Bikram Yoga is a unique system of yoga. It was developed in the early 1970s by Indian Yoga guru Bikram Choudhury. At the age of seventeen, he was crippled by a weigh lifting accident and doctors believed he could never walk again. Unable to accept the diagnosis, he had himself carried back to his yoga school where his mentor, Bishnu Ghosh, himself helped him. In six months time, he was able to walk again. It is his personal healing that brought him to the creation of this system of yoga. Bikram Yoga is a form of hot yoga, meaning yoga performed in humid temperature, in a series of 26 postures and 2 breathing patterns. The program runs for ninety minutes, with each pose done at least twice. These series have a significant healing power to both body and mind. Bikram continually spreads to the world this unique art and concept of healthy living, which has been openly accepted by many.

In popular culture, Bikram yoga has been dubbed as Hot Yoga, for it is performed under hot conditions with a recommended minimum temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and 40% humidity. The purpose behind this is that hot temperature opens skin pores to allow release of toxins from the body. It also improves heart rate for a better cardiovascular exercise and allows deeper muscles stretching. The benefits of this yoga system is also outstanding, because it works on just about every part of the body, both inside and out. Positive influences include increased flexibility and energy, reduction of stress, weight loss, lowered blood pressure, improved muscle tone and better circulation.

The popularity of this form of yoga is staggering. Bikram opened his line of yoga schools – the first being in India, the infamous Bikram’s Yoga College of India. Later, he has expanded his reach and opened colleges all over the world. It was in Japan that he was able to prove the many medical benefits of this yoga system, such as stimulation of the immune system, and as well as the thyroid glands.

Yoga, in particular, is one of the best exercises that you can do if you are pregnant. Aside from being safe, it also improves the inner body cycles which help in ensuring that the baby, as well as the mother-to be, is healthy. Here are actually some of the benefits that you can get when you do pregnant yoga:

The stretching exercises that are being done in yoga improve blood circulation and also help promote the easy passage of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Aside from that, these stretches can also boost your state of mind as well as improve your overall well being and that of your child.

Doing yoga exercises can also help in strengthening the muscles. This is really necessary especially since during pregnancy, you need to keep away from any kind of stress or strain on your lower back. Because of an increased weight, pregnant women tend to shift the entire weight of their body towards their pelvis thus causing back pains. But when you enroll at a pregnant yoga class, you would be able to have a better posture and can also help you lessen the pain in your back.

Aside from that, yoga also helps in increasing your muscular strength as well as the suppleness and tone of your body, which is of utmost importance during labor. Doing yoga exercises can make the whole procedure less painful and much easier. Furthermore, yoga aids in making you lose weight faster because muscles would burn the fat that you were able to gain during pregnancy.

You should always remember that your state of mind is also necessary during your pregnancy that is why the breathing exercises done in yoga can help you check and assess your mood. It also teaches you how to control your mind and avoid stressful situations which can put you and your baby at risk.

These are just some of the wonderful benefits that you would be able to get when you decide to do yoga.  Just bear in mind that you should be able to choose a good instructor who knows the necessary aspects in pregnant yoga because the routines for pregnant woman are entirely different from the usual weight loss programs. And always make sure that you have a well balanced nutrition to be able to experience the full benefits of yoga during pregnancy.

Even though it is not like the classic yoga, the 26 postures of Bikram Yoga still work systematically for every part of the body and gives all the internal organs, muscles, as well as veins and ligaments all the things that are needed to keep them functioning well and ensure that you’re at your best health. But before you enroll in a Bikram Yoga class, why not try to familiarize yourself with the first five postures done in this exercise and know the benefits that you can get from each.

Standing Deep Breathing
When you do this form of Bikram Yoga, it can help your body keep warm even after the whole set of yoga postures are done. This posture can furthermore help you prevent respiratory problems such as bronchitis, emphysema as well as shortness of breath.

Half Moon Pose
The second phase of the yoga exercise is the half moon pose that can make your abdominal muscles powerful and at the same time strengthens your spinal flexibility. Other benefits that you can get from this is that it helps keep your kidneys to properly function and also helps in curing liver enlargement.

Hands to Feet Pada
To do this yoga form, you have to fold both your arms in an upright position and then afterwards bringing them down closer to your knees. Doing this helps increase spinal flexibility and improves blood circulation, too.

Awkward Pose
This is a chair like position wherein your main focus is correcting the postures of your back, chest and pelvis. By doing this, you tone and shape your legs and could also give you relief from rheumatism and arthritis.

Eagle Pose
This pose can greatly benefit you as doing this gives you the chance to open the 14 largest joints in your skeletal system. Aside from that, the eagle pose also improves hips and ankle flexibility as well as proper blood circulation throughout the reproductive system.

These are just some of the benefits that you can get from doing Bikram Yoga. If you decide to do the full 26 postures of this exercise, you would surely be able to gain a lot more and be on your way to a wholistic health that you’ve always wanted to achieve.

Tens of thousands of people across India, Europe, Africa, and the United States joined Ramdev in a strike that began on Saturday in protest of alleged Indian government corruption. On Sunday, the police responded with tear gas into the crowd of more than 40,000 Ramdev supporters.

Police detained Ramdev, guru to millions of followers in India, then later deported him back to his ashram in Haridwar and banned him from entering Delhi. Now on his fifth day of not eating, the spiritual leader said he wouldn’t eat until the government returned millions of dollars illegally stashed abroad and imposed tough penalties on those who continue to put their money in safe havens, and, in a seemingly un-yogic twist, has threatened to arm his supporters.

Read the whole story on:http://blogs.yogajournal.com/yogabuzz/

Read the whole story on:http://blogs.yogajournal.com/yogabuzz/