Bikram Yoga: What Happens If You DON’T Practice

What Happens When You DON'T Do Bikram Yoga

by Ann Chrapkiewicz

For almost 20 years now, I have been sharing a certain topic with anyone and everyone who might want to listen.

Just a few minutes on this website will tell you what that topic has been.
An hour spent with our book on Bikram Yoga and Autoimmune Disease will also give you a clue.

Any guesses?


Answer: “What happens to humans when they do Bikram Yoga.”

Yep, that’s it. 

New Vision: WE Will Be the Ones to Save Bikram Yoga | Becoming a Community-Supported Yoga Collective |

save bikram yoga patreon page

–by Ann Chrapkiewicz

21 months into the pandemic, it is time for me to speak up.  Well over 50% of Bikram Yoga studios in the U.S. have closed since spring 2020, and that wave of closures is not over.  I have been doing everything I can to not be one of those who close, and I will continue to do everything I can.  But at this point a broader base of support is required, and I am asking YOU to be a part of this.

Hope for Autoimmune Disease | Book Release |

Co-Authors of Hope for Autoimmune Disease: 15 Personal Stories of Living Better with Bikram Yoga

BYCA BOOK RELEASE

Hope for Autoimmune Disease: 15 Personal Stories of Living Better with Bikram Yoga


We could not be more excited to tell you about the completion of our book project, a global work-in-progress for the past 2.5 years.

Hope for Autoimmune Disease: 15 Personal Stories of Living Better with Bikram Yoga is the world’s FIRST publication that narrates the effects of Bikram Yoga on a family of related diseases. 

20 Years of Bikram Yoga | Hip Dysplasia | Bikram’s Compassion & Love |

standing head to knee bikram yoga original hot yoga

We are so happy to welcome Angela Moulin Sinclair to Bikram Yoga Capital Area!  Her passion for this yoga as well as her nearly two decades of experience make her such a wonderful and positive part of our yoga community. 

Angela and I first met at a Mary Jarvis Lake Michigan Shapeshifting retreat in the summer of 2018, but our shared history goes back to many similar experiences in the early 2000s at Bikram Yoga Teacher Training (at La Cienega Headquarters, Los Angeles). 

MSU Spartans Football Coach Ron Burton on Development of the Athlete | “Coaching the Coach” | Bikram Yoga

bikram yoga student spartans football coach ron burton Michigan state university

Just over three years ago, Michigan State University Assistant Football Coach Ron Burton started practicing Bikram Yoga with us.  Since then, he has been telling every coach and athlete he knows about this practice, encouraging them to come to class, and bringing his kids to class whenever they are in town.

They call each other “coach”, so if you ever hear Ann say that in class, you know who she is talking to! 

Yoga is Better than Surgery, Part 1 | Athletics, Injuries, and Knee Recovery | Briona Jones |

bikram hot yoga east lansing michigan

Meet Briona Jones, 29, doctoral candidate in English at Michigan State University and former Division I basketball player.

Briona’s story is so moving and her reflections so articulate, we decided to share them in multiple blog posts!  Here is Part I, which focuses mostly on the physical benefits Briona has created with her practice.


Childhood

I was born with rickets, so as a child I was able to walk, but I wasn’t able to run.  

Herding Cats, Billy Ocean, and Rollercoasters: Why I keep coming back to Bikram Yoga

bikram yoga east lansing michigan

Meet Melissa, 40, of Williamston, Michigan!  Melissa started practicing with us at Bikram Yoga Capital Area in March of 2014 and to date has practiced over 725 classes!  Melissa wrote this super thoughtful blog as part of 2017’s Spring Yoga Buddy Challenge.  I am so grateful for Melissa’s insights, her quiet strength and presence at the yoga school, her patience with my backlog of stories needing to be shared (!), and her wonderful writing.  

Happy Yoga Birthday!

by Ann Chrapkiewicz

Last month marked my 15th year of practicing Bikram Yoga.  I was fortunate to find this healing practice when I was just about to turn 25.

This past week, I turned 40.  (And I got to hear Happy Birthday in Triangle Pose – in 3 different classes!  Great for the lungs, people!)

I feel so much better at 40 than I did at 24. 

Youth Yoga – Celebrating our Kids at BYCA

If you have not yet attended our Thursday evening warm class, you have yet to be part of a special treat.

Since 2016, we have regularly invited youth ages 6 and up to participate in the second half of the traditional Bikram Yoga series, and many have “graduated” to practicing the whole class now.

This month we have a few very special things to celebrate.

One-Year Anniversary

First: our youngest student, Summer, has been practicing regularly since mid-March, 2017. 

Flattery and Criticism: An Introduction

by Ann Chrapkiewicz


Over a decade ago, one of my most influential yoga teachers at the time presented me with a quote:

“To the Yogi, criticism and flattery are no different.”

It made sense to me on some levels, and I thought I could relate to not caring about the status quo.  I had a history of peacefully withdrawing from certain social circles and finding my own way.

Healing Asthma, Sciatica, Wrist Sprains, …. and Growing Almost an inch!

Meet Sarah Cook, 34, of St. John’s, Michigan.  Sarah started practicing Bikram Yoga with us in the spring of 2014, upon a recommendation from her sister.  As of this writing, Sarah has practiced exactly 365 classes!  Sarah has had some exciting updates recently, but her whole history of benefits is very diverse, and quite exciting!

Year 1:

“Before I started yoga, I had gotten a bone bruise (near-fracture) close to my knee, and after 4 weeks on crutches, I was supposed to do physical therapy. 

Healing Chronic Back Pain and Reversing Chronic Kidney Disease

Meet John, who started practicing Bikram Yoga with us in December 2013, at age 68.  Just prior to beginning Bikram Yoga, he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

Against the advice of his physician, he started coming to class 4-5 times per week.

In only 3 months of this new routine, his health dramatically improved.  Here are the official numbers from his diagnostic tests:


BEFORE (Fall 2013):

1) resting blood pressure (with medication): 135/85
2) resting heart rate: mid 90s
3) fasting glucose: above normal range


AFTER (April 2014):

1) resting blood pressure: 115/68
2) resting heart rate: high 60s
3) non-fasting glucose: normal
4) chronic kidney disease: COMPLETELY GONE!!!

No, YOU! YOU are ready for yoga!

all ages full locust bikram yoga
by Ann Chrapkiewicz

Are you ready for yoga?

As inclusive as North American yoga wants to be, yoga in its deeper dimensions demands certain qualities.

Are you ready for yoga?

Well, I have a yoga mat and I hydrated well.  So yes, I think so.

But the question again: are you ready for yoga?

The yoga clothing companies would like you to think you are.  

Practicing Yoga with Linux!

Setting Up Triangle - Trikonasa - Bikram Yoga

–BYCA Guest Blog Post–

The author is a scientist, musician, and occasional computer programmer based in Lansing, MI.

He is a founding member of “Los Tres Yogamigos”, BYCA’s premiere yoga buddy challenge team.

Kapalbhati Home Practice Bikram Yoga Computer Program

I suffered from chronic back pain for fifteen years. Episodic attempts at cultivating a yoga (or Pilates, or Alexander technique, or self-medication) practice would temporarily ease this pain, but it was not until I moved to Lansing and had the opportunity to practice the 26+2 sequence daily at Bikram Yoga Capital Area (BYCA) that I was able to make the (hopefully somewhat permanent) changes to the structure of my spine that were necessary for me to sit comfortably and live without chronic pain.