If thoughts of the yogic experience conjure up visions of gentle poses, wafting incense and sweet chants of “om,” you’ve yet to experience the sweltering, sweaty, body-bending workout that is Bikram or “hot” yoga.
The Bikram method is the brainchild of Bikram Choudhury, an India National Yoga Champion who has been named the most knowledgeable hatha yoga teacher in the world. Understanding that Western people do not have the time to learn and perfect hundreds of yoga poses, Bikram designed a routine of 26 postures that involve the whole body. The added twist: Bikram’s series of poses is executed in the heat of a 100-degree room.
We asked Donna Rubin, director of New York City’s Bikram Yoga College of India, the question on the roasting mind of every first-time Bikramite: Why the heat? After all, for many people, simply moving through a succession of yoga postures is strenuous enough, so why is it necessary for them to work out in the heat of the Sahara? “Practicing yoga in a heated environment allows our connective tissue to become extremely pliable, permitting a greater stretch,” Rubin explains. She also notes that moving through yoga poses in a hot space creates “double heat,” which is warmth generated from both the inside and outside. This enhances the amount of sweat the student generates, which leads to greater detoxification. Devotees of hot yoga believe strongly in detoxing through excessive sweating—and sweat they do.
You don’t have to be experienced at yoga to try Bikram, but it’s not for the faint-hearted nor the dehydrated (in fact, it is recommended that students come to class well hydrated and drink lots of water throughout the session). Rubin is convinced that “committing to a Bikram yoga class five days a week for two months will completely change your life emotionally, physically and spiritually,” but she reminds beginning students to “leave their sweatpants at home and prepare to work hard and sweat even harder.”
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