Bikram Yoga: A Hot Topic

When you're hot, you're hot and when you're not, you're not - and when you're sizzling hot, you're probably in a Bikram yoga class. Bikram Choudhury is the 60-something-year-old man to praise or blame for this form of "hot" yoga. He created Bikram, a technique inspired by his yoga gurus back in India.

It all began back in Bombay in 1965 at the Yoga College of India, which Choudhury brought to Beverly Hills in 1973 and then to Tokyo, Honolulu, and San Francisco. Today you can find hot yoga across the globe. Rancho Santa Fe yoga instructor Mara Carrico, says, "Yoga's growth has been amazing. It's important for my health and wellbeing." Aside form authoring the book, Yoga Journal's Yoga Basics, Carrico studied Bikram yoga with Choudhury himself for several years in his Los Angeles studio, stretching and sweating alongside Raquel Welsh, Herb Alpert, Shirley MacLaine, Quincy Jones, Maude Adams, Leslie Ann Warren, Vidal Sassoon, and the late Juliet Prowse, to name a few. Choudhury also lists Madonna, Candice Bergen, and Brooke Shields among his many famous followers.

But Bikram is not a social encounter before, during, or following class. It is an intense form of therapy for those who are already fit. Barefoot in tights, a sleeveless top, with a sticky mat and dripping sweat - no one wants to socialize. Classes are 90-minutes long and most Bikram teachers say that one must take at least three classes a week (at $15 to $20) a session at most studios for it to be fully effective

So how is Bikram yoga practiced? It is a specific technique involving 26 poses, each repeated twice, and held for ten seconds. That's the template developed by Choudhury, who maintains that his technique is the most beneficial form of yoga. Sounds easy? Wrong. Bikram yoga is vigorous and performed in a studio that is well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidifier that maintains the moist heat. According to Carrico, "This repetitive technique lets you know what's coming next and the 26 poses involve a full range of motion of the spine. It includes forward flexion, back bends, side bends, twists, and inversion with the head below the heart."

The high heat in Bikram yoga enables students to go more deeply and safely into the yoga poses, since heat adds flexibility. Bikram yoga is a fabulous complement for anyone in sports, and for runners, bicyclists, dancers, and particularly ballet dancers, because it is so exacting. And no, Bikram isn't for everyone. The heat and the intensity of the workout are not right for individuals with high blood pressure, heart problems, back problems, or for women who are pregnant or going through menopause. As Carrico says, "That's the beauty of yoga; there is a style or method for everyone."

Last summer Choudhury was featured on CBS's 60 Minutes. On the air he explained hot yoga this way: you use the body as a medium to bring the mind back to the brain, and when the brain and mind are perfectly married, you can knock on the door of the spirit.

There are six Bikram yoga studios in San Diego, located in El Cajon, Encinitas, La Jolla, Kearny Mesa, Old Town, and Torrey Hills. - Ruth S. Jacobowitz

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Hot Summer Nights
The Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita's Apuane Spa is spicing up summer nights with a romantic menu of nighttime spa experiences for couples that combine unique and relaxing treatments with picturesque settings and gourmet dining. Paired with Mexico's warm, tropical evenings, these indulgences present a perfect way to celebrate love beneath the stars. Packges include Tamai Summer Nights (where couples enjoy a 50-minute relaxing couple's Watsu massage in a heated pool under a moonlit sky followed by a gourmet dinner featuring Kumai oysters and other treats), Evening Under The Stars (which includes a Thai herbal therapy massage and an intimate picnic overlooking the Pacific), and Like Water For Chocolate (an evening of rich chocolate experiences, soothing water treatments, and a private terrace where couples are served fine Champagne and a selection of fresh fruits together with a gourmet chocolate fondue). All of the Apuane Spa body treatments use products that are completely natural and feature the nutrient rich plant, marine, and mineral ecology of Mexico. (011/52-329-291-6000, www.fourseasons.com/puntamita)
- Mia Stefanko

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Avoiding Summer Burnout
Summer is a great time to recharge and renew the body, mind, and spirit. With cloudless blue skies, a bright and warming sun hanging at its pinnacle in the atmosphere, and active people on the move, San Diego has no threat of losing its title as America's Finest city. However, we still face the same challenges as our counterparts across the country in avoiding burnout, monotony, and fatigue from the grind of keeping up with high gas prices, an abundant but slippery economy, long hours at the office, and kids growing up faster than we can believe - all while we try to keep some level of balance and fulfillment in our lives. It has been demonstrated, time and again, by countless successful and legendary people from the Founding Fathers to Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, Ray Charles, and San Diego's own Phil Mickelson that when the body, mind, and spirit are aligned there is nothing that is impossible to accomplish. Here are 12 simple tips to help you renew and recharge so that you can achieve new levels of success in every area of your life. - Chris and Brianne Snook

1. Write down and reflect on milestone moments achieved or experienced in the last year.
2. Write down adversities from the past year that you have overcome.
3. Write down and reflect on lessons learned and the value gained from those adversities.
4. Write down a positive outcome for an existing adversity and repeat it daily until your doubt dissolves.
5. Define your goals for the rest of the year and move towards them.
6. Establish a cooperative alliance of friends and associates for those goals.
7. Let the sun and beauty of summer fuel your enthusiasm and gratitude for your life.
8. Develop your capacity for faith.
9. Control and direct your emotions and thoughts towards the positive.
10. Develop a habit of gratitude for life's blessings, each day, through meditation or prayer.
11. Give a gift of time, money, or support to someone who does not expect it and may not even deserve it.
12. Take yourself somewhere that children play and watch them for an hour.

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The New Studio In Town
Bella Forma Pilates is opening in The Forum At Carlsbad this month and is "ready to take it to the next level," says owner Gina Axelson. "The group dynamic really changes things when everyone is on different equipment and practicing the same routine." Bella Forma Pilates is host to mat classes as well as individual and group classes, fulfilling all skill levels and goals. With top-of -the-line Balance Body equipment, ample mat space, a boutique stocked with Pilates-style clothing, and all instructors certified by the Pilates Method Alliance, this new studio is sure to satisfy even those most experienced in Pilates. (760/634-1215, www.bellaformapilates.com) - Alanna Trimble