Flexibility, Strength, and Good Health

If you value your health, you may want to meet Brandie Frommelt.  Brandie Frommelt is the owner and director of the Bikram Yoga Westside studio in Las Vegas, Nevada where she and her staff are dedicated to helping others build strength and flexibility in order to maintain a good state of health.

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With more than 20 qualified instructors leading classes 7 days a week and beginning as early as 5:30 in the morning and running as late as 8 in the evening, you are sure to find a teacher and class time that will fit your schedule.  In addition to the camaraderie that you will experience with your instructors and fellow class mates, you will find that after developing your yoga practice on a regular schedule that you will feel stronger as well as better able to rest and sleep at nights.

By tapping into a discipline that has proven its efficacy over the centuries, you can overcome many physical obstacles that slow you down and make your life more difficult.  Even students who are retired or have suffered injuries and ailments that restrict their movements and joints have discovered a new vitality and energy once they take on the Bikram Yoga practice on a frequent basis.

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Bikram Yoga is also popularly described as hot yoga, as the room is typically heated to as much as 105 degrees Fahrenheit.  As you might imagine, this allows a student to sweat out all kinds of toxins and tends to make the body more flexible than in a cold environment.  This form of practice is intended to benefit the whole body, from muscles and bones to internal organs.  By practicing both postures and breathing methods, you can take advantage of the many benefits connected with each of these exercises.

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If you are already in good health and want to remain so or if you are suffering from physical conditions which limit your activities and may perhaps cause you pain, joining the community at the Bikram Yoga Westside studio could be just the right prescription for an improved and healthier life!

REPOST: What is Bikram Yoga?

In recent years, many people from different age groups have started practicing Bikram yoga to lose weight, reduce stress, and improve flexibility. LiveScience.com explains in detail this type of yoga and its many health benefits.

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Bikram yoga, often called "hot yoga," is a form of yoga popularized by Bikram Choudhury in the 1970s in California. Bikram yoga instructors go through a nine-week training program in which they learn a set practice and dialogue. Currently, there are more than 1,650 Bikram studios around the world.

The yoga practice involves repeating the same 26 poses in set cycles over 90-minute classes. In most classes, rooms are heated, often up to a sweltering 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 Celsius) and kept at fairly high humidity. Proponents claim the temperature improves blood flow and helps oxygen reach muscle tissue, which may make practitioners more flexible. Hot yoga advocates also say the practice can flush out toxins from the body and even help with weight loss.

Studies have shown that a regular yoga practice can help lessen back pain, sharpen the mind, improve mood and even lower blood pressure. However, no large-scale scientific research has backed up benefits specific to the Bikram practice. Toxins, for instance, are typically flushed out not by sweating, but by the liver and the kidney, and are removed through urination or bowel movements.

However, the practice does have some potential dangers. The profuse sweating involved in Bikram yoga can lead to dehydration if practitioners don't drink enough water. A 2012 study in the British Medical Journal Case Reports described a woman who developed seizures and went into a coma after losing so much salt through profuse sweating in a Bikram yoga class. And the increased flexibility can actually be a bad thing, because it can make practitioners prone to overstretching that can facilitate strains and sprains, according to "The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards," (Simon & Schuster, 2012).

Hot yoga can also worsen the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and people with high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart conditions should also steer clear, experts say.

Generally, if someone starts feeling nauseated, dizzy or otherwise ill during a Bikram yoga class, it's a good idea to have some water and take a break.

Still, there's little risk of developing heat stroke during a Bikram yoga class, at least if it's practiced in a room kept between 90 and 95 F (32 and 35 C), according to a small 2013 study by the American Council on Exercise. That study tracked 20 people practicing both hot and regular yoga found virtually no difference in core temperature or heart rate between the two groups.  Those practicing the hot yoga, however, did perceive it to be harder, even if their bodies didn't register the increased difficulty.

Brandie Frommelt is a certified Bikram yoga instructor. Visit this Facebook page to learn more about this workout.