Bikrim/Hot Yoga

I've done a lot of yoga over the past 20 years or so. There are definitely some cons to Bikram.

1. It's the same sequence every time. Some people get bored. I think you're so busy sweating you don't notice.

2. Bikram's has the highest rate of injury of any kind of yoga. The heat makes you more flexible than you actually are, and there is a tendency to overstretch, as mentioned above. Also, I understand that the teachers can push people beyond their capacity. You feel great when you hit a challenging pose, until you are hobbled the next day. The day after yoga should feel like you worked hard and stretched hard, but not cause you to suffer unduly.

Also, Bikram himself is a very controversial figure.

There is a book by William Broad called The Science of Yoga: Risks and Rewards. It's well worth a read, and I believe you may also be able to find his article on the same subject on line.

I did it for a few months last year and I really enjoyed it, but it definitely isn't for everyone. It is very hot, but I tend to do better in hot environments. The important thing to know about Bikram is that it is not your "let's all reconnect with ourselves and think of flowers and magical unicorns and find our inner zen peace". It's a very structured, almost militaristic take on yoga. But I did sort of enjoy that aspect.

It's hard to say if you'd like it or not, I thought there was no way I was going to be into it, but I really enjoyed the deep stretching and the sweating. It definitely felt cleansing to me, but again, it's not for everyone.

My background on topic: About 6 years ago I did a lot of Bikram yoga and had a monthly membership and had 1 or 2 friends so I had at least one friend to go with because you have to show up on time or they won't let you in (a little more strict, known to be "militaristic" attitude toward yoga - I'd say focused). I really LOVED it! I never thought I could reach the levels of flexibility I reached while doing Bikram. After a week I was able to bend my forehead to my knees easy; I felt very accomplished about that. Each day I stretched further and deeper than the day before as I breathed into long periods of stretching in a pose and started to perfect each pose. Bikram was the first kind of yoga that "stuck" for me. I had tried yoga classes at the gym once and cold stretching really hurt and it didn't seem like the teacher at the gym cared or knew as much about yoga or what each pose was suppose to do. I'm more recently really into Core Power Yoga which uses elements of Bikram yoga. Core Power offers a few heated classes and differing levels of heat and difficulty so there's something for everybody. Some classes aren't heated but some of the residual heat from maybe a previous class is just perfect for me. I do find I have very poor muscles for strength and the heat really expedites the all important warm up portion of any exercise for me because I have to have that circulation started or else I will end up incompascitatedly sore the next day and feel like I never want to exercise again.

What is Bikram? Yes, it's the same 26-pose flow sequence where pretty much every 2 poses are inverse stretches of each other in its essential way. Yes, it's in a VERY HOT room but the class does go slowly through each pose so you can take breaks, adjust, get use to the position or just sit and rest. When I say each pose is slow I'm talking like 5 minutes holding a pose with cues to perfect the positioning, holding, breathing, and then going further within those 5 minutes. It gives me time to meditate and really get in touch with how my body is feeling. And yes, with any place where it is hot, sweaty, and people are getting exercised, it's gonna smell - initially off-putting, but in the 90? minute class you acclimate and then don't notice it all.

(In my mind the benefits are worth the initial observation of smell)

So I never got bored with the poses. I felt really good seeing the fast progress of poses like the initial calf-strengthening chair when at first I use to shake quite noticeably (the instructor said shaking is normal - I didn't even care) to then being the unmoving low-seated throne. And the touching hands to toes stretch got really far to the point where I could put my palms on the soles of my feet. I thought that maybe if I kept up Bikram I could one day join my gifted dancer gf's in doing the splits.

Cons: As others have mentioned overstretching, I didn't know that was a thing, but it's probably because I'm not super flexible. The heat once made one of my first-time, spazzy, "eccentric" friends faint, but luckily a handsome fellow session-goer caught her mid-faint and she had some water and continued the session. We all had a laugh after class. There is tons of sweat so I like bringing a smaller towel to towel off in addition to a beach towel which I layer over my yoga mat and TONS OF WATER. Bikram instructors are usually all very serious about yoga and each yoga session. They can be super helpful individually with great cues to perfect each pose but at the same time this means they aren't going to let late-comers interrupt the on-time patrons in session.

Overall: Bikram is a great yoga with rapid benefits you will be able to see. I would advise to not let any serious attitudes towards yoga deter you because there are tons benefits to be reaped for you if you show up on time to do the flow. But yes, if after a try (most studios offer free first introductory week) your body just can't handle the heat, the same poses, maybe Core Power is more for you because the integrate strength training into yoga and offer lots of different sequences and styles.