Bikram Yoga – The hot alternative
You want to sweat while doing yoga, then start with Bikram Yoga. With Bikram Yoga, sweating is a guarantee. What is behind Bikram Yoga, you will learn in this article.
Hot Body, Cool Mind
90 minutes, hot room and 26 exercises – that’s what Bikram Yoga is all about. The Hatha Yoga method, sometimes also called Hot Yoga, was invented and spread by the Indian yoga master Bikram Choudhury. Bikram Choudhury developed the method together with his yoga teacher after a sports injury. Bikram Yoga helped him to regenerate faster.
Why Bikram is good for you
When practicing Bikram yoga, the room is raised to 40 degrees and the humidity to 40 percent. The whole thing then goes for 90 minutes. During the individual exercises, one concentrates on a specific part of the body. Due to the high room temperature, muscles, ligaments and tendons become more elastic, which prevents injuries, eases tension and has a regenerating effect. In addition, sweating is said to have a detoxifying effect and reduce stress. The warm temperatures also ensure that you burn more calories in a Bikram session than in a normal yoga session.
The procedure
Bikram Yoga 26 exercises are performed within 90 minutes, the exercises should always be performed in the same order.
- 12 standing asanas
- 7 lying asanas
- 7 sitting/kneeling asanas
In addition, there are 2 breathing exercises (Pranayama), which are also integrated into the practice at a fixed time.
What to bring
Dress lightly and be sure to bring a change of clothes. You are guaranteed to be sweaty. It is also important to drink plenty of water during the yoga session, so take a large water bottle with you. Last but not least, you should have a non-slip yoga mat and it would be good if it can be cleaned easily. After all, you don’t want to have sweat on your mat forever.
``If you don't like going to the sauna, you shouldn't do Bikram yoga``
However, Bikram Yoga is not suitable for everyone. People with cardiovascular problems or too high or too low blood pressure should be careful. Besides that, people who do not like to go to the sauna should rather not try Bikram.
Source coverimage : iStock / FilippoBacci
