Street, Auckland, for this and many more fabulous Hot Yoga clothes.

Happy Thursday Yogis!
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Monday Motivations

benefits-of-hot-yoga2

 The human body is a truly amazing organism. If we could each have a copy of our body’s ‘To-Do’ list every day, our own ‘To-Do’ lists would seem much less frightening. Our bodies are very complex and powerful tools that can either help us get to where aim to go, or stop us. Along with a consistent fitness plan, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, we, endowed with the gift of such competent physical vessels, often tend to forget about or perhaps are struggling with the most important activity of them all – Sleep.

Without efficient sleep, a body is not going to perform very well and it will inhibit you from making the most of almost anything. In fact, often the case is; the more sleep we ‘need’ the more we struggle to get. For some more energetic people, the activity of sleep can become a game of tug and war. Then, there are those sleepers who think they are sleeping, but they don’t often enter Rem – a deep state of sleep where the restoration of your body and cells during ‘sleepy-time’ actually happens, typically when dreaming. Rem is the body’s daily 'dream' destination, excuse the pun.

If it for whatever reason doesn't get to Rem, in only a few days, the body will render you feeling very irritable, moody and obviously lacking in both physical and mental energy. Weight gain is often associated with poor sleep cycles as the body’s compensation for the lack of energy is found in food; more food than it actually needs. It is probably just wanting Rem.

There are good news to all this. Yogis around the world already know about the wonderful benefits Bikram Yoga has had on their sleep, but now, studies have also shown that Yoga can help improve your sleeping pattern.

The parasympathetic nervous system is accountable for rest and digestion activities of the body in rest state, and studies have found that sleep onset and Yoga are both associated with an increase in parasympathetic activity. Meditation is also linked to the increase in parasympathetic presence.

Bikram Yoga is a combination of physical exercise, release of tension, breathing development, meditation, self-awareness, strengthening of the muscles, heart and lungs, as well as detoxifying your body and mind. All these Bikram Yoga benefits can be related to a good night’s sleep and all the techniques learned and developed in class with yourself in from of the mirror, can effortlessly be transferred to bed.

Give it a go. If you are always tired, always lacking that extra deep sleep or dreading the time of day when you have to and close your eyes and thoughts – go to a Bikram Class in the afternoon and tell us how you slept :)

Happy Sleeping, Hot Yogis!

www.bikramyogabritomart.co.nz
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