I am going to admit, though Bikram Yoga is my favorite, signing up for a year of classes has kind of paid a toll on my practice. Since signing up for a year's worth of classes last June, I have devoted MUCH of my time to practicing only Bikram Yoga.
I tried to get to class at least 3 times a week, mostly to justify the fact that a large sum of money was debiting from my bank account every month to pay for my practice. While I do love the class, I found myself getting bored. Though the routine was something I originally embraced when I signed up for the year's worth of classes, I feel as though I have neglected the millions of other postures I could have been practicing all year round that don't involve Bikram Yoga.
For instance, my good friend Amy, is now killer at headstands. She gets to practice inverted postures whenever she goes to class. I would like to learn some awesome inverted postures as well, but because my money has been tied into the Bikram studio, I haven't been able to take any other classes. I am pretty good at doing the same, sweaty 26 postures. But is that enough? Not for me.
My last class isn't until May, but I am looking forward to being FREE to take whatever classes I want :) Though I did learn lots of discipline and structure through practicing the same 26 postures over and over again, I don't recommend anyone signing up for just a year of Bikram Yoga. Taking it month by month, or even class by class is probably your best bet. Not every day is a Bikram Yoga day, you know? :)
Anyways, BIG changed have been going on at YogaDirect.com. We just completed an entire redesign of the site, and have focused more on wholesale Yoga props. Hurray for Yoga Studios! :) Regular Yogis can still purchase the same great Yoga equipment on our site, but we now require a $50.00 minimum for each purchase...which still isn't bad, considering our prices are still the lowest around!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Pole Dancing for Fitness
At YogaDirect.com, sometimes we have to dive in face first into new trends to continue offering you guys the most innovative yoga, pilates, & fitness equipment possible.
Recently I have been taking Pole Fitness Classes, the latest new trend in fitness, to see what it was all about. I have to say that after taking 2 classes, I am VERY impressed! Achieving the amount of strength, beauty, and technique required in the class is very challenging. I found it to be not only a way to get your entire body conditioned, but it is also a class that gets your out of your "safe" zone...more about that later :)
Since Pole Classes are fairly new to the fitness world, it is very important that you find an instructor that is properly certified. The first class I went to was taught by a random pole dancer, and I feel that she didn't stretch us out properly and condition the class enough to prepare us for the class, and my arms were painfully sore for about a week after!
I took my second Pole Fitness Class last night at the Fuller Movement Center, and the teacher this time was a Certified Pole Dancing Instructor. It was an intro class, so it was packed with about 15 of us newbies.
If you think Pole Fitness is just a bunch of twirls and flips on a pole, you will be quite surprised at the intense warm-up we were given. Not only did we stretch and strengthen for about a half hour to warm up our arms, abdominal muscles, and booties (haha), but we were led to do the exercises in a sensual manner. Cue the embarrassing giggles! Luckily the instructor was there to remind us, "Hey, no one else is allowed to touch your body except you...so do it."
The last part of the class had us paired up at each pole where we learned just how much strength is needed to hold your own body weight up when you are on the pole. Looks like I need to do more handstands in Yoga to get my arm strength up! The class ended with the instructor & her assistant showing us a demo of what you would learn if you signed up for the class. These were some STRONG women!
When I got back home, I looked on YouTube to see some more Pole Dancing tricks and found this amazing video of Miss Pole Dance Australia.
Anyone ready to teach a Yoga on the Pole Class? I'm there!
Recently I have been taking Pole Fitness Classes, the latest new trend in fitness, to see what it was all about. I have to say that after taking 2 classes, I am VERY impressed! Achieving the amount of strength, beauty, and technique required in the class is very challenging. I found it to be not only a way to get your entire body conditioned, but it is also a class that gets your out of your "safe" zone...more about that later :)
Since Pole Classes are fairly new to the fitness world, it is very important that you find an instructor that is properly certified. The first class I went to was taught by a random pole dancer, and I feel that she didn't stretch us out properly and condition the class enough to prepare us for the class, and my arms were painfully sore for about a week after!
I took my second Pole Fitness Class last night at the Fuller Movement Center, and the teacher this time was a Certified Pole Dancing Instructor. It was an intro class, so it was packed with about 15 of us newbies.
If you think Pole Fitness is just a bunch of twirls and flips on a pole, you will be quite surprised at the intense warm-up we were given. Not only did we stretch and strengthen for about a half hour to warm up our arms, abdominal muscles, and booties (haha), but we were led to do the exercises in a sensual manner. Cue the embarrassing giggles! Luckily the instructor was there to remind us, "Hey, no one else is allowed to touch your body except you...so do it."
The last part of the class had us paired up at each pole where we learned just how much strength is needed to hold your own body weight up when you are on the pole. Looks like I need to do more handstands in Yoga to get my arm strength up! The class ended with the instructor & her assistant showing us a demo of what you would learn if you signed up for the class. These were some STRONG women!
When I got back home, I looked on YouTube to see some more Pole Dancing tricks and found this amazing video of Miss Pole Dance Australia.
Anyone ready to teach a Yoga on the Pole Class? I'm there!
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