Bikram Yoga

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Bikram Yoga – All you must know

Of the many fitness trends to take the world by storm, arguably one of the foremost has been ‘Bikram Yoga’ or ‘hot yoga’ as it came to be commonly known. Yoga guru Bikram Choudury, eponymously patented this practice of 26 yoga postures in a heated room, which now has the likes of Madonna, John McEnroe, Serena Williams, Brooke Shields, amongst others hooked onto it.

Sweat it out

Practiced in a studio at a temperature of 105 ^oF and nearly 40% humidity levels, the basic principle of Bikram Yoga is that the human body becomes more flexible under heat and hence makes it possible for one to practice physically challenging poses with relative ease. The use of heat in Bikram yoga is also to promote sweating and prevent the body from overheating given the intensity of the exercises, hence eliminating the risk of injuries.

The Asanas

At the core of hot yoga are the series of 26 asanas (poses) and two breathing techniques performed twice in a 90-minute session, devised to relieve every part of the body of stress and tension. According to Choudury, each pose stretches and strengthens one’s muscles, joints, and ligaments, flushes out toxins and works on the internal organs including the glands and the nervous system.

Amongst the several benefits of Bikram Yoga, proponents count defined muscle tone, weight loss and management, increased vitality and stamina, regulation of blood sugar, blood cholesterol, recovery from injury, arthritic pain, menstrual pain, back pain, etc, facilitation of better sleep and release of stress.

Too much of a good thing?

However, like with all things good, Bikram Yoga too has had its share of controversies and non-believers. For one, there has been intense debate about the safety of performing strenuous exercise in a room pre-heated to over 100 degrees. While dizziness and nausea are common for beginners to experience, there have been reports of even regular practitioners complaining of overheating, dehydration and illness and injury.

Medical practitioners worldwide have debated on the level of stretching and over stretching one’s muscles and inducing ligament tears.

Preventive measures

While the debate ensues, whether or not one must take up hot yoga, is really an individual and subjective choice. However, with a few preventive measures in place, one can minimize the possibility of injury:

• First, and most important, it is a must to train under a qualified instructor or studio. Choudhury himself has been involved in several long drawn patent suits with institutes that claim to offer Bikram Yoga or Hot Yoga classes. He has been warning against institutes that are inexperienced or not certified.
• While there is no recorded evidence of hot yoga being unsafe for pregnant women or those with back or other injuries, it is advisable for anyone with an extreme condition to consult a medical practitioner before taking up this form of exercise.
• Owing to the different temperature conditions in hot yoga, wearing the right clothes is of utmost importance. One is advised to wear minimal or light clothing that does not cling to the body or interferes during exercise. The hair must be tied up to avoid it coming onto the face.
• Most hot yoga classes don’t allow one to drink water in between sessions. To minimize dehydration, it is essential to drink plenty of water before the class and a lot more after it to provide the body with necessary fluids.
• Lastly, one mustn’t forget to listen to their body and respect its limits. If the body is pushed beyond what it can keep up with, one might end up seriously injuring themselves. While trying to be more flexible, one should stretch their limit only a little at a time.