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Student of the Month:June Student of the month: Nicole LaPierre I began practicing Bikram Yoga 2 years ago. In that time, many great things have happened for me. I was diagnosed with bursitis in my right foot 6 years ago. It would flare up about once a month for a week or so. It would be painful to walk. Within the first month, all of the pain went away and has not returned. Mentally, Bikram Yoga has been amazing for me. After a long battle with cancer, my mother passed away. This caused me to develop a lot of anxiety and panic attacks. I worked through these problems in yoga class every day. After six moths, the anxiety was gone. I also love seeing what it is doing for other people. My husband enjoys practicing too. We both plan on attending the nine week teacher training in the fall in Acapulco, Mexico. We hope to be teaching after graduation. It is truly a life changing activity. The most challenging and rewarding exercise I have ever done. I will stick with it for the rest of my life! Nicole LaPierre May Student of the month: Mary Beth Rainka Through out the years, I have always been searching for the "perfect" exercise for me. Something to keep the pounds off (they have a way of finding me again!) and to feel great. Running seemed to be it for a while and I trained and ran the Jacksonville Marathon in 2005. No matter how much I ran, my body never really changed much and the muscle definition just was not there. However, after a freak accident and back surgery, I took a break from running. The constant stress on my joints made it even more difficult to run and I was looking for an alternative. As fate would have it, at the Tiger Bay Greyhound 5K in October 2007, I received a "free pass" to Bikram Yoga in New Smyrna Beach in my race packet. With my daughter Allison, we gave it a try and now I'm hooked! At first, we thought this yoga was strange and that we would never be able to do the postures. But we stuck with it and I can really see a difference! Over the past 6 months, I have lost 10 pounds and can see the difference in muscle tone in my legs and arms. The awkward pose has definitely slimmed down my thighs and added definition all over my legs. My body is so much more defined now than when I was running. My clothes fit much better and every time I leave the yoga room, I feel great. There are times when I don't really feel like going to yoga, but once I've finished I'm so glad that I went. My husband is exercising more as a result of me going to yoga, and my daughter, son and I keep each other on track and motivate each other to go to class. My postures continue to improve each week, but there are still a few that I have difficulty with... If only I could get my "exactly forehead on my knee"! Then I wouldn't be just hanging out in a hot room! When we first started our classes Traci was in the middle of something called a "30 day challenge". Now I am participating in my own 30 day challenge and feel confident that I can make it all the way through. Many thanks to Traci, Anthony and all the other teachers from the Melbourne studios for all their help and encouragement. Mary Beth Rainka April Students of the month: Glen & Kelley Stratton Kelley and I have been married for 6 years (April 5th) and are both wildland fire fighters; the job is very stressful most of the time, full of adventure and adrenalin. We realized we needed a way to unwind. Kelley suggested we try Bikram Yoga, I reluctantly agreed to try it but I swore her to secrecy for fear of being laughed at should anyone find out. After a week I was telling everyone about it. We have been practicing yoga for three month now and love every minute of it, we are addicted. When we are not working or practicing yoga we enjoy; fine dining, kayaking, bicycling and traveling. This experience for me has been a transformation both mentally and physically, I have lost 20lbs give or take a few and now have the energy of a twenty year old. Mentally I am able to stay focused on the big picture, and keep what is important in perspective. I am always doing the advanced pose (smiling) and letting the love pour in, thank you Anthony. This also has been life changing for Kelley; she has suffered from headaches and vertigo for the past 15 years. Shortly after starting yoga Kelley's headaches and vertigo have virtually disappeared and she has not needed medication for these problems, this is huge. She too has gained more energy and lost a little over 10lbs and really toned up losing inches all over the place (HOT!!). Yoga has taught Kelley how to prioritize her life and again keep it in perspective. We try to come as often as our work will let us, but at a minimum three time a week. The instructors at NSB Bikram Yoga are awesome, the professionalism and dedication they display in each class keeps us energized and proud to be yogis." Glen Stratton Student of the Month:March Student of the month: Rick Spitz Wake up in the morning, roll out of bed, can't stand up straight, and groan -- back ache. Walk, or perhaps waddle is more descriptive, to the front door to get the paper. Hang onto the door frame, push the paper with your foot to the other foot and flip the paper upright, bend over ever so slowly and stretch your fingers to reach the paper (this doesn't work for the Sunday edition). Sounds familiar -- maybe, maybe not. Three and a half years ago that was my daily morning routine. I had given up tennis, golf, and any other form of exercise, not that I was any kind of jock even in my earlier years. Money spent on equipment, gyms, trainers, etc. was wasted. I hated them all and none made any difference. My waste line increased three inches -- okay four -- and my weight went up to 200 pounds. Cutting my own toenails - not a chance. Well this was life at sixty years old - four years ago. My bad back since I was 18 years old finally brought me to my knees. Unfortunately I couldn't get to my knees. In the summer of 2004 we started Bikram Yoga and after the second day I knew this was it for me. Sure I almost died in the heat; could not raise my arms up to my head (much less my ears) in Half-Moon; could not bend forward, backward, or sideways, etc. My first Bikram instructor said, "Rick, it took you sixty years to get in the bad shape you are in. It may take you another sixty years to recover." At the time I laughed but soon learned that this statement was right on target. During the last three and half years I have taking three to five classes a week, excluding vacations. Slowly, and I do mean slowly, I have improved my postures. Related to whatever is my current physical situation, my absolute goal is not to have "perfect postures" but to do each posture "correctly" at the level I can achieve. Sometimes this may require backing up and starting over in a posture because you have tricked yourself into making minute compromises to go further in the posture than you are ready for. Time, time, and more time may be needed to move one small step forward depending on your physical condition and ailments. Just one example, it took me three years before I could lean forward and place just my fingertips under my foot in standing head to knee. I really learned the meaning of patience during those years. I learned to toss away frustration and accept the reality of the "now". The added benefit is I have gained patience in my daily life and relationships. My final thought relates to "breaking through the wall" in your postures. If you reach the point where progress seems to really be on hold, take the advice I received from a senior visiting teacher, Michael Harris - "Try to come every day for a month. I promise you, you will be amazed at the rapid progress you can achieve. Just do the yoga!" Rick Spitz February Student of the month: Leslie O'Donnell Adding Bikram Yoga to my workout routine has been a dream come true for me. For years I've been looking for more of a challenge, but I didn't know exactly what I was looking for. I always thought "yoga" would be an easy, stretchy, waste of time. Then I tried Bikram. It was the hardest workout I'd ever done. I was sweating, my heart rate was up, and I was so sore the next day; all the things I want in a good workout. Now I can't get enough of it. I try to come every day and do a double every week. The more I come, I find that I can breathe easier and the heat doesn't bother me as much. I've even become a 'heater hugger'. My postures are improving, and I know that thru sweating I'm getting rid of all the toxins that my body is exposed to either through the food I eat, or from all the products I use topically (soaps, lotions, etc). I love all the people I've met in class. Every one is an inspiration to me. Now I love watching "new students" fall in love with "the yoga" just like I did. They are the only people who understand my passion for this workout. The instructors are true professionals. They always expect me to give 100% in the poses and never give in to my trying to compromise for my "imagined" limitations. I love when they call me out in class to go a little deeper. It is hard to do at the time, but the next time I do that same pose, I find it a little easier. It is so true. I have a 'significant' birthday coming up, and I am not as afraid of getting older now because I know that with Bikram Yoga, I am doing everything I physically can to age gracefully. I encourage anyone who is looking for a great workout to try Bikram Yoga. I'm so glad I did. Leslie O'Donnell January Student of the month: Carol Caracciolo Since I have been practicing Bikram Yoga the quality of my life has improved significantly. It is the only form of exercise that hasn't given me pain in the weaker areas of my body. At the age of four, I contracted polio. As a result, I have severe scoliosis and partial paralysis on my right side. Bikram Yoga has helped me do things that I couldn't do without pain in years. They may be simple things such as polishing my toenails or having the stamina to complete activities that I couldn't do in the past. The best experience I have had since I started was snorkeling and diving for scallops in the Gulf of Mexico with some friends. I was never able to blow out of a snorkel before or swim for hours each day. I was always sitting behind watching everyone else have fun because I was afraid I would hurt myself. But now that my breathing capacity and flexibility has improved I was able to join in and had a great time. It was so natural. I felt like a "normal" person for the first time in my adult life and I felt so good about my body. My husband was amazed watching me and kept telling me over and over not to ever give up Bikram Yoga!!!! I have to give a lot of credit to my teachers. Traci, Amanda, Liz and Anthony have been wonderful to me. They have consistently encouraged me to keep doing the workouts and not to get discouraged by my limitations. Whenever I thought that I couldn't do a pose, they would persistently tell me that I could do it with patience and time. They were right!!! All of my poses have improved and continue with each workout. I must add that the students I have met have been so kind and encouraging also. They are a great group to do a workout with. I am very grateful to Bikram's Yoga College of India New Smyrna Beach for giving me the support and techniques to feel healthy physically and emotionally. I wish I would have started several years ago because I am sure that I would have avoided at least three surgeries. However, I am doing it now and will continue as long as I can. Carol Caracciolo December Student of the month: Ray Desmarais Ray Complete the 30 day challenge with 45 stars on the board. That means he took 45 classes in 30 days - far exceeding the 26 required classes - he is an inspiration to us all. Ray has said the following about his experience with Bikram Yoga: "I would like you to know that after practicing Bikram Yoga for the last 16 months, that I have found it to be the perfect exercise system to act as a counterbalance to my running. Yoga seems to repair muscle damage by stretching and relieving pain due to running. I have also used Yoga to improve my body bio-mechanics to mitigate structural problems caused by sciatica. I have experienced less physical discomfort from sciatica since starting the Bikram Yoga program. I have found all the instructors to be extremely friendly, fun and helpful as well. The 90 minutes goes by in a flash!" November Student of the month: Karen Leone "I've struggled with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember and I've tried practically everything to make those feelings go away. Some worked, but only for a short time or in a limited way. I had heard of Bikram Yoga and I was curious about it but it took another (worse) anxiety episode to finally make me try it. Now I wish I had tried it a long time ago. I felt better after the first class and it keeps getting better every day. I'm not as anxious as I had been and when I do get stressed out, the feeling isn't as overwhelming as it used to be. I feel more confident and that confidence is helping me to make other positive changes in my life. On so many levels, this is the best thing I have ever done for myself." |
Bikram's Yoga College of India
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