Yoga Is Medicine

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East Lansing, MI
Yoga Is Medicine

Mid-Michigan's ONLY *original hot yoga* in the Bikram-Ghosh lineage! 100% LOCALLY owned. Classes th Visit the website for information on how to prepare.

Bikram Yoga is a specific system and method, and it is THE Original Hot Yoga! Every class we offer is Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class, which is a Therapeutic Hatha Yoga practice for ALL levels, body types, and ages - particularly beginners and those with limited mobility. BYCA is 100% locally owned and is the ONLY school within 40 miles that teaches this yoga system; ALL staff are trained in the Ghosh-Bikram lineage. Every teacher has a minimum of 1000 hours of experience and training, plus a long-term ongoing education requirement beyond that. The exact sequence of yoga postures is accessible to everyone and improves the function of every muscle, joint, bone, organ, and cell in the body. All classes 90 minutes; no late arrivals or early departures. Please visit http://www.bikramyogacapitalarea.com/how-to-prepare/ several hours prior to your first class, for important information. For holiday schedule updates, see http://www.bikramyogacapitalarea.com/schedule/

PUBLIC/BEGINNER CLASSES:

M 9:30 am, 5:45 pm
Tu 9:30 am, 5:45 pm
W 9:30 am, 5:45 pm
Th 9:30 am, 5:45 pm
F 9:30 am, 5:45 pm
Sa 8:00 am, 10:00 am
Su 9:00 am, 5:45 pm

There are also Mon/Wed NOON classes and Tu/Th 6:15 am classes by INVITATION ONLY. Minimum practice requirements apply. Contact school owner for consideration. Intermediate classes are held on Friday afternoons, on select dates. Weekend workshops are also held and will be announced in advance.

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas Yoga Buddies! I wish you a wonderful day with your dear ones.

Oh such beauty and healing and community in this place over the seasons and years! I send a wish to you all for a warm and healthy day, everyday. And not just a wish, but action you can take to create it.

See you back in the hot room tomorrow at 6:30 and 9:00 am. Plus the weekend morning classes as usual. It's gonna feel sooooo good!!

12/20/2025

Congratulations and WOW on this Fall Yoga Challenge!

This might be the best challenge board I've seen yet.

Look at all of the yoga you all did!

Tomorrow's 9:00 am winter solstice class marks the official end of the challenge, but feel free to finish up some more classes this coming week and keep on putting up your stickers!

See you in the hot room!

12/18/2025

One of the most common mistakes made in North American Yoga is the removal of a regular rest posture, or savasana, after each floor posture. Others just shove the rest posture all the way to the end of class.

It is understandable, honestly. The problem-solving and linear parts of the mind (left-brain stuff) cannot grasp that Savasana is a “something”. They think it is nothing. Which, to those parts of the mind, it is, in fact, nothing. The left brain demands a problem to solve or a task to accomplish, and in savasana, the only thing there is to “do” is to concentrate, on the breathing and the body, in the present moment. Total right brain stuff.

So….yoga teachers with just a few years of practice, or those who have not yet come to appreciate the depth of importance of Savasana, or who have learned from others with this view….will cut it out of the class, as if it is the least important part of the practice.

But, did you know that Savasana (rest posture) is actually the most important posture in class? Here is what savasana provides:

1. the immediate and most acute circulatory benefits that each posture is designed to create
2. time for the active posture (that you have just completed) to *act back on* the body systems
3. a sometimes uncomfortable rest for the problem-solving mind
4. a balancing of the autonomic nervous system, so that the yoga class does not continue to contribute to a physiological stress response
5. a balancing of relaxed, abdominal breathing, to contrast with the active, muscular breathing techniques that we perform in the active postures
6. training towards deep relaxation in a very short time, a skill that we all take out into the world with us.

….and so much more….

12/17/2025

So many people misunderstand the function of the mirrors in a Bikram Yoga class. From the outside, many people believe that the mirrors are a source of negativity, or comparison, or competition.
But the mirror is just a piece of glass.
A mirror carries with it no judgment.
It does not force comparison.
It does not cause competition.
But it *does* show us when we bring those things with us to class. This can be difficult and uncomfortable, of course. It is like picking up the rug and seeing things that we have swept underneath.
In fact, the mirrors in the yoga class can help reveal the details of negative thought patterns that we’ve been carrying with us.
And in those moments when we have to choose between
1) the old negative thought pattern, and
2) concentrating on the teachers words, the body skills, and our breathing….
….we actually get the opportunity to dissolve and shift the old thought patterns.
We make way for something new.
We change. Our thoughts change. We suffer less.
We don’t change the yoga.
The yoga changes you.

12/15/2025

Don’t let an injury or surgery sideline your yoga practice!

One of the most common mistakes we make is to think that we should stop our yoga practice in times of post-injury or post-surgery. But this is simply because we misunderstand what the yoga practice is.

Of course there may be a limited time where you need to not sweat. In that case, you can practice at home on the live-stream, or wait until things have healed up enough to be able to bear some sweating.

But there are countless situations that are actually not good reasons to stay away from your practice.

Some examples:

1. There may be times in which you shouldn’t invert the upper body.
2. There may be times where you need to not bear weight.
3. There may be times where you can’t forward bend.
4. There may be times where you have an arm or a leg in a brace or a cast.
5. There may be times where you have to keep your heart rate within a certain range.

These are just a few examples of things that people use as reasons *not* to practice.

But these are, in fact, not good reasons to stay away. In fact, the post-injury state and most post-surgery states can be accommodated with this practice. Get in touch with me for a private lesson, and then you can use those modifications in the regular class. And for minor things, I can help you *within* the context of a regular Bikram Yoga class.

Instead of stopping all movement and feeling sluggish and depressed after an injury, I can help you learn how to move safely, stimulate your energy and physiology, and actually heal faster!

12/13/2025

Hey Midlife Humans! We’ve got a very special place for you.

So many of the so-called “inevitables” of midlife - stiffness, weakness, metabolic decline, etc. - are *not* inevitable.

It is not just *time* which creates these things. It is time *plus* improper use of our bodies and our thought processes. It isn’t our fault that we didn’t know how to use them; it is just that our culture didn’t teach us.

But the great news is that we have found the way!!

In The Original Hot Bikram Yoga, we teach body part skills, breathing techniques, and strength-building moves in a basic, super-accessible language. These skills reverse the so-called inevitable. They reduce stiffness and inflammation, support a healthier metabolic process, and improve the functional strength and skeletal structure that we were blessed with at birth.

The accessibility, simplicity, and effectiveness is core to how The Original Hot Yoga was designed, how it is now, and how it always will be. We feel so grateful for the opportunity to share it with you.

So, if you're experiencing typical midlife challenges, know there is hope—this yoga practice addresses so many things we attribute to just time passing.

12/12/2025

A common misperception people have about the teacher’s constant instruction in a Bikram Yoga class is that it’s about authority. Or that there’s someone telling you “what to do”.

Trendy yoga franchises were even established in rebellion against this wrong view! So much energy has been wasted. And, this misperception has prevented countless people from experiencing some of the most important, life-altering benefits of a yoga practice.

So, I am here to help correct this.

In the Original Hot Bikram Yoga, the teacher’s words have a number of functions.

1. They create a verbal and experiential thing to concentrate on, and that thing is a body part or body skill, in the present moment.
2. They give guidance to practitioners for the first ten years of practice, so beginners can learn just a few details at a time and truly get towards mastery.
3. They establish a link between the right and left hemispheres of the brain.
4. They allow the practitioner to relax. For 90 minutes, you can surrender to the constant meditative rhythm of the body part instructions.
5. They allow you to get immediate feedback on how your concentration and technique are going in each and every moment. You notice that when you check out, or when you start making your grocery list in class, you’ve missed a few words. The good news is, that you can start again from scratch and hop right back on the path of concentration.

12/05/2025

How our yoga postures act back on us after we complete them.

12/03/2025

Don’t waste your time with the wrong type of yoga instructor, look for these qualities instead

12/01/2025

What is the subject of ? Let’s discuss 🧘‍♀️

11/29/2025

Here is how to find a hot yoga class that will actually transform your life 🔥

11/27/2025

Yoga is not exercise…here’s why.

Address

1355 E Grand River Avenue
East Lansing, MI
48823

Telephone

+15178628926

Website

http://www.yogaismedicine.com/

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What is Bikram Yoga and the Mission of BYCA?

Bikram Yoga is a therapeutic yoga system and specific method; although it is THE Original Hot Yoga, it is very different from any of the other activities now called “hot yoga”! Bikram Yoga Capital Area (BYCA) was built and founded in 2013 by Ann Chrapkiewicz, an experienced instructor in the Ghosh-Bikram lineage (BYTT ‘04). Our mission is to transform the lives and health of those in Greater Lansing who are willing and open to the possibility of healing and change through a committed yoga practice.

We accomplish this by 1) offering Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class, a nearly 50-year-old Therapeutic Hatha Yoga practice for ALL levels, body types, and ages - particularly beginners and those with limited mobility, 2) creating a supportive, encouraging, dedicated community, and 3) providing scholarship assistance to those in financial and/or medical need. BYCA is 100% locally- and independently-owned (not a franchise or chain) and is the ONLY school within 40 miles that teaches this yoga system. ALL staff are trained in the Ghosh-Bikram lineage. Every teacher has completed a minimum of 1000 hours of experience and training, plus a long-term ongoing education and mentorship requirement.

Statement of Accessibility and Effectiveness:

The exact sequence of yoga postures is accessible to everyone and improves the function of every muscle, joint, bone, organ, and cell in the body. The direct instructional method allows those of all backgrounds and ages to practice with precision and safety. The heat improves accessibility to those with stiff joints and muscles, and improves the effectiveness of the vascular and pulmonary benefit. The stillness that dominates the class retains the principles of therapeutic hatha yoga and allows those with acute injury and chronic pain to practice and receive benefits.