July Student of the Month: Dan Barkosky

Dan Barkosky has been practicing yoga consistently for about a year and can feel so many benefits from his practice that help him not only in the hot room but also in his everyday life.  Dan says that his job can sometimes be stressful and he often feels very rushed from one thing to the next, he seldom gets the chance to take time for himself.  The yoga helps Dan to relax more and focus from within.  It has also improved his flexibility substantially, he says.  Dan played college hockey back in the day and developed scar tissue from several knee injuries, he credits Bikram Yoga to breaking down that scar tissue and substantially improving his range of mobility.

When asked why he chose Bikram Yoga, Dan says, "I had tried other yoga classes but really liked the heat and the holds in Bikram Yoga."  Dan's wife is a certified yoga instructor teaching traditional yoga and he has often thought about taking classes.  A friend finally invited him a few years back to try Bikram Yoga.  Dan says "I enjoyed the hot room but due to several knee injuries from sports I didn't feel flexible enough to continue.  It took me a year to try it again and then I was hooked."

Although it is his most challenging posture, Standing Head to Knee Pose is also his favorite because it gives him a great stretch.  If he had any advice for new beginners Dan says, "hang in there, it becomes much easier as your flexibility improves which can happen in a few short weeks."

Top 5 benefits of Bikram Yoga:

1)      Reduces Stress.

2)     Improves flexibility, which really helps reduce your everyday pain from tight muscles, old injuries, etc.

3)      Helps you stay mentally sharp.

4)      Improves your overall health by shedding pounds and overall improving your core strength.

5)      The team environment and great group of people involved - from the instructors to the students.  It's easier to get to class knowing there will be other people doing the same class with you.

Celebration/Enjoyment

By Linda Scholten June 2016  

I recently experienced quite a roller coaster of events and emotions.  I have been a mentor coach for a year-long coaches training program, and we just had their graduation.  What a celebration! There was transformation, connection, acknowledgement, and enjoyment.  There was also sadness because of an ending and a mixture of hope and fear looking into the future.  Four days later I laid off an employee who had become a dear friend and informed our staff that our business had been sold.  Believe it or not, there was transformation, connection, acknowledgement, and enjoyment.  There was also sadness because of an ending and a mixture of hope and fear looking into the future.

I would never have expected these two diametrically different events to have such striking similarities.   Yet there were.  As it begins, so it ends.  As it ends, so it begins.  This circle of life is full of endings and beginnings.  We get to choose how we experience it.  If you want transformation, celebration and enjoyment, I strongly recommend taking risks, making connections, and serving and acknowledging those you meet along the way.

Without connection, we are a party of one.  If that’s what you want, you can have it.  If connection is what you seek, the fastest way to connect with someone’s soul is through service and acknowledgement.  Both of these are accessed through truly seeing or hearing someone.  Look at that person.  Who do you see?  What do you see?  Think of what would truly serve them (not what you would want).  Serve them.  Acknowledge them.  It is pleasant to get acknowledgement for a job well done, but to truly touch someone, acknowledge them for who they are.  Acknowledge their Being, their Essence.

How many of us are ever truly seen or heard?    There is no greater gift.  There is no cost.  The giver receives as much or more than the receiver.  What do you both get? Transformation, Connection, Acknowledgment and Enjoyment.  Now there’s something to celebrate!

For life, relationship and professional coaching, please contact me, Linda Scholten, at linda@coachingicu.com

June Students of the Month

Lory & Marcus Muirhead Lory and Marcus Muirhead have been practicing at The Foundry since 2014! Before yoga… the Muirheads say their life had “less laundry, showers and a non-insulated water bottle.  Life was good before yoga, but now that we practice consistently we miss it if we don’t make it to a class for a couple of days.  It has truly become part of the daily routine.”

Lory began practicing yoga first, in the summer of 2012 while on vacation in Montana, she says that is where her love for Bikram Yoga began! Due to several busy life events, she stopped for a couple years, picking it back up again in September of 2014 and has been practicing ever since! Marcus says that Lory soon encouraged him to try, “telling me that there we all these “ripped” guys in class and I thought to myself why is my wife hanging around a bunch of ripped guys, I better go check this out.” When it was explained to Marcus that the room was 105 degrees, with 40% humidity he was up for the challenge!  Marcus has been active most of his life playing sports while Lory never really grew up implementing exercise into her daily life. Marcus saw Bikram Yoga as a great challenge and Lory says that, “It was exactly what I needed. Intuitively, I knew I had finally found "my thing." It was hard. It was uncomfortable. It was awkward. It was perfect.”

The yoga has done a lot for the Muirheads since they began their consistent practice. Marcus says “more than anything it has made me calmer and more relaxed mentally.”  Lory attributes her discipline to the yoga as well as a new sense of strength, both physically and mentally. She feels it has had a ripple effect on the entire family stating, “I feel like I have shown my boys that taking care of your body is so important. They LOVE yoga now, and my 8-year-old has even said that he wants to be a yoga teacher. I love that this is something we can do for our entire lives and do it together, as a family.” As for their favorite Bikram Yoga postures, Marcus says he loves the stretch he gets in Back Bend, and says that he used to have back pain but noticed an improvement once he started to consistently practice 3-5 times a week. Lory has a love/hate relationship with Triangle Pose!

If they could give new students any advice, Marcus says, “Stay present, breathe and relax.” While Lory offers, “Give it time. Go all in. Commit to YOU. Be kind to yourself.”

Top 5 tips for new yogis

1. Stay in the room.
2. Don’t compare yourself to anyone.
3. Plan your day around your yoga, not your yoga around your day. It makes a difference!
4. Focus on your breath, it will be your key to getting through a posture and to the next level.
5. Never give up. This too shall pass.  The discomfort is temporary and you will get through it.

National Yoga Asana Championship 2016

By Scott Mullen

Recently I had the opportunity to represent myself, Bikram Yoga Arizona (BYAZ) and the State of Arizona at the 2016 Yoga Nationals in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This would not have been possible without the love and support of my wife, Jen, and kids, Victoria and Patrick. Nor would it have been possible without the teaching and coaching of Nicole Deacon and all the teachers and staff at BYAZ. You are the best, I thank you!!

In class, outside too, there is always talk of us being a yoga family. It is 100% true. Our traveling group from the valley included 50, 40, 30 and 20 somethings, it had 60-degree temperature changes and snow, it included three states and featured thousands of feet of breath-taking elevation change (on the road and in the air). Our journey had shining moments on the stage. It had laughs and cheers, applause and tears. We were fortunate to have shared that together and want to share it again! That is family.

This experience for me also would not have been possible without the generosity and support from all of my classmates at BYAZ. June marks two and a half years since I began practicing yoga and it's been done almost always at BYAZ. Knowing I am not alone in class suffering through, and once in a while smiling through, postures keeps me motivated to practice. I'm also motivated knowing I need to be front row at 7:30 classes on the weekend or I need to be there early to claim that one cool spot at 9:30 classes on Tuesay and Friday or 5:30 am classes in the summer are the coolest of the day! My yoga experiences in class have also included laughs and cheers, applause and tears. Thank you for sharing with me, I look forward to many more with the BYAZ family.

Lastly, my individual journey to compete was excellent! The opportunity to be under the spotlight, center stage at the Jackson Hole Performing Arts Center performing six yoga postures that I love, and maybe dislike, to do was amazing. My routine and postures were very good but it wasn't enough to advance to the semi-finals. Prior to competing, I took a 90 minute hot yoga  class in a local studio with 35 other competitors and three locals. It was packed and a really great class. It is ok to know your limits and take a break when needed to regroup! After competing I had the  opportunity to watch Vanessa, Mara and Arynn perform their routines onstage. They were awesome!  There was also a little time to experience Jackson Hole. I highly recommend it!!

Thank you!

Scott Mullen

#2017training

Student of the Month: Susan Good

I began practicing Bikram yoga almost five years ago.  I began at another studio in Phoenix, but after a year, and moving to north Phoenix, I joined Bikram Yoga Paradise Valley.  On the first day of practice at PV (with Terri as the instructor!) I knew I had found my “home”!  I have been practicing there regularly ever since.

I was an avid runner prior to BY.  I never had any serious injuries running, but it was definitely taking a toll on my body.  I decided it was time to “mix it up” and find a better way to exercise mind and body, while gaining better overall strength

BY was recommended to me by a physician who I work with, who also is a runner.  He said that he had found the combination of running and yoga was a great way to heal the body while also building core strength and gaining better mental balance.  I had some lower back pain as well as “lower butt pain” from running- all better now, and I can run again! I was also experiencing a difficult time in my life, and practicing BY helped me to deal with that stress and move forward.  It worked!!! I’ve met new friends who know how important this yoga is.  I also have achieved more balance in my life, and have learned to keep things in perspective.

It is the best mind/body/spiritual “exercise” I have ever experienced!

My favorite posture is Rabbit.  I love the way it stretches the entire spine from the neck to the coccyx. I also really like Camel Pose, for the same spine stretching.  Plus, I’m pretty good at those two!

Susan's advice to new students: Keep going!!  The first several classes are very challenging, and it would be easy to give up after one or two times of going.  Soon, as the practice becomes incorporated into one’s life, it would be almost impossible to give it up.

"You can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything.  Be happy with the choices you have made and live life to the fullest."

Top 5 things I love about Bikram Yoga

1.  The hot, sweaty classes where everybody looks like the same “drowned rat” by the end

2. The amazing instructors, and their humor, wisdom, and encouragement

3.  The events such as Yoga in the Park and The Holiday Party

4. The way the classes are all the same, yet each one is different

5.  The way I feel during and after every class!!