**See the end for the readings fresh on my mind this afternoon.
For each of us as individuals, everything else can wait.
Whether we are feeling stressed, purposeless, or bored….whether we are lonely, overweight, addicted, or over-worked….. Whether we are just waking up as young adults or whether we are in our later decades of life….. Whether we are energetic and healty, or suffering a chronic illness and pains….
How long did it take each of us to learn the basics of our first language? And how many hours of practice have we had?
The internal physical systems are much more intricate than spoken or written language, yet we expect to “get it” quickly and move on to another feat of accomplishment, well before we’ve even mastered the basic alphabet of the body!
In under 6 minutes, check out this quick video chat about how the Original Hot Bikram Yoga practice helps us develop and master basic internal literacy!!
From the age of 16 through age 25, I struggled with addictive thoughts and behaviors related to eating, food, my body, and self-image.
I was essentially imprisoned in my own mind. How many hours, days, weeks, months….were lost to cycles of self-destructive behaviors and obsessions?
Once I started my intense and regular practice of The Original Hot Bikram Yoga, though, things started to change.
And eventually they healed permanently.
I love school and I pretty much always have. I have had some outstanding teachers all along the way. In elementary, secondary, post-secondary, graduate, and unofficial schooling! I am beyond grateful to all of them.
Something I have realized lately is that even the best school systems are centered around skills for material, external success. This is most certainly needed.
However I have noticed that nearly all of us make it to adulthood or finish our official schooling with a very small amount of internal success.
When the summer heat waves arrive in Michigan, most of us instinctively reach for the air conditioning. And while A/C is a nice creature comfort, we overuse it. To our physiological and ecological detriment.
The thought of going into a hot room to actually handle the heat doesn’t make sense at first. The usual thought response is:
“No way, it’s hot enough already!”
“Why would I choose to sweat more?”
Furthermore, since the more “mainstream” hot yoga classes in North America have become more movement based, I can understand why many non-bikram-lineage hot yoga studios are turning down their heat.
This summer it will be – for me – twenty years into teaching The Original Hot (Bikram) Yoga. Which is only a fraction of the amount of time that my yoga mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents practiced and taught before they trained me. But 20 years is finally enough to deeply understand where Bikram is coming from when he says, “It takes 10 years to become a yoga teacher.”
This prescription signifies a deep level of respect for what yoga asana is, what a yoga asana teacher is supposed to do, and the level of training & experience that one should have to transmit a living practice.
I am especially grateful for the connection with those of you who take classes regularly.
We seem to be on a pretty magical healing journey together.
Themes emerge spontaneously. Questions come up. Connections are made. We all grow together.
One of the themes from the last week or two (or three?) has been the topic of inflammation.
This is not a brand new idea for us; our book Hope for Autoimmune Disease danced with the topic through the 15 health narratives that we documented.
by Ann Chrapkiewicz
For almost 20 years now, I have been sharing a certain topic with anyone and everyone who might want to listen.
Just a few minutes on this website will tell you what that topic has been.
An hour spent with our book on Bikram Yoga and Autoimmune Disease will also give you a clue.
Any guesses?
Yep, that’s it.
by Ann Chrapkiewicz
I have heard it over and over. Things like: “They are so focused on their bodies.” Or: “those mirrors – they are so vain.” “Competitive”. Or: “You can’t possibly go within when you have all of that heat and sweat and light.”
My response to these answers is that 1) they are coming from the outside looking in, making a judgment without experience.
–by Ann Chrapkiewicz
21 months into the pandemic, it is time for me to speak up. Well over 50% of Bikram Yoga studios in the U.S. have closed since spring 2020, and that wave of closures is not over. I have been doing everything I can to not be one of those who close, and I will continue to do everything I can. But at this point a broader base of support is required, and I am asking YOU to be a part of this.
by Ann Chrapkiewicz
For those of us who have been raised in civilizations of extractive capitalism, tools for healing and reconnection are needed. Badly. By all of us.
Disconnection, alienation, and estrangement from the earth (including our living, breathing bodies) is pretty much par for the course.
So on this Earth Day 2021 and all going forward, I want to include our human bodies as part of the earth that we celebrate, connect with, protect, love, and heal.
You are invited!!
I have recommended and shared with you many book suggestions over the years. But never have I felt that a book should be required reading for anyone involved in a traditional yoga practice.
This one is SO good, so relevant, and so immediately practical for your daily life!
side note: I actually think it should be required for all physicians, teachers, and health practitioners of any kind.
We could not be more excited to tell you about the completion of our book project, a global work-in-progress for the past 2.5 years.
Hope for Autoimmune Disease: 15 Personal Stories of Living Better with Bikram Yoga is the world’s FIRST publication that narrates the effects of Bikram Yoga on a family of related diseases.
At BYCA we have a very strong youth program, with many youth attending weekly now for several years! You can read about some of our long-term regular youth practitioners here.
At the same time, we have a lot of parents who would like their kids to take up yoga, but who feel stuck. Lately I had a few people ask me directly ,”How do I get my kids to do yoga?”
In over 15 years of practice, I have found that the answer lies almost entirely found in how the parent views yoga, how the parent speaks about yoga, and how the parent uses yoga.
by Ann Chrapkiewicz
Last month marked my 15th year of practicing Bikram Yoga. I was fortunate to find this healing practice when I was just about to turn 25.
This past week, I turned 40. (And I got to hear Happy Birthday in Triangle Pose – in 3 different classes! Great for the lungs, people!)
I feel so much better at 40 than I did at 24.
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