Your Questions, Answered...
NEW STUDENTS...
Welcome new students! All of the information you need is right here to begin your life-changing journey.
Yoga is absolutely non-competitive. You don’t need to be fit or flexible to start yoga. It’s not just a workout. Yoga is a practice which makes the body stronger, more flexible and healthier. All you have to do is try your best. The aim is to calm the mind, open the heart and accelerate our evolution.
WHAT IF I'VE NEVER DONE YOGA?
Welcome to our positive, caring, and warm Thavma Yoga family. Everyone is welcome and supported in the most loving way.
Bikram Method (90min) and Phoenix Method classes are designed for beginners.
These classes are simple but challenging and no experience is necessary.
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO PREPARE TO TAKE MY FIRST CLASS?
Drink plenty of fluids and be sure to supplement electrolytes. (visit our ESHOP for different suggestions of sources where you can receive your electrolytes from) Avoid eating a large meal 2-3 hours before class. Come 15-20 minutes early to register.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT?
Expect to work hard and sweat. You will feel challenged by the postures during class, everyone does. Always work to your edge but listen to your body and your inner wisdom. While you may not be able to perform the postures as well as you feel others in the class are, don’t be discouraged! A successful practice requires persistence and determination. Remember it’s not about how beautifully you perform the postures, but how hard you try. Simply approach every posture to the best of your ability and you will receive 100% of the benefits.
WHAT IF I'M NOT VERY FLEXIBLE? CAN I STILL TAKE CLASS?
YES! This is the most common misconceptions about yoga and prevents many people from ever starting. If you are not flexible this is the perfect place for you! The heat will help to open your body and flexibility will come with time and honest effort. As long as you are feeling the stretch, no matter how inflexible, you are receiving the intended benefit of the posture. You will be able to attempt all the postures in class no matter how inflexible you are.
WHY THE HEAT?
- Enhances vasodilatation so that more blood is delivered to the muscles.
- Allows oxygen in the blood to detach from the hemoglobin more easily.
- Speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids.
- Makes muscles more elastic, less susceptible to injury.
- Elevates your metabolism and burns fat more easily.
- Increases perspiration and therefore detoxification.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THIS PRACTICE?
Each posture has a specific medical, physiological and emotional benefit. As a whole, this class will help you slim and shape your body, create balance, strength, and flexibility, as well as cardiovascular health, alleviate chronic pain, reduce stress, improve your mental focus, and generally make you a happier and healthier person. Come and discover how much your life can change when you commit to a regular practice.
IS THAVMA YOGA FOR ME?
ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
- Do I need to lose weight? Am I stressed out?
- Do I get tension headaches?
- Is my cholesterol level too high?
- Do I have an injury that just won’t seem to heal?
- Has my doctor told me I need to get some form of exercise?
- Do I have lower back pain? Or any back pain?
- Would I like to improve my tennis game, running, golf swing, basket ball agility, marathon or football stamina?
- Do I need a boost in energy? Am I tired easily? Am I depressed? Do I sit at a computer for long period of time?
- Do I have carpal tunnel syndrome? Do I have arthritis?
- Do I want to live a longer, happier life?
If you answered “yes” to any of these, then Thavma Yoga is for you. Basically, Yoga is for everyone.
These sequences were designed to improve overall health, and reverse the aging process.
HOW DOES THE 26+2 PREMIUM METHOD WORK?
The body is naturally self-regulating and self-healing. It just needs to be boosted when it is out of balance. Thavma Bikram Yoga provides this boost by gently stretching, squeezing and massaging the internal organs, spine, muscles, tendons and joints. It flushes out the cardiovascular system and stimulates the endocrine, nervous and reproductive systems. Toxins are eliminated. The central nervous system is both energized and soothed. The lymphatic system is flushed out and the immune system is built up. The posture sequence ensures this is done in a logical order. Every posture is preparing the body for the next and the heat allows for a safe and deep practice, accelerating the benefits.
IS HOT YOGA HARD?
Hot Yoga can be incredibly beneficial, whether you are looking to improve your health, strength or flexibility. Thavma Yoga classes can be challenging but it’s you who chooses the intensity you work at. In the class you are always in control of the level of difficulty you want to take it. It is hard, but it works!! We provide different yoga classes for all levels of practitioners.
WHY IS IT THE SAME 26 POSTURES IN THE 26+2 METHOD CLASS?
This is the standardized beginning sequence of the Bishnu Ghosh lineage of therapeutic postures, as taught by Bikram Choudhury. This sequence of postures is designed to work through the entire body, systematically stretching and strengthening every muscle, ligament and joint. The sequence squeezes and massages every internal organ, tissue and joint. Also, flushing out the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, stimulating the nervous and reproductive systems, regulating the endocrine system and biochemistry in the body, effectively restoring all of the body’s systems to healthy working order.
You may think if it’s always the same, will I get sick of it? Even though the posture sequence is always the same, the body is never the same because our bodies are in a constant state of flux. This allows you to discover new things about you and your body every class.
The practice offers a chance to explore deeper levels of self and develop awareness of emotions and thoughts that the postures evoke.
IM TOO OLD, ISN'T THIS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE?
Yoga is for every age. Getting to class is often times half the battle. As long as you give it your all, you will receive 100% of the benefits. Yogis believe that you are only as old as your spine is flexible. Think of how flexible babies spines are. You’ve lost that flexibility that you had when you where a baby, but you can get some of it back, doing yoga! All of the postures can be modified to fit your body. After 10 classes you will start to feel younger and live with fewer aches and pains!
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I PRACTICE?
It is recommended that you should practice as often as you can for your first months to learn the yoga. In general, practice at least three times a week to see consistent progress. For life-changing results, 4 or more times per week is a must. Unlike some other forms of exercise, this is completely restorative and can be practiced daily. If you can only come once or twice a week that is ok too, every little bit helps, the progress will just be slower.
CAN I LOSE WEIGHT?
Yes. Whenever you are moving your body, you are burning calories. Whatever your fitness level may be, you will find the variety of classes at Thavma Yoga challenging. The postures combine strength, flexibility and balance to give you a total body cardiovascular workout. With any regular cardiovascular workout, it will aid weight loss. A number of our postures are focused on working your metabolism and helping to balance your blood sugar levels. You will also find that your body will burn fat more efficiently in the heat. You will notice also that your cravings for sugar, salt and caffeine will decrease after a regular practice.
WHY DO I FEEL DIZZY/NAUSEATED SOMETIMES DURING CLASS?
It is not unusual to feel nauseous or dizzy during your first few classes. Practicing yoga in a heated room reveals to us our present condition and our current lifestyle habits. This can help inspire us to take much better care of ourselves.
If you ate a heavy meal the night before or had a bit of alcohol, you will definitely be nauseous during class.
The problem can also be that you do not drink enough water for daily living, let alone for exercising in a heated room. Doctors and nutritionists tell us that we need 2-3 liters of water a day (depending on size, gender etc.) to help the body function properly. In the heated yoga room, your body needs adequate amounts of water to allow perspiration to release heat from the body.
Replacing the electrolytes that are lost through sweating such as sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium, can also be helpful in preventing headaches and feelings of dizziness and nausea in class. Coconut water and trace minerals are great ways to replenish your electrolytes and to keep your body hydrated.
I'M NOT IN GREAT SHAPE, WHAT IF I CAN'T COMPLETE THE CLASS?
You can sit out whenever you feel overwhelmed. With a regular practice you will build your stamina and in a short time, you will be able to go through the entire practice without sitting any postures out.
Just coming and finishing your first Thavma Yoga class is an accomplishment in itself.
I AM SELF-CONSCIOUS ABOUT MY BODY!
We maintain a positive supportive environment at Thavma Yoga.
During class, nobody will look at you or judge you. The teacher will guide you and instruct you always with compassion and respect. NO need to be self-conscious. It’s helpful to realize that people’s focus is on themselves. They are working too hard to even notice you. Everyone comes here to improve and make a change in themselves. Many of us are shy about the areas where we seek improvement and may worry that others will judge us. Remember, we’re all in this together. Flaws are normal, as are the insecurities we carry with them.
HOT YOGA AND EMOTIONS
We maintain a positive supportive environment at Thavma Yoga.
Yoga helps balance the emotions in several ways. Physiologically, regular practice can harmonize the nervous and endocrine systems, two systems that figure heavily in emotional well-being.
In addition, practicing yoga cultivates the mental faculties of faith, self-control, concentration, determination, and patience. As we become more aware of our inner life, we notice how events and interactions affect us.
When we are aware we can exercise choice in our response. This helps us balance our emotional life.
Emotions during your practice are normal. You may feel angry or happy. You may want to laugh or cry.
Through yoga, you will discover that the mind, the body and emotions are deeply connected.
When you go deep inside your mind and body during yoga, you may find that you stir up strong emotions.
Tears may flow, laughter may overcome you or anger may swell.
This is normal, and its intended for you to release these emotions.
Yoga is cleansing you on many levels.
WHAT IF I HAVE HEALTH ISSUES?
It will depend on what these issues are and the severity of your issues. Generally, yoga will support the healing of any imbalance in your body and mind. Yoga is excellent for things such as arthritis, high blood pressure, thyroid problems, bad knees, bad back etc. Check with your doctor to address any concerns.
WHAT ARE ELECTROLYTES? DO I NEED TO REPLACE THEM?
Electrolytes are electrically charged minerals in the body, such as sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium and other trace minerals. It is important for the balance of electrolytes in your body to be maintained because they affect the amount of water in your body, blood pH, muscle action, and other important processes.
The sweating you do in the hot room will cause small amounts of these electrolytes to be lost from the body along with water. As we age, our ability to balance electrolytes wanes. If you notice that you are feeling over-tired or getting a headache during or after class, then try taking a natural source of electrolytes such as coconut water, trace minerals or eating a banana.
WILL IT HURT?
Please inform your teacher of any existing injuries before class starts. This will give the instructor an opportunity to give appropriate corrections. Pain is an important signal from your body and should never be ignored. Sometimes it is a sign of positive change, sometimes is means corrections need to be made. If you are not sure how to interpret your pain, ask any of our teachers.
