Spectrum Magazine

Why should someone switch from hatha or iyengar to your method?

I won’t say why they should, but I do know why many do!
Bikram Yoga is hatha Yoga but it is the sequence of the 26 postures and two Pranayama breathing excercises that make it unique. Each posture prepares you for the next posture, and due to the medical testing on the poses, and the approx 90 years of it’s development through Bikram’s guru Bishnu Ghosh**, through to Bikram’s final development of the postures, an absolutely perfect sequence has been devised.

This system underwent 2 years of medical tests at Tokyo medical University and this is how Bikram perfected the sequence to bring it’s amazing results. It works every muscle and joint, cleanses the whole body including the internal organs, balances each system of the body and every organ, tissue, joint, cell and nerve in the body bringing 100% health, and increased vitality. It does this through the systematic compression and release, creating the tourniquet effect that literally squeezes out old blood and brings new oxygenated blood to every area. It starts us with Pranayama which oxygenates the blood, and then we do strengthening poses which warm us up and get the heart rate and respiration up so we increase the body temperature so that blood and nutrient flow is increased, and the joints and muscle temperature raise the 1-2 degrees necessary for optimum function. The synovial fluid is also thinned so it can flow more easily to the joints, protecting them.

The room is heated to support this increase in body temperature so we do not lose our precious heat to a cold room. Then we move onto the cardiovasclar part of the class to get really warm, then to deep strengthening and alignment postures. Half way through we go to the floor, where we are now very warm and we can safely perform the deep opening of spine and hips, and then we end with deep stretching of the legs and back, and end with a twist to detoxify and massage the spine and back, and finally a Pranayama exercise which removes any last toxins from the lungs, toes the abdomen and refreshes us so we leave feeling relaxed and energised. So the whe sequence has been elegantly created.
People misunderstand the heat. It is the support for own natural body temperature rise.The heat allows us to work deeply by reducing the possibility of injury, as the muscles and ligaments are working at their ideal temperature, and are stretchy and more able to allow us to re-align our skeletal and muscular systems. The working temperature of the muscles and joints is maintained at 1-2 degrees higher than resting body temperature. Sweating is an important way to detoxify the body, as the skin is the largest organ in the body. In britain where we do not sweat much as a population, it is even more necessary to make sure we sweat regularly to help remove toxicity from our body.

The reason we have found many people switch from other styles, or prefer to practise the Bikram Method is that it is

1. a beginners class, that anyone, at any level of fitness can do safely. However it is also hailed as “the hardest class you will ever do!” This combination of it being challenging enough for an athlete, but simple and safe enough for a total beginner, make it very appealing.
2. The main reason it is so popular, is that it works! The incredible results, both physically and mentally speak for themselves.
3. Bikram Yoga does not only attract those who like a more challenging yoga practise, but also those with severe injuries, those who are very unfit, or very stiff, as the simplicity of the poses, and the heat make it very “user friendly”. It also attract athletes, who find they can push themselves without fear of injury and work to their maximum in the class. So it is very broad in it’s appeal, there are no “levels” which some people find off-putting in other yoga systems, everyone just works to their own personal edge, whatever that may be. If anyone needs more of a challenge (this is rare!) there is the Bikram Advanced Class, not taught to the public, by invitation only, which is based on and includes the classical 84 postures.
4. Many people have expressed that their preference for Bikram Yoga is also based on the fact that the spiritual development that often occurs over time, is left for the person to discover on their own, just with the teachers guidance of breath, drishti, patience, commitment, deep feeling and surrender. It is not preached or imposed and is allowed to awaken in the practitioner at their own pace. Many people appreciate this and thus Bikram Yoga, although a classical hatha yoga in the Indian tradition and thus intrisically the basis and preparation for a spiritual practise, attracts people from all religions and all walks of life.

Are there any regulations governing how bikram is taught? Can you go to duff teachers who just push you too hard?

It takes more than a hot room and a list of postures to make your Bikram Method Yoga practice a safe, rewarding experience. Bikram Method Yoga is a specialized form of yoga, requiring appropriate training and knowledge to teach it effectively.
Bikram Choudhury, the creator of Bikram Yoga, personally trains and certifies all his instructors to ensure that his methods and philosophy are preserved and properly taught. To be certified as an instructor in the Bikram Method of Yoga, an instructor must complete an intensive nine-week training session requiring over 500 hours of study.

Bikram was 3 times India Yoga Champion, and is regarded as one of the luminaries of yoga. He is a classical Indian Yoga master, and he still teaches his own teacher trainings. He has been teaching for approx 40 years.

It is a long process to become a Certified Bikram Yoga teacher.
Before attending his Teacher Training programme all would-be teachers have to have practised Bikram yoga for long enough and to a standard that a senior studio owner and senior Bikram teacher has deemed them ready to attend the teacher training, and to have understood the method sufficiently and in their own practise. This can take anywhere from 6 months for an experienced yogi, to several years. They are then recommended for the teacher training. Instructors who have completed the Bikram teacher training and are certified then have to completed an internship of 6 months to one year or more with an experienced Bikram Instructor and studio owner, teaching under them, until they are recommended as being ready to teach on their own or open a studio of their own. This whole process can take several years! Once teaching, that teacher must regularly take class with Bikram in LA and recertify every 3 years to ensure they have maintained standard.

A studio guided by a Certified Instructor provides the best possible instruction in the Bikram Method. Certified Instructors have a continuing connection to Bikram Choudhury and his training staff, allowing the Certified Studio to draw from all of the resources Bikram's training centre has to offer. This includes special seminars, posture clinics, guest instructors, and answers to questions, which may arise in a particular practitioner's Bikram Yoga practice.

Of course in every yoga system you may find someone who is not cut out to be a teacher, or who may be good at the yoga but does not have the personality, compassion or talent to teach. But with Bikram’s strict guidelines and intensive training and preparation, it is unlikely one would come across a “duff” teacher (your words not mine!) even though you ma fnd one that is not to your personal taste. In every class all students are encouraged to wake up their own innate intelligence about what feels right and what does not, to work within their own personal comfort zone, not to push too hard. No teacher will ever suggest someone push too hard. We, as teachers, are here to help people learn how to work with their limitations sensitively, compassionately, and never to go into pain.
Many can claim that they teach "Bikram Yoga," but check www.bikramyoga.com to check that your studio is an affiliated and approved Bikram studio.

“Hot” Yoga is not Bikram yoga, and you may be being instructed by a non-certified teacher at a “Hot” yoga studio.

Do an equal number of male and females do your classes?

We have the highest ratio of men to women of any yoga style. We have approximately 40% men and 60% women.

Which elements of bikram are unique to it - are any postures different to those in hatha?

Bikram Yoga is hatha Yoga. The 26 postures are classical hatha yoga postures derived from the classical 84 postures in the The Hatha Yoga Pradipika. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika advocates discipline and purification of the body through hatha yoga, which will develop self-discipline and self-control and, ultimately, induce natural spiritual development. . It is the sequence that is unique, and the heated room that is unique and that we perform the sequence in front of a mirror.

The alternation of forward bending and backward bending are very specific (but not unique) to Bikram Yoga, it works the spine and discs bringing balance.

The abdominal wall compression poses with the rounded spine are very prominent in Bikram Yoga, and not so common in many other styles. This opens the spine as well as creating a masaging effect to the abdominal organs and also specifically benefits the Pancreas, and with the chin against the throat the thyroid is balanced.

Bikram Yoga specifically compresses and then stretches alternately, both the abdominal organs and the thyroid gland, bringing balance to them.

The fact that there is a rest after every pose, even just for 10-30 seconds. This is rest, research has shown, is where the medical benefits of the pose occur. On the release of a pose, the high speed oxygenated blood floods to the area carrying away toxins and bringing nutrients. Bikram Yoga is the only series I have experienced that has this actual rest after every posture. So we are also balancing effort, relaxation, effort, relaxation, tourniquet, release, tourniquet, release over and over. Bikram feels that “Flow” yoga misses the opportunity to allow these benefits to take place.

The balance between strength and flexibility is equal in Bikram Yoga. One’s own strength creates our flexibility, and the whole class is a balance of these, and results in the balancing of these male and female elements.

It is also unique to Bikram Yoga that we do every posture twice. The first we hold longer for our strength and stamina, and the second set we hold a bit shorter, and move deeper into our flexibility. This second set gives us the opportunity to improve faster.

Locking the knee. Although many styles advocate locking the knees, Bikram is very particular about this point. It is common knowledge that with the knee locked and the quadricep pulled up with the knee cap you align and strengthen your knee joint, but in Bikram Yoga this point is stressed. Being able to lock the knee in the correct way (weight not too far back, all muscles pulled up) may take ages to learn, but the results are incredible, especially for those, like myself, who had knee injuries. Bikram told me the day I could lock my knee would be the day my knee problems were over. It took a year to do it, but he was right. There are one leg standing poses where the main instruction is to learn (gently and gradually) to bring the knee to the locked position.

We do no headstand or shoulder stand. Bikram feels it is more important to do the postures outlined in his method first because it safely builds all the strength the body needs to be totally healthy--throughout all the systems. Most beginners do not have the strength to do traditional inverted postures safely (indeed many students come to us as they have injured themselves in other classes doing these poses).

Some of the benefits of inversions (blood flow to the brain, reduction of blood pressure, compression of the thyroid gland) are provided by separate leg stretching, separate leg forehead to knee, rabbit pose, and the whole series in general.
After several years of steady dedicated practice, your Bikram instructor may invite you to an advanced class in which inverted postures are practiced.

I would suggest that the Awkward poses in 3 parts is specific to Bikram Yoga, although versions of this may be encountered in other hatha yoga styles. The variation of Standing Head to Knee is specific to Bikram Yoga, although variations are practised in other styles. You rarely will see Locust and Half Moon practised exactly the way they are practised in this series, but they are not unique to this system and you will encounter them at some time if you go to enough styles. I have never practised Rabbit in any other class.. The full spine traction pose.

Hatha yoga is a language that has many versions, and variations, and all styles have their own accent so to speak. But in short, all the poses in the Bikram Beginning Series, as well as the Advanced series, are classical hatha Yoga postures taken from the Classical 84*.

The mirror. The mirror is invaluable in teaching right alignment. Beginners do not know what “straight” is, or cannot feel if their hips, shoulders or knees are level. Bikram Yoga is all about bringing the skeletel system back into alignment, and the mirror is such a wonderful asset for this. It also helps students learn Drishti, and balance.

*84 classic asanas originating from a series codified between the 5th and 10th century AD, by the Nath sect.
**Sree Bishnu Ghosh, Bikram's teacher, was trained at the Ranchi School for Boys founded in 1917 by his older brother, Paramhansa Yogananda, who later founded the Self-Realization Fellowship and authored Autobiography of a Yogi. Bishnu became a physical culturalist and worked with Swami Sivananda Saraswati to develop a system of hatha yoga asanas for health and fitness, based on the original classic 84 postures. He established Ghosh's College of Physical Education in 1924, in Calcutta, where his son, Bishu, is now the director.

Any idea how many people are doing bikram in the UK?

Approximately 25,000 and growing

How can someone practice bikram at home? Are they encouraged to?

It is much better to practise, at least at first, to check your alignment, under the guidance of a certified instructor, in the hot room with the mirrors so you can make sure you are aligned. People are encouraged to come to a class regularly for corrections etc. However many people do practise at home, and many people showed up at my studio when I first opened it, with great yoga practises, who had just learned it at home with the book and CD.
If you don’t live near a studio, It is recommended one should have a copy of Bikram's book on hand, and begin by reading the book all the way through to get a clear idea of the postures, their benefits, and the proper approach to each posture.
You must heat the area where you do your yoga. If you can, you should try to heat it to at least 100 degrees F. You should sweat a lot when you do your Hatha yoga. If your bathroom is large enough, you can preheat the room with a space heater and by leaving the water in the bath, as this will keep the room hot. (Americans obviously have larger bathrooms than us Brits!) If you have difficulty heating an area to 100 degrees, then you must wear warm up clothing while you do your yoga. This will keep the heat from escaping the body, and taking a hot bath before commencing is a great way to at least start warm, and then the first 20 minutes of the class will warm you up as they are a the more strengthening and warming up postures.

Practice while following Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class CD or cassette tape is an ideal method to practice the postures as best as possible without being in an actual Bikram Yoga class.

Then begin by teaching yourself one new posture at a time, starting with the first posture, and adding the next one, and so on and so on. This will build your strength and help you to remember the postures in order.

Some tips: Set aside a special time of the day to create a regular daily practice. Set aside a regular practice area in your home, and if possible, equip it with a mirror and an extra heater or two. Wear clothing that does not restrict your movement. Do not eat within 2-3 hours of practice.

If you get discouraged, be patient, keep trying with "bulldog determination" and don't give up! When you see yourself progressing, you will become encouraged, and want to continue practicing all the more.

I cannot overstate the importance of doing your Hatha yoga in heat. Doing your yoga in a cold environment can bring harm to your body. Remember you are changing the construction of your body as you perform these postures. Suppose you are going to make a sword. You start with a piece of fine steel and the first thing you do is put the steel in the fire and heat it up. When the steel is hot it becomes soft. Then you can hammer it and slowly you make it change shape to the sword you want. This is the natural way. Now if you don't heat it up and start hammering the cold steel nothing is going to happen to the steel but you'll break your hand, the hammer, your arm and all the connecting joints. The same thing happens when you do any exercise, even Hatha yoga, in a cold environment. When you do your Hatha yoga in the heat, your body is malleable.

If this is completely impossible to arrange, then move more slowly and carefully, and breathe more deeply into the postures. Some people find that taking a hot bath first, and then wearing sweats keeps the body warm.

Are there any medical contraindications for doing bikram?

Many people do not realise that Bikram Yoga is Yoga Therapy. It is designed for everyone, and especially those with conditions, injuries, in rehab after a surgery. It is just taking your body through it’s natural range of motion in a room heated.

There are a few medical contraindications, but barely any that mean the person cannot do a modified version of the class. We have many many students working with chronic problems, and they are given the modifications for that particular condition. Of the more serious, there are modifications for high and low blood pressure, recent heart surgery, detached retina, recovering cancer patients, people on certain types of medication. There are a few other contraindications, one of them being kidney transplant, as the immune suppressing drugs are trying to stop the body rejecting the kidney, but as the yoga increases the efficiency of the immune system, the person may start to reject the organ. The person will need to work with an experienced instructor or studio head. We always work with a persons medical practitioner, if necessary speaking with them and monitoring with them, and always with their permission.

There is a complete pregnancy series that can be performed in a regular class. We have many pregnant women in class, they practise in a cooler part of the room, perhaps by a door or window, they don’t push themselves, they don’t hold the poses very long. However we do discourage women who have not already been regularly practising Bikram Yoga, and who are pregnant, that this is not the time to start. We tell them to come back once they have had their baby. People with a regular practise, and who are already used to the series and heat, can just continue, with the modifications for pregnancy, and take it easy. We have had approx 14 Bikram yoga babies born in the last 12 months.

We are famous for knees and backs. Slipped disc, even recent, has it’s own modified version of the class, and we have a score of students who are successfully recovering from this condition, carefully creating traction in the spine, limiting any movement in the direction of the herniation, strengthening the surrounding muscles, stretching them, and gently massaging and bringing circulation to the area. They do no weight bearing forward bending, until such time that they can begin to forward and backward bend and help return their spine to health. I myself avoided knee surgery on both knees only and entirely through Bikrams instruction to me and using the knee injury modifications.
The heat makes the system particularly beneficial for people who have had accidents and injuries, pre or post surgery, to realign to body and stretch deeply, improving scar tissue and bringing traction to compressed joints.

We have excellent results with diabetes type 2, with people dramatically reducing their medications, ad also wit thyroid disorders, of course always working with the persons medical practitioner monitoring.

Having named a few of the conditions we need to work carefully with the student with, we have people with all these conditions in class, doing their modifications, improving and gaining the benefit if the yoga.

Can everyone cope with the heat? Are you allowed to leave the room if you get faint for example?

yes, I would say, having taught this for for 14 years, and watched how people respond to the heat, that everyone CAN cope with the heat, if they are patient in those first few classes. The body will eventually really enjoy the heat, but it takes 3-5 classes for someone who finds it hard to get used to it, and 10-20 to start loving it. Some people just adore it from the first minute. Its only the temperature your body needs to be when exercising, its not that hot! Eventually it feels normal. We are so used to working out in freezing cold gyms and air conditioning that it takes a shot while for the body to realise that it is supposed to get hot and sweaty while exercising, as this makes it safe.

It’s more mental than physical. People in India and Thailand work in these temperatures all day long. I find the temperature totally pleasurable and normal. But some people let their minds rule them and as soon as something is a little bit challenging, they don’t even try, and they give up. People that have gone out and given up on their first class, often come back and after 3 classes start to love it.

The problem we have mostly is that if its cold outside and the heat drops a degree, we have all our regular students moaning and complaining that at 100 degrees they are cold and can we turn up the heat!!

Yes absolutely everyone is free to go out of the room, they can go out, rest and come back in if they wish. No one is prevented from leaving. However, if anyone feels light headed, they are encouraged to sit down and drink their water. Best not to walk around while feeling a bit light headed. In a minute or two they feel fine. Some newcomers may sit and watch for sections of the class. That’s fine. As they strengthen and their blood pressure is balanced they no longer feel dizzy. I had very low blood pressure when I began. I was dizzy in normal life whenever I stood up from a chair! Soon after I stared my Bikram practise, I found that this had completely stopped and my blood pressure was healthily low and balanced.

How does bikram differ from hot yoga?

“hot” yoga is the name people use when they want to teach yoga and benefit from Bikram Yoga’s popularity, without conforming to Bikram’s high standards. Often a non certified teacher will call themselves a “Hot” yoga teacher. I would warn anyone thinking of attending a “Hot” yoga class to thoroughly check if their instructor is certified. They may be just trying to rip-off Bikram’s method without having permission or training to do so, and you may be putting yourself at risk. There is no such thing as “Hot Yoga”. Bikram Yoga is the only tried and tested Hot Yoga, the originator of “hot” yoga and the only place you will be instructed by Bikram certified and approved teachers.

Some Hot Yoga classes are the Bikram series, copied by a non Bikram teacher. I have heard of cases in the UK where the hot yoga teacher was teaching the class after having only read Bikram’s book, but had never actually attended a Bikram class! Others are just another style of yoga, perhaps a mix of other styles, with a heated room. And while it’s good to practise in a heated room, no self respecting, trained yoga instructor would call their system “Hot Yoga” and therefore I warn people to carefully check out that persons credentials. People with money on their minds are the only ones who would make a copy cat style.

People do not realise that it is not the heat that makes Bikram Yoga so effective. It is the carefully constructed 26 posture series, which has had years of work, trial, perfection and success, based on the work of some of India’s most highly regarded yogi’s. The heat is a support for that, but has reduced value when divorced from the Bikram system.