6333 E. Mockingbird Lane Suite 233 - Dallas, TX 75214 - Ph: 214.824.YOGA

Instructor says Bikram Yoga best practiced in the heat 07/20/2001 By Selwyn Crawford / The Dallas Morning News Helen Jau / DMN Susan Wilkerson of Dallas is among the participants maintaining a yoga position at Bikram Yoga Dallas. Instructor Denise Deniger said some practitioners recommend stretching in the heat, believing that it helps prevent injury and releases stress. Outside, it was another North Texas scorcher. Inside, it was even hotter. As the temperature crept toward Thursday's high of 95, about 16 people were twisting, sweating, bending and sweating through a 90-minute workout in a 100-degree-plus room on Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. Instructor Denise Deniger paced among her charges, who were actually paying for the experience, and barked orders like a football coach. "Chin up. Suck your belly in. Relax between the shoulders," she said. "Taking your time, stretching your spine. Inhale. Remember this is your buffet of life. Now blast, exhale, turbo." Those in the sweaty throng exhaled simultaneously in one big, hot whoosh. It's called Bikram (pronounced BEEK-rum) Yoga; at least one in the class said it's best practiced in the sweltering summer heat. "When it's cold outside and you come in here, you really feel the difference," said Susan Wilkerson, 42. "When it's hot outside you come in here, and it doesn't seem as bad. It really doesn't." Ms. Wilkerson is in luck, because summer has taken hold of North Texas and probably won't let go until well after Labor Day. Forecasters say daytime high temperatures will be about 100 or higher through the weekend and into next week, with no rain in sight. The humidity will make it feel even hotter. Summer Exercise Heats Up • Be sure to drink plenty of water before and after class • Allow a minimum 3 hours between your last meal and your yoga class "The heat advisory continues," said Troy Dungan, chief weather forecaster at WFAA-TV (Channel 8 - ABC). Triple-digit heat is nothing for Bikram students. Ms. Deniger, co-director of Bikram Yoga Dallas, said practitioners think heat makes stretching easier, helps prevent injury and releases stress. It also helps purge the body of toxins, she said. The practice, named for founder Bikram Choudhury of Los Angeles, uses 26 yoga positions. "This makes you more tolerant of the heat outside," Ms. Deniger said in a very believable voice. "Yesterday, I didn't have the heat high enough in the room, and people actually complained." There weren't any complaints Thursday morning as students were put through their paces. Mitchell Orlowsky, 38, said he started the program a few months ago to relieve stress, after moving to Dallas from New York. He wasn't so sure about the heat at first, but now he tolerates it like a native Texan. Helen Jau / DMN Jodi Kallembach of Springfield, Va., sweats it out at Bikram Yoga Dallas, where the class welcomes the heat. "In the beginning, you're in there thinking, why does it have to be so hot?" he said just before stripping down to tight blue swim trunks and entering the room-sized sauna. "Then you realize you can't do it without the heat." Mr. Orlowsky thinks he has stumbled on a welcome side effect. "I'm growing new hair," he said, showing off what appeared to be new growth in a previously bald spot. "It's gotta be the yoga."And though it's not the primary focus of the practice, some cite another nice byproduct: weight loss. "With this, you just sweat it out," said Todd Borgwald, the center's other co-director and Ms. Deniger's husband. "If somebody had some garlic or wine the night before, oh boy, you'll smell it." The couple opened the center in a strip center in September and are near completion on a bigger studio – with full shower facilities – nearby.