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CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
BIKRAM YOGA	POWER YOGA	YIN YOGA
Description	Kellie Lin's Class
Benefits	Angie's Class
Who is Bikram?	Alex's Class
Poses	1- Hour Power Yoga
	Jackie's 1-Hour Power Yoga
	About Radiant Heat

Description
Bikram Yoga consists of a series of 26 asanas (postures) and 2 breathing exercises. It is suitable for all ages and levels of ability. Each posture stretches, strengthens and prepares specific muscles, ligaments and joints for the next posture. The Bikram method also stimulates the organs, glands and nerves, moving fresh oxygenated blood to 100 percent of the body, restoring all systems to a healthy working order. Bikram designed this yoga series to deliver total health through the balancing and strengthening of every system in the body in order to prevent illness and injury, to promote weight loss and to limit the effects of aging. This series of postures combines skills of concentration, patience, determination and self control, and thus increases mental clarity and reduces stress. Bikram Yoga is done in a heated room to warm your muscles, prevent injury, allow a deeper workout and cleanse the body by flushing toxins. A committed practice of Bikram Yoga will result in realization of the true meaning of yoga: a union of the body, mind and spirit. In order for yoga to be effective, yoga must be practiced daily or on a regular basis with no long lapses of time between lessons. A minimum commitment of 10 lessons in 30 days is required if the student is to derive maximum benefit from this yoga. Visit www.BikramYoga.com
Benefits
Balance Concentration Flexibility Muscle Tone Strength Stamina Vitality Relaxation Detoxification Weight Reduction (or balancing to ideal weight) Improved Circulation	Improved Posture Improved Breathing and Lung Capacity Increased Energy Increased Well Being Improved Mental Acuity Stress Reduction Tension Release Sleep Improvement Injury Recovery Strengthened Immune System

Who is BIKRAM?
Bikram Choudhury began learning Hatha Yoga poses in his native India at the age of three. At five he began studying with Bishnu Ghosh (Paramahnsa Yogananda's brother) and quickly became a yoga champion. At age eleven he was the youngest contestant ever to win the national India Yoga Competition. At 14 Swami Shivananda declared him "Yogi Raj" (King of the Yogis). At age 20 a weightlifting accident crippled Bikram. With the guidance of his guru Bikram created his 26 posture series which restored his health. In a United Nations sponsored research project at Tokyo University Bikram helped doctors prove that yoga regenerates tissues and cures chronic ailments. Combining Eastern discipline and Western medicine, Bikram perfected his comprehensive system suitable for all ages and levels of fitness. Bikram arrived in the United States in 1973 at the invitation of President Nixon and the urging of Shirley Maclaine. He quickly became the foremost yoga teacher in the West as celebrities, athletes, and others began to flock to him. Since that time he has been healing thousands of students at his school in Los Angeles and traveling the world extensively, bringing the benefits of Bikram Yoga to millions of students worldwide.	"Never too bad, never too old, never too sick, never too late, to start from scratch and begin again."

The Poses
Standing Postures Pranayama Breathing * Mental relaxation * Detoxification * Works the nervous, respiratory and circulatory systems Half Moon * Helps lower back pain, constipation, obesity of stomach, bronchi distress, scoliotic, deformities, frozen shoulders * Works deltoid, trapezius, pectoralis major and hamstings * Exercise the colon, pancreas and kidney Awkward Pose * Helps to open pelvic area, alleves joint pain and arthritis of the knees, strengthens lower limbs, relieves sciatica, improves flexibility in toes and ankles * Works quadriceps and deltoids Eagle * Strengthens lower extremities, joint mobility for hip girdle and all 12 major joints. By creating pressure in the joints and releasing allows fresh blood supply to flow in. * Control of sexual energies, improves function of central nervous system Standing Head to Knee * Improves concentration, avoids sciatica by improving circulation and flexibility, reduces diabetes, strengthens back muscles and nerves * Works the muscular, skeletal, reproductive and digestive systems Standing Bow * Increases circulation to the heart and lungs * Improves elasticity of the spine by compressing the spine * Helps with lower back pain * Opens diaphram and lungs Balancing Stick * Increases blood flow all over the body at the same time * Clears arteries * Builds strength in lower extremities * Works the pancreas, kidney and spleen * Works muscular, reproductive, nervous, and circulatory system Separate Leg Stretching * Helps for constipation, abdominal obesity and hyper-acidity * Increases circulation to the brain and adrenal glands * Good for small and large intestines Triangle * Good for kidneys * Helps chemical imbalances in the system * Helps colitis constipation, hip and back pain, spondilitis, general mobility and menstrual disorders * Cardiovascular benefits * Works circulatory, digestive, immune and reproductive systems Standing Separated Leg Head to Knee * Helps abdominal obesity, diabetes, thyroid, blood and sugar balance, pancreas and kidneys * Works endocrine, reproductive, and digestive systems * Works obliques, iliosoas, quads and deltoids, trapezius, biceps and triceps Tree Pose * Creates hip and knee mobility * Releases abdominal tension * Helps inflammation of the lower back Toe Stand * Creates balance in the body and the mind * Strengthens stomach muscles * Helps with arthritis, knee problems and gout pain * Strengthens weak joints Floor Postures Wind Removing Pose * Helps constipation, flatulence and hyper acidity * Massages ascending colon, descending and transverse colon The Cobra Series (Cobra, Locust, Full-Locust and Bow) * Works to compress and open up the spine * Each posture works a specific section of the spine * Creates spinal changes, helps lower back pain, scoliosis and cervical spondylosis Fixed Firm * Strengthens and improves flexibility of lower spine, knees and ankle joints * Helps to cure sciatica, gout and rheumatism in the legs * Helps varicose veins * Helps to cure and prevent hernia Half Tortoise * Provides maximum relaxation * Cures indegestion, constipation and flatulence * Stretches lower part of the lungs – good for emphysema and asthma * Helps diabetes Camel * Strengthens muscles in the back and shoulders * Produces maximum compression of the spine, stimulating the nervous system * Improves flexibility of the neck and spine * Relieves backache * Helps kypho-scolitic deformities Rabbit * Stretches spine, maximum extension – opposite of Camel * Helps maintain mobility and elasticity of spine and back muscles * Nurtures the nervous system, brings blood to the brain, helps cure depression * Helps diabetes * Helps with colds, sinus problems, chronic tonsillitis, sore throats and strep throat * Good for thyroid, parathyroid and larynx Head to Knee with Stretching * Helps to balance blood sugar level, especially good for diabetes * Good for the immune system, stimulates the thymus * Improves kidney function * Increases circulation to the liver and the spleen, pancreas, thyroid, thymus and intestines Spine Twisting * Only posture that twists the spine from top to bottom at the same time * Improves flexibility of spine and hip joints * Helps prevent slip discs * Increases circulation and nutrition to spinal nerves, veins and tissues * Helps sciatica * Improves digestion * Helps tennis elbow Kapalbhati Breathing * Helps to rid body of toxins * Good for emphysema and other respiratory ailments * Stengthens, massages and increases circulation to the abdominal organs and muscles, including the diaphram * Good against high blood pressure and good for the heart

POWER YOGA
90 minute vigorous vinyasa flow yoga in warm room. Open to students who have previously practiced a flow style of yoga, Ashtanga, Power, Vinyasa, Flow, or Bikram Yoga at least 10 classes. Intense, flowing, intermediate yoga postures with keen attention to the breath that builds inner power.

Kellie Lin’s Class
The fusion of warming ujayii breath and quick flowing movements make this full body work out & complete practice a memorable experience. Students practice weight bearing poses to encourage strong bone density, balancing poses to foster determination and lightness, core strengthening poses that sculpt the mid-section and add fluidity to the spine for injury prevention, and deeply freeing hip opening postures to counteract the ill effects of sitting & driving, all within the context of an energizing vinyasa flow series. Come and greet the morning with sun salutations, sweat, and serenity. Class is held in a warm room. This is an all levels class. Beginners are welcome and encouraged.

Angie's Class
This class borrows from Bikram, Ashtanga, Baptiste, and other traditions to create a contemporary flow of classic poses. Postures in this high-energy class connect to one another through sun salutations, waking up the body while calming the mind. Students are encouraged to explore the physical possibilities of their bodies, experiencing the joy that is achievable when the body and mind truly come together and perceived limitations are cast away. In addition to asanas that bring increased strength, balance, endurance, and openness to the mind and body, this challenging yet light-hearted class also consists of breath work and meditation. This intermediate-level class is taught in a warm room.

Alex’s Class
This class is designed to be a challenging, but accessible complement to a regular Bikram Yoga Practice. Drawing mostly from postures in the Bikram Advanced Series, these roughly 40 asanas & 3 pranayama flow together to form a sequence which targets the body’s core, hip, and shoulder girdle. The postures are strait forward enough for the newer experienced student to benefit, while the challenges in maintaining and smoothing out the flows will demand precession from even the most practiced yogis. The result is a class that is of benefit to nearly all post-beginners building both stamina and flexibility in areas of the body missed in the standard 26 pose Bikram sequence.

1-Hour Power Yoga
60 minute beginning vinyasa flow class in warm room, appropriate for brand new students, beginners and more experienced students alike. Sun salutations, strengthening, stretching, breathing and flow into your personal power.

Jackie Meacham’s One Hour Power class
This class offers a mid-day rejuvenation. We will flow through a series of asanas-practicing poses, using breath as our guide. The class is practiced in a gently heated room, allowing the body to deeply open and release tensions and toxins. Come and rid yourself of physical and psychological blockages by practicing this vinyasa flow yoga. This is a fun, accessible yoga for all levels.

YIN YOGA
A gentle & relaxing 1 Hour class that works deeply into muscles and connective tissues through extended holds of postures. It is the perfect classfor meditators & those who lack flexibility because we will be working deeply into the body. The focus is less on fitness and more on restoration, de-stressing, & relaxation. Most forms of Yoga practiced in the U.S. are Yang; they emphasize muscular movement, contraction, and stabilization (all of which are important). Yin Yoga targets the connective tissue especially in the hips, pelvis and lower spine, and emphasizes deep tissue opening and restoration. This type of practice complements the more muscular styles of Yoga like Bikram and Power. For many students, this class is one of the most challenging, yet totally relaxing experiences they have.

RADIANT HEAT: SUN SAUNA

Did you know, Bikram Yoga Madison uses a combination of infrared radiant heat and blowing hot air to heat the yoga room?

Infrared heaters generate infrared waves, the harmless variety emitted by the sun, that penetrate deeply into joints and muscles, warming the body from the inside out. This type of heat is a “safe, effective way to help the body rid itself of toxins like mercury and lead,” says Alan Clark, M.D., online medical director of St. John’s Health System in Springfield, Missouri. Some research has shown that this form of “sweat therapy” benefits people with heart conditions or MS, both of which, many alternative health-care providers believe, are aggravated by environmental toxins.

Taken from Breathe Magazine, January/February 2005