So I was pleased as punch to pop in Maria Theresia & Roberto’s Yoga Therapy DVD and find that it was a yoga DVD I might actually use. In their 60s, M.T. (as Maria Theresia is called) and Roberto aren’t glamorous, impossible-to-emulate yoga superstars. (Don’t get me wrong, they are in great shape!) Their video has a wonderful homey touch and you can tell they are passionate about what they do.

The style of yoga presented is their own: It is primarily a take-off of the Bikram series, with their own poses and transitions added in. (They also removed the two hardest and most dangerous Bikram poses, the toe stand and the fixed firm, which I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do in this lifetime.) The class starts with a standing series, with a short break in savasana, and then continues with a floor series.

If you like the Bikram series, you’ll like this DVD, but you might even try it if Bikram doesn’t totally do it for you. I find that M.T. & Roberto’s sequence is a bit more balanced and comprehensive than the Bikram series. For example, to balance out the lack of upper body strengthening poses, they’ve added in a downward facing dog and upward facing dog in the middle of the floor routine. There’s also some nice hip openers added. And you don’t need to do this set in a hot room.

Because there’s clearly a Bikram background presented here, don’t expect the kind of high quality alignment instructions that you might get from an Iyengar teacher. Some suggestions may be counter-indicated, so use your good sense. “Tighten your buttocks!” seems to be a mantra to these two, which is in contrast to the warnings I got in Shiva Rea’s training to loosen the rear to protect the sacrum.

The class also moves fairly quickly, but the poses are still held long enough to provide a challenge. The transitions are well thought-out and make the sequence flow quite well. It may be difficult for a total beginner to follow and keep up at first, but I found the pace to be just right for where I’m at now. They call this “yoga for everybody,” and indeed, without any inversions or advanced backbends such as wheel, most everyone should be able to handle the majority of the postures here.

There are a few moments of touchy-feely (Roberto is a bit funny when he tells you to hug yourself, and then to demonstrate, he starts kissing his own arms), so if you aren’t into that sort of thing, be forewarned. But for the most part, this class sticks to the yoga. A nice visualization is provided during the final sivasana. I was also pleased to find that they decided to include alternate nostril breathing at the end instead of breath of fire, which to me is too energizing to end a class with, particularly with a home practice, where the focus is stress relief.

Since I am very bored with the standard vinyasa flow class and DVD, I am always looking for something different. (If I had my way, I’d ban all teachers from doing sun salutations and vinyasas for a year, just to see how they’d cope.) There are thankfully no sun salutations in this series, no repetitions of plank/chaturanga/updog/downdog. I am more interested in stretching than sheer strength. With a good balance of poses, plus the fantastic backbends in the floor series, Maria Theresia & Roberto’s Yoga Therapy is a good alternative to yoga flow.

If there is anything missing, it is a few inversions, but you could always do those on your own at the end of the class.

I have found myself drawn to this video and looking forward to practicing with it since I got it. That’s rare for me. Usually I buy a yoga DVD and it sits on my shelf. But this one has now become part of my home yoga practice. I give it an enthusiastic recommendation to anyone who is looking for a simple, balanced yoga routine and is tired of the same ole same ole slick hatha flow DVDs found in Best Buy.

Running time: Approximately 1 hour, 10 minutes. (You could split up the video and just do the standing series or floor series if you need to save time.)

The DVD is available at M.T. & Roberto’s website.

(CFS sufferers have a tendency towards orthostatic hypotension, which means we have thin blood and/or low blood pressure that can cause dizziness or even fainting when standing up quickly. Working out in an overheated room causes the blood to thin…thus, it stands to reason, if you already have a problem with low blood pressure or low blood volume, working out in high heat is probably a bad idea.)

But I’m curious about the different yoga styles and wanted to see what all the fuss was about Bikram. So I got his beginning yoga book and learned about his series (a separate review of the book will be posted later). Bikram created a specific sequence of 26 postures (plus two breathing exercises) that he claims works out the entire body in a way no other yoga series does. I wanted to find out if there was truth to the hype.

I finally did the full series yesterday, probably not properly, and I cheated and didn’t do everything twice as indicated. (Mostly, I did, however.) Still, I got a good workout, and it took me an hour to get through everything (though, I did add restorative supported bridge pose at the end).

Bikram has two sections to his series. First, a standing series, and then a floor series. Most of the poses were doable (even, surprisingly, standing head to knee), but the two that got me were the toe balance and the “fixed firm” (his name for reclining hero). I can’t even sit upright in hero without a block underneath me, so fixed firm is a long way off.

His standing series was a bit heavy on balance poses and a bit light on hip openers (no warriors here). The floor series reminded me a lot of the Sivananda series…lots of backbends that move the spine one way and then the other. A few parts are practically identical to Sivananda (cobra -> locust -> bow).

Two major elements missing from Bikram are poses that work on the upper body and inversions. Heck, I think even just the addition of plow would be helpful here, and even Sivananda, which is light on the arm stuff, has an arm balance (crow) at the end.

Overall, I really like this series because it works a lot on the spine in the same way the Sivananda series does. This is why I am not too keen on doing vinyasa flow or power yoga classes all the time – they don’t do jack for your back unless the teacher actively decides to add backbends at the end (something other than just bridge pose).

With that in mind, I think I would happily incorporate the Bikram series into my home practice, and perhaps add shoulderstand and plow at the end when I want some inversions. I don’t think I’d make this my sole yoga practice, and I won’t ever do it in full heat, but it’s a good series to know.

As I’ve stated in an earlier blog post on Bikram, I just can’t see how I’d enjoy an overheated room while doing yoga. I’ve been taking some classes in 90 degree weather recently and I found myself staying towards the back where the a/c was. The heat just makes me feel a bit sick, actually.

But then I thought, hmm, if Bikram uses heat to loosen up the muscles, perhaps I could use applied heat to various locations to do the same thing. Notably, my tight hamstrings.

When I was in my 20s, I could not touch my toes. My hands would hover above my shins. Doing staff pose was downright torture. Then in my 30s I was finally able to reach my toes after a Sivananda teacher pushed my lower back during seated forward bend. Hurrah! But I’ve felt stuck since then. The best I could do in a standing forward fold was to barely get the tips of my fingers on the mat.

Today I tried my seated forward bend with a heating pad directly underneath my knees. I also did some leg stretches on my back, with the heating pad under my back.

I was very careful…I certainly do not want to sprain myself. But lo and behold…after one session with the heating pad I was not only able to get my fingers down on the mat but I could place my palms flat on the mat in front of my feet! A MIRACLE! HURRAH!

As the day has progressed I have stiffened up slightly, but most of the amazing progress I made this morning is still intact…and my legs do not hurt whatsoever.

I’m going to keep this up daily and see where I get. I’m feeling hopeful about my hamstrings for the first time in a long while!

My cousin’s boyfriend has been doing Bikram for five years and swears by it; I have another friend who goes regularly. But why on earth would anyone want to work out in a humid 105 degree room?

Bikram Yoga utilizes a series of 26 postures that the founder copyrighted to the dismay of the yoga community. (Besides his flamboyant personality, Bikran is beyond arrogant, I hear.) Now why on earth this special series gets such a “buzz” for being a simple system – when Sivananda was first with its 12 core postures – is beyond me.

(Oh wait, I get it, it’s the skimpy outfits you need to wear due to the heat…well, that’s if you can handle seeing a 57-year-old man teaching in a Speedo. Yikes!)

So what’s so great about the Bikram series? How is it any better than a standard yoga flow? I don’t know about you, but deep squatting on one leg is just not something I do well nor even care to learn to do well. Which brings us to the bigger issue with Bikram: injuries.

I guess the deal is, when the temperature is so hot, we are able to stretch our muscles more. Problem is, we can stretch them beyond their capacity and really screw ourselves up. So be careful.

I’m not saying Bikram is this horrible thing. As I said earlier, I know people who love it. But personally, I will avoid a yoga class where the FAQ on the website actually tells you to take salt and potassium tablets before class if you find yourself getting faint and dizzy.

I certainly wouldn’t mind trying out a class with just the poses, without the excessive heat. That way, I would avoid the heat stroke and the overstretched muscles. But that’s just me.

Also check out:

Health: The Bikram backlash

Dr Sonja Stilp on Yoga: Avoid Feeling This Burn – Hot yoga linked to increasing injuries