Flagler student manages stress with Bikram yoga

By Isabella Pazmino | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Stress and fatigue are part of the every day life of college students. Flagler student, Samantha Moloney, found a way to release all stress and feel completely cleansed and energized through Bikram Yoga.

“I felt amazing after the class. I had so much energy,” Moloney said.

Located on Anastasia Boulevard, Bikram Yoga College of India offers an intense and complete workout in a heated environment.  A 90-minute class with a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises pledges to detoxify the body and result in mental relief.

“The postures are always the same. People know what to expect when they come in,” owner Kate Toy said. “There are no advance postures or levels. Anyone can walk in and do this class.”

The class is verbally taught. Teachers explain step by step what the student needs to do, but they do not physically show students how to do the exercises.

“The teaching style is different, it’s a verbal style,” Toy said. “Normally, in other types of yoga, you see teachers and it is intimidating. Bikram Yoga [practitioners] encourages students to do things the best way, to their best ability.”

According to Toy, dialogue is better when it comes to teaching students how to do each posture.

“What I look [like] in a posture and what you look [like] in a posture is completely different. Everybody looks different doing it,” Toy said. “In the U.S., we are trained to be like everybody else, in Bikram Yoga we don’t worry about what other people are doing. You focus on yourself.”

According to an article in Valacious magazine, hot Bikram Yoga is a safe yoga. A warm environment allows the body to stretch safely. Bikram Yoga also improves blood circulation and detoxifies the body, improving over all health.

Toy believes other types of exercises deplete energy, while Bikram yoga energizes the body.

“Bikram Choudhury [creator of Bikram Yoga] always says ‘Bikram yoga is like a gas station. When you come here, you are empty and when you leave you are full of energy.'”

Moloney believes Bikram Yoga is a great way to manage stress and she feels like it was a class worth taking.

“Most yoga classes do different things, this yoga is very repetitive so you will get better with the postures and see the improvement every class,” Moloney said. “The class requires a lot of concentration. It is not easy, it is a very intense class, but once the class ends, you feel great.”