Bikram Yoga

by Rachel Quigley

Good morning madam, please take off most of your clothes, prepare to almost drown in your own sweat while numerous other people do the same, we will expect you to contort your body into shapes you didn’t even think were possible. Oh and we’d like to charge you around £14 for the pleasure.”
Sound tempting? Probably not, but millions of people all over the world are converting to the phenomenon that is Bikram Yoga.

Though it has been around since the seventies – when founder Bikram Choudhury brought it to the US – it seems to find hordes of new followers every day, many of who have either never heard of it or were too scared to try it. But once you do you will never look back.

Bikram Yoga is often referred to as hot yoga, because it is exactly that – hot being a gross understatement of course. The room in which you will be contorting yourself is heated to 105F and 40 percent humidity, and with the presence of countless other hot and sweaty individuals, a refreshing experience it does not make.

In some of the poses, rivulets of sweat will run into your eyes, your nose, your ears, your mouth – basically any open crevice – and it is not pretty. But these are generally the poses with the best health benefits – who knew that doing one pose for 20 seconds could raise your heart rate as high as if you just sprinted around the block?

The heat is stifling and sometimes – especially in your first few classes – it can be overwhelming. But your body acclimatises pretty quickly and is actually there to help you – the heated studio facilitates deeper stretching, injury prevention, and stress and tension relief.
Each class lasts 90 minutes and during that time you go through 26 postures with a breathing exercise at the beginning and end.
Bikram Yoga works every part of the body, inside and out – the lungs, the skin, the bones, the muscles, circulation, as well as strengthening and toning, flushing out toxins, strengthening the spine and improving flexibility.

It also does a lot for your mental well-being as you will find yourself refreshingly upbeat and cheerful after a class as well as calm and relaxed. Add to that the fact you can burn off up to 800 calories a class and I’m sure you are wondering why you haven’t signed up sooner.
Although it may seem daunting, you can push yourself as much or as little as you want and it is quite rewarding when you are able to do more as each class goes by. And the results are obvious pretty quickly as you begin to see bones and muscles you thought never existed.

Celebrity fans include Andy Murray, Madonna (of course), Gwyneth Paltrow (of course) and George Clooney to name but a few.
Classes are quite expensive (usually between £12 and £16) but well worth it and you can also buy in bulk for a discount.
Almost every studio will do an introductory offer for very cheap – sometimes as little as £1 a class – for you to decide if it is for you or not. Most people end up hooked.

Bikram Yoga may be hot, but it is without a doubt the coolest yoga in town.