Quick Guide to Bikram Yoga
Some like it hot! If this is you, then Bikram style, or hot yoga, is for you. In the 1970s, Birkram Choudhury from Calcutta, India pioneered a form of Hatha Yoga into a routine of 26 yoga postures called asanas and two breathing exercises that are usually performed in a high temperature/humid environment – 98o to 105o Fahrenheit or 37o to 40o Celsius – each with around 40% humidity. A typical 90-minute workout can burn around 595 calories or 2,500 kilojules, so as you can see, the training is intense.
The heated humid environment is necessary to:
- Warm up the muscles to allow for deeper stretching without injury
- Increase flexibility
- Detoxify your body
- Thin out your blood for better circulation
- Increase your heart rate for a better cardiovascular workout
Improving Your Muscle Strength
The postures used in hot yoga are designed to systematically massage your internal organs, flush toxins out of your cardiovascular system and stimulate your endocrine and nervous systems, along with stretching and toning of muscles and ligaments. The latter increases your flexibility. This style of yoga is also used by many for weight loss.
Your first session of Birkram can be overwhelming. Many students feel nauseous or dizzy in their first class due to the high heat, humidity and intensity of the workout. However, most studios have salt and potassium tablets available that can help alleviate the dizziness. Others report a disoriented feeling after the first few classes. Don’t worry – that’s your body’s way of showing it is starting to cleanse and detox itself through your workouts. All of these symptoms disappear after a few workout sessions as your body acclimates to the extreme workout environment. Keeping hydrated each day and not eating for at least two hours before your session are two things you can do to help your body adjust.
The 26 exercises are best performed in a sequence as each one builds upon the one before it. Through the standing and seated poses, the muscles, nerves, glands, ligaments and organs are all exercised to develop your body into a well-balanced (both physically and mentally), healthy machine.
Its success is credited in part to the postures that compress and expand blood vessels, thus treating them more like muscles. This process increases the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange in the cells, thus reducing disease and sickness and increasing your physical well-being. Studies have shown that Birkram yoga is great at helping speed up the recovery of damaged tissue. And because it is low-impact, people of all ages, and especially those with joint problems, can enjoy its benefits too.
