Bikram Yoga Basics

Bikram Yoga is all the rage these days, but what exactly is it and what can it do for your body and mind?  While all your friends might now be hot yoga enthusiasts, just what is it about this heated yoga that can help you get fit and shed the pounds?

Bikram yoga was developed by Bikram Choudhury using a series of twenty-six postures.  Since its development it has become ever more popular across the Western world.  For a variety of reasons outlined below, practitioners claim that hot yoga is the most essential exercise for  a healthy life.

Bikram yoga is great for those who like to sweat, and sweat a lot these practitioners do.  During these yoga classes, rooms are heated to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  According to experts, the elevated room temperatures help to warm your muscles which allows you to go even deeper into the yoga positions.  The high temperature increases your body’s stretching potential and thereby helps to allow you to do the kinds of yoga poses you might not otherwise be able to do as easily.

More than this of course, hot yoga practitioners claim that this style of yoga is ideal for detoxifying the whole body.  Because you sweat such a great deal during your practice, your body has a chance to let go of all the toxins and poisons it has built up.  Sweating has for a long time traditionally been seen as a way for the body to expel harmful substances.  Like the Native American sweat lodge tradition, hot yoga helps release these poisons of the both the mind and body.

According to practitioners this style will help also to balance all the organs in the body and work the glands.  By detoxifying the body and strengthening the muscles your body is able to optimize its health on all fronts.  Moreover, getting down into the yoga poses more easily means that you can reap even more of the benefits from a yoga practice.

Most importantly for some, this style of yoga offers the most rewards in terms of weight loss and physical benefits.  Hot yoga practitioners tend to be very fit and slim and this can be very inspiring for those seeking to shed some pounds.

Essentially, if you haven’t tried it yet it is certainly worth it.  If you have any medical conditions however such as high blood pressure, be sure to consult your physical first.  Drink plenty of water and get lots of rest before and after your first class as they can be very intense and dehydrating.  Aside from this a good attitude and a couple of dry towels should be all you need to enjoy your first foray into the world of hot yoga.