Can You Do Yoga With A Hearing Loss?

May 31, 2016May 31, 2016 Hot Off The Mat Class Experiences, Self Improvement, Yoga and Life, Yogis That Inspire Me Bikram, Bikram Yoga, Meditation, Yoga, Yoga and Life

I recently wrote a post about yoga on my Living With Hearing Loss blog that I wanted to share with my Hot Off The Mat readers. I find yoga inspiring in part because it is accessible to people of all abilities, body types and mental states. Yoga has changed my life for the better. I hope it has for you as well.

Here is the post:

I love yoga! Not only is it fun, but I find the health benefits to be extraordinary. My yoga practice saved me from real injury during a fall last year, and I think that it, combined with meditatio…

Source: Can You Do Yoga With A Hearing Loss?

Meditation Is Hard!

May 3, 2016April 14, 2016 Hot Off The Mat Meditation, Self Improvement, Yoga and Life Meditation, Yoga

I meditate every weekday morning before Bikram Yoga class. Twenty minutes of quiet and stillness, preparing me for another 90 minutes of the same. It’s peaceful and keeps me calm. It even helps with my tinnitus. I love my weekday morning ritual.

But weekend mornings are different. I sleep later. The kids are home. There’s breakfast to savor and coffee to enjoy. The newspaper is waiting to be read. Lovely morning rituals, but different. My schedule is thrown off. Sometimes I forget to meditate.

Continue reading →

My Mini Bikram Yoga Challenge

March 15, 2016March 14, 2016 Hot Off The Mat Class Experiences, Self Improvement Bikram, Bikram Yoga, Hot Yoga, Yoga

I have never done a 30-day challenge. My schedule is too crazy, with two young kids, meetings and writing for my advocacy work, weekend commitments and lots of travel. Or that is what I tell myself. I typically practice 4 or 5 times a week, which works well for me. Why rock the boat?

But last week I had a unique opportunity – no travel, no big weekend plans, and not an excuse left in the book. So I did a mini-challenge. I hadn’t started off with that in mind. I just went to class as I normally did each morning during the workweek and when the weekend rolled around, I just kept going. “Let’s see what happens,” I thought.

Continue reading →

Why Is Weekend Bikram Yoga So Hot?

February 23, 2016February 22, 2016 Hot Off The Mat Class Experiences, Self Improvement Bikram, Bikram Yoga, Hot Yoga, Yoga

I usually practice on weekday mornings. The classes are full, but not to the brim. The students are regulars, but the skill levels vary. Some people are old, some students are young, but most are somewhere in the middle, like me. The teachers are challenging, but caring, the rooms are hot, but not too hot, and it is all good.

Recently, I have started to practice on the weekends too. My husband has finally succumbed to my Bikram Yoga fever, and since he can only practice on the weekends, I have been going along for moral support. But class has been extremely challenging — because of the heat. So challenging, that we leave class spent, and exhausted, and this can last through the rest of the weekend. Clearly not the goal we were seeking.

Continue reading →

One Week Off Bikram Yoga and I Can’t Sleep Through the Night

January 12, 2016January 28, 2016 Hot Off The Mat Self Improvement, Yoga and Life Bikram, Bikram Yoga, Hot Yoga, Yoga

Before I began practicing Bikram Yoga, I awoke each night at 2 or 3 in the morning grinding my teeth and worrying about something. As my eyes snapped open, I knew I should drift back to sleep — I had things to do the next day — but often I laid awake for an hour or two with my mind racing. Sometimes I would even get up and walk around the house, trying to clear my head and reboot my thoughts. I hated it.

My Bikram Yoga practice changed all that. At first, I was simply so physically exhausted from the practice that I slept like the dead. After several months, I was getting into the groove of my practice, but my sleep stayed sound. It was life changing and remained so for years.