Posts Tagged ‘Bikram Yoga Luzern’

 

Hot numbers at Bikram Yoga Luzern!

June 22, 2009 at 9:49 am in Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

Home of my Global Bender Month, SwitzerlandWe had a record today with 22 hot yogis in class! It may not sound like many, but it’s a new studio in this small, but oh so lovely city of Luzern in Switzerland, so Liliane & Julie (owner/teachers) are still building numbers and awareness.

It was such a surprise, when I quietly opened the door to so many yogis limbering up for the Sunday 4pm class. I was so moved I turned straight around and walked back to the desk, asking Liliane & Julie how many yogis had shown up. It was great to see the excitement and pride in their eyes as the new record was set.

Lovely LuzernThe energy in the room was clearly buzzing before class and as I locked eyes with a few of the regulars, I could see they were equally impressed. Then we started and the heat wiped the smile off my dial real quick! I managed to resurrect it at least once each posture though, to refocus and relax as Liliane led us through yet another powerful class.

Congrat’s to Liliane and Julie, I hope this is just the beginning for seeing big classes all Summer at Bikram Yoga Luzern!

 

New Progress Pics for May

June 16, 2009 at 12:37 am in Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

Dandayamana janushirasanaI’ve just updated my Progress Page to display the latest photos (for May). The pictures were actually taken by Liliane after I arrived in Luzern as things got a little crazy during the last few days in Budapest. This happened in the last 3 locations so at least I’m consistent!

So the photo may not be a spectacular rendition of Dandayamana Janushirasana: my left leg is a little low, I’m leaning to far back, am sporting a little fat roll and I forgot to pull my pants up properly over my butt! But it marks a special point in my practice – May was the first month I’ve ever locked “both” knees!

So how am I doing now? Well, last week I was struggling a fair bit. When it all comes together it’s magic, when it doesn’t, I try to imagine lying on a beach getting a tan on a very hot day.. hey it works for the first 5 or 10 seconds! But I’m back to practicing some strong classes again. Speaking with other yogis here, they felt the same, so it’s good to know I wasn’t suffering alone!

Timo, a teacher from Zurich dropped in for a Saturday afternoon class and showed me how to do the back bending properly (hands walking backwards down the wall), so I can start to open up a bit more and hopefully go a little deeper during class. It’s a pretty intense thing doing 10 of these after class but will be a new challenge for the next month and we’ll see how I go.

Thanks for all the comments and emails coming through, it’s very inspiring for me especially knowing how many other yogis are practicing the Global Bender challenge with me right now!

 

Global Bender record?

June 9, 2009 at 6:26 am in On The Street, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

Matt, Aleksandra & Johanna at Bikram Yoga Luzern

It was great news to hear from Ray Mathews on the Global Bender Facebook Group, “We have your back here in sunny Southern California… there are 45 people signed up for the June Global Bender Challenge at Bikram Yoga Kearny Mesa“.

WOW, can you believe it, is this a record? Let’s find out!

It would be great to find out how many yogis are doing the challenge at each participating studio, hear how people are feeling: if it’s their first or fifth challenge, have some cool pictures posted and share the love!

I’d like to do a post about each studio so please email your pictures and tell me what’s happening at your local!buzzing after class

To start the ball rolling, here are a few photos of Aleksandra, Johanna and I at Bikram Yoga Luzern. The girls are doing their first 30 Day Challenge ever! Their last challenge was 10 days in a row so this is a big achievement. Aleksandra even started the challenge 7 days earlier as she has to travel for work before the end of June: Kudos Aleksandra, others would have used this as an excuse!

Bring it on yogis!

 

Going for “magnum” in Luzern

June 5, 2009 at 6:27 am in On The Street, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

I’m still finding my feet in this gorgeous little city of Luzern. For some reason my compass is not working at all and I keep turning left when I should be going right. I’m not sure if I’m suffering from the same affliction as Derek Zoolander but since I’m on the bike, I end up about 1km down the road before I realise my “blue steel” pout is getting me nowhere fast!

Then there is my lack of focus during class. Did someone steel my mojo in Budapest? I have no drishti and I’m only managing to pull it together once I reach the floor series. I’m wondering if it has something to do with the energy in class. In Budapest, there were a lot of yogis in the room and I felt I was able to tap into that combined energy, at times drawing on or channeling it somehow.

At Bikram Yoga Luzern, the classes are smaller as the studio is quite new. I think I’ll have to find my practice again, try to dig deep and draw everything from within, instead of around me. Hmm we’ll see how it goes.

I’m very settled in my new home though, sharing Sonja’s gorgeous little one bedroom apartment in the northern part of the city, in a quiet area, up a very steep hill. I’m set up with a mattress on the floor in the living room which opens onto a little garden area which is great to relax with a morning cuppa. Sonja’s a nurse and has already administered some medication for me: vitamin B12 which may be lacking in my diet. Thanks Sonja!

Thanks also, Liliane (Bikram Yoga Luzern owner/teacher) for a lovely, relaxing lunch today; great food, company and conversation. I’m sure I’ll find my feet, focus and “magnum” next class! (Make sure you check out the link, it’s an Italian dubbed version!)

The abstract photos are of my train journey from Zurich to Luzern. For more photos check out my Flikr album.

 

Double Class: Day One, Global Bender!

June 3, 2009 at 1:19 am in On The Street, Yoga Practice | Please subscribe!

Old Town, ZurichArriving in Switzerland was somewhat of a shock. I was feeling a little numb, not quite sure if I was ready (see Clean Slate) so what better way to throw myself into month five and the Global Bender by doing a double.

Timo (teacher at Bikram Yoga Zurich) had emailed me several weeks before asking if I’d be interested in coming to Zurich for the Global Bender in June. He was a great help, advising me on the different Bikram studios / countries I was considering. When I decided on Bikram Yoga Luzern, he offered me a bed and a tour of Zurich before transiting to Luzern the next day.

Of course he had to throw in the challenge, “Take my 09:00 class in Zurich before catching the train for the 16:00 class in Luzern”. Hmm Righto mate, you’re on!

I arrived in Zurich at 16:25 on Sunday 31 May, immediately touched with Swiss hospitality: Timo met me at airport, handshake in one hand, train tickets (airport to the city and Zurich to Luzern) in the other. “Consider it a little sponsorship” he says with a welcoming smile. A stir in my stomach, tingle up my spine then a flashback of faces explode before my eyes.. unrivaled generosity everywhere I go.

Matt and TimoWe go for dinner at a vegetarian buffet and I think, “Awesome, eat as much as you can lad”. I heap my plate high, each taste bud jumping up and down like excited little children, stomach palpitating. Timo directs me to the scales.. wtf, I have to weigh my plate? Oh shit! The bill shouts “47.00 Swiss Franks” and Timo exclaims, “A new record!”

We take a cobblestone tour of Zurich, perfection peers around each corner and I feel like a rough stone in a manicured playground. Up early for 09:00 class and I’m still feeling a little out of place. I breath my way through the heat, Timo’s trance like, deep voice helping to oil the hinges but the door opens only when the train glides silently into Luzern. Ok I’m home again.