The power of good exercise

[andyswarbs]

If I may divert away from food to exercise. Over the festive season my body began to struggle. I could not get the motivation up to do an early morning yoga in my home. Also the festive season put foods into my body that began to drag it down. I so yearned for normality to return and the time to get back into my yoga regime.

Last night I achieved bringing my body into good health after my first double session of the new year Bikram Yoga. I am sure I have mentioned this kind of hot yoga before, but if you have missed it then let me tell you a little about it.

I started it October 2016 after very strong recommendation for anyone with rheumatoid arthritis. This kind of yoga is not some kind of easy-going laid-back relaxation type yoga. This is full-on intensive yoga where you sweat from beginning to end. It is a complete body exercise, arguably the most thorough body exercise imaginable. It is extremely safe to do with a skilled teacher watching your every move. The mantra is always "do what you can but never too much." (This yoga has no "OMs".) Even just staying in the room is considered to provide health benefits.

The same repetitive nature of the sessions, no matter where you go in the world to practice it, means with steady practice you will notice both foibles in your body and definite improvements, some of which may be minute. But those minute changes add up, they are all cumulative.

Anyway I started out with four sessions a week. This has built up, sometime with a session each and every day. If I miss a daily sessions I have made up for it by "doubling" up. This is where I do two sessions in one day.

Well, last night I was able to do my double. Two back-to-back sessions 5.30pm and 7.30pm, each 90 minutes long. Without going on for hours about the benefits all I can say it has sorted my body and mind right out.

To sum up, I would recommend anyone to try this kind of yoga. If you can deal with the heat (40 degrees) and commit to a regime then I cannot foresee anything but you but steadily becoming an all-round healthier person.

[Zest]

Hi Andy,

Really glad you've got back into your routine of doing your Bikram Yoga, and really interesting to hear about how helpful it is. I love the fact we can talk about Exercise in this forum, now that we have the Healthy Eating and Exercise Topic - it is such a relevant topic to health generally.

Zest

[Hidden]

Hi Andy,

This is very interesting and you're very committed so good for you, I think to treat our bodies holistically is essential for a sense of health and well being so I'm pleased that you benefit from Bikram yoga.

I also feel that we should discuss exercise and and our mental health on here, so thanks for sharing this with us.

Jerry 😊