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Hot Yoga - Bikram Yoga!
|Bikram Choudhury developed bikram yoga or hot yoga, a style of yoga, in Los Angeles. Born in India in 1946, Choudhury settled in California in the 1970s and now lives in Beverly Hills.
The unique element in Bikram yoga is that the sessions take place in a well heated room in a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit or more. In many parts of India where yoga developed, this resembles the temperature.
If people arrive at a class for the first time unprepared for the intense heat, they often quit the classes. But like a sauna, it is beneficial for reducing muscle stiffness and increasing physical relaxation and flexibility. People appreciate this aspect of the class when they stay through the first few sessions.
A bikram yoga class is based on traditional Indian yoga poses and uses a series of 26 postures. Many of these poses are also used in other forms of yoga but bikram yoga is unusual in that it only ever uses these same poses in one sequence, and no others, although a class may go through the sequence twice. In Bikram style of yoga the breath is also very important. Most classes are 90 minutes and will include breathing exercises as well as the postures, plus a relaxation session at the end.
As with most forms of yoga it is important not to be competitive with others or expect quick results, but work at the yoga practice for its own sake. Students must take care not to injure or over stretch themselves. Progress will be steady but slow. Attending a yoga class regularly has beneficial effects and may be felt in all aspects of daily life and can often be reawakened by returning to practice many years later.
Bikram Choudhury claiming copyright on the sequence of yoga poses that he uses has sparked controversy in both the American yoga community and in India. The opposition argument is that traditional poses which have been used by yoga teachers in India for centuries cannot be copyrighted. So far this argument has failed to overturn the copyright in the USA, and anyone wishing to teach bikram yoga or use his sequence of poses must obtain a licence to do so. Of course this does not prevent other yoga instructors from teaching the same basic yoga poses in different sequences, but they may not call themselves bikram yoga teachers.
There are limitations on the popularity of bikram yoga caused by the high temperatures required, as well as the requirement for the instructor to obtain a licence. This is not only because people are uncomfortable in these temperatures. A special yoga studio is required because most public building administrators would not allow an instructor to heat the room that high. There are not so many bikram yoga classes as there are in other styles of yoga due to these factors.
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Topics: Bikram Yoga |
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