FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• There is no need to no need to book for a Bikram Hot Yoga class!
• Every class is beginner friendly, you advance at your own pace.
• Each class is 90 minutes in duration. Arrive 15 minutes early to fill out the registration form, earlier if possible.
• Eat lightly no earlier than 2 hours before class. We recommend a piece of fruit if you are still hungry close to class time.
• Water, water and more water! Drink plenty of water before the class.
• Bring a large bottle of water with you (we sell bottled water: small for $2, large is $3).
• Bring a large towel (bath size) for your class, and another towel for your shower afterwards (we rent towels for $2).
• Bring a yoga mat (we rent them for $1, we sell them for $35).
• Change room and shower facilities at both studios.

Ladies: wear lycra sports shorts, athletic bra tops or leotard.

Gentlemen: wear lycra bike-style shorts or sports shorts. Some men prefer to wear a T-shirt or singlet as well, but most want to take them off during class.

Bare skin allows your body to release heat more easily, so wear the minimal clothing you are comfortable with.

Avoid track suit pants and T-shirts if you can as they become heavy when sweating.

We have showers if you would like to take a shower after class (bring an extra towel).

This is the most common misconception that prevents people from coming to a yoga class. But yoga is not about how flexible you are, it is about stretching your body and spine in all directions. All that matters is that you try the right way, go to your personal "edge" and you will get 100% of the benefit. If you can move, you are flexible!

If you don't think you 'are flexible enough', you should definitely start doing yoga as soon as you can. The specially heated environment warms and softens your muscles so you can get more out of the yoga right from the first class - and doing yoga increases your flexibility over time.

When you have improved flexibility then you are less prone to soft-tissue injuries, which can be common in people who don't exercise. It does not matter what someone else can do compared to you, all you have to do is do what you can, be patient and mindful of your body, and just within a few classes you will notice a change in your body you have never seen before.

Yes. Our health insurance provider number is AHM 21035356. Check with your health insurer first to be sure that your private health insurer recognizes yoga as a deduction. Generally you will need a receipt from us for proof of purchase and our private Private Health Cover number.

Muscles, fascia and connective tissue become elastic allowing for greater flexibility with less chance of injury. The heat promotes sweating, which assists the detoxification process using the body's largest eliminating organ, the skin. Blood becomes thinner, which clears the circulatory system. When the body is between three and five degrees above normal temperature, T cell output from the thymus gland is multiplied 20 fold. T cells fight infection, which in turn keeps the immune system functioning properly. Warmer temperatures produce a fluid like stretch that allows for greater range of motion in the joints. Warm muscles burn fat more effectively.

Your heart rate becomes elevated which improves the cardiovascular system (heart and lungs). When we stretch, the fat has no room to sit so it redistributes to the blood stream, which we then use as energy. Capillaries respond to heat by dilating. This allows oxygen to muscles, tissues, glands and organs helping the removal of waste products.

Higher temperatures:

• Improve the function of the nervous system, meaning that messages are carried more rapidly to and from the brain or spinal cord (you think more clearly).
• Allow oxygen in the blood to detach from the haemoglobin more easily. When blood passes through warm muscles, oxygen releases more easily from the haemoglobin. Blood passing through cold muscles releases less oxygen.
• Improves strength because proteins can be utilised more effectively. Speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids.
• Provides strengthening of willpower, self-control and determination.

Bikram Hot Yoga works by the 'tourniquet effect': stretching, balancing (using gravity), and creating pressure all at the same time. The blood supply in arteries and veins is being cut off, creating pressure. When released, a lock gate effect is created, causing blood to rush through veins and arteries, flushing them out. Also, pressure is applied to the heart by its relative position to the rest of the body.

It is not unusual to feel nauseous or dizzy during your first class. Practicing yoga in a heated room reveals to us our present condition, and inspires us take much better care of ourselves. Usually the problem is that we do not drink enough water for daily living, let alone for exercising in a heated room. Nutritionists tell us that we need 2 litres of water a day to help the body function properly.

In the heated yoga room, your body needs adequate fund of water to allow perspiration to release heat from the body as you practice. So we estimate you need another 1 litre (sometime during the day) to allow for your 90 minutes in the room. Once you are drinking enough water your body will tolerate the heat better and you will actually enjoy the heat. If you feel disoriented or like you need a good nap after your first few classes, this is likely because your body has begun to cleanse itself as a result of the yoga practice. Don't be scared.

After the first few classes this sensation will pass. The more you can relax as you give your 110% honest effort during class, the more energized you will feel throughout the class and throughout the rest of your day.

In the beginning, do the full class religiously each day for two months until you are performing all but the very difficult poses such as the Standing Bow Pulling Pose eighty percent correctly.

If you are restricted by any medical condition or have any chronic disease, you should continue daily until your condition is resolved.

Even when your progress is measured in fractions of inches that add excellence to what is already good, rather than in bold strokes, like being able to balance on one leg for ten seconds, you should continue your yoga practice daily.

With a well-balanced diet Bikram Hot Yoga can help with weight loss. A minimum of 10 classes per month is recommended to get the benefits of Bikram yoga, among which is weight normalization. As a beginner, it takes three classes for your body to understand the proper approach to the posture, and ten classes for your body to begin to work with postures.

Digestion and respiration, as well as endocrine, lymphatic and elimination systems will begin to work harmoniously. Your appetite will normalize, and your unhealthy cravings will diminish. All of these results will help to normalize your weight if you devote yourself to regular practice, at least, but preferably more than 3 times per week.