|
Weekend
December 30/31, 2000
The
"Hot" Workout
Okay,
get set for a visit to Hollywood's newest hot spot,
and we do mean hot! But our Dayna Devon says you won't
find a velvet rope or exclusive guest list at this place.
Raquel does it. Brooke does it. So does Jaime. It's
called Bikram's yoga... Bikram Choudhury is the guy
who came up with it.
Bikram's 57... That's right, 57. Now do we have your
attention?
He teaches stars like Jerry Seinfeld and Martin Sheen
how to get fit with a twist. Yoga in a classroom that's
heated to a sizzling 105 degrees. Why
so hot?
"Heat
is very important to clean the body... detoxify. Basically
because you can move much deeper, it's safer." Bikram
says.
And Bikram believers claim the heat along with his unique
style of yoga helps control chronic conditions. Skeptical?
So were we until we met Val Sklar. She suffered for
years from degenerative arthritis.
"Nothing
would heal it… the yoga is what gave me my range of
motion back... And gave me my life back," Val says.
And now she gives back to her students.
"The
heat is always overwhelming the first time but like
anything the more you get into it, the more times you
do it, it becomes more challenging and your body understands
what's happening," Val tells us.
And what's happening appears to be some amazing recoveries.
Take Alice Sogomoniam. She has a disorder that causes
severe muscle fatigue. But look at her after doing hot
yoga for a year.
"I
haven't gone on medication, I've regained muscle strength,
and I'm able to care for my 3 year old daughter," Alice
says.
Results like hers can take months but there is something
you will see right away.
"You
sweat like a pig," Alice jokes.
Our own Dayna Devon even tried the workout:
"We
have 20 minutes left and I am so exhausted, it's so
hot we actually had trouble with our camera gear. In
the end I was bone-tired and sore, but believe it or
not I was ready to try it again. And I'm not the only
one... Bikram says people keep coming back because hot
yoga has changed their bodies, their mind and their
lives."
"It's
never too late, never too bad, never too old, never
too sick to start from scratch once again," Bikram says.
Here's the EXTRA info, you should drink a liter of water
before a hot yoga class. And if 105-degrees sounds hot...
In Asia some instructors heat the room to 140-degrees!
And for more info check out www.bikramyoga.com
|
