Bikram Yoga

Bikram Yoga
Founder	Bikram Choudhury
Established	late 20th century
Practice emphases
unchanging sequence of postures in a heated room designed as a rejuvenating exercise to strengthen the entire body from head to toe

Bikram Yoga is a system of yoga that Bikram Choudhury synthesized from traditional yoga techniques and popularized beginning in the early 1970s. Bikram's classes run exactly 90 minutes and consist of a set series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F (≈ 40.6°C) with a humidity of 40%, and is the most popular form of hot yoga.

Theory

Bikram Yoga's goal is toward general healthiness and Bikram Choudhury claims the heated studio facilitates deeper stretching and injury prevention, while reducing stress and tension. Bikram claims that his system stimulates and restores health to every muscle, joint, and organ of the body. Bikram's Yoga claims to increase circulation to all organs in the body, and claims this helps in the prevention of heart disease and organ failure. According to Choudhury, many people only use up to 50 percent of their lung capacity and thus the lungs must be stretched in order to withstand holding more oxygen. In a 2007 interview, Choudhury stated that when one is practicing pranayama she or he will eventually be able to enhance oxygen conversion and absorption, as well as improve blood circulation, as in many other forms of cardiovascular activity.

Choudhury claims that blood circulation is affected immensely during Bikram Yoga because of two processes called extension and compression. These two dynamics are said to work together to deliver fresh blood to every joint, muscle, and organ within the human body. While performing a specific asana (pose), the practitioner stretches or compresses a certain part of the body, thus cutting off circulation temporarily. This restriction of circulation causes the heart to pump more blood in reaction to the shortage. The pumping of excess, fresh blood is called extension. Once the asana is complete and the individual comes out of the posture, the new oxygenated blood is able to rejuvenate the arteries that were being compressed. Many of the postures massage the lymphatic system and aid in lymphatic drainage improving the eliminaton of infection, bacteria, and toxins from the body. Other styles of yoga also promote this theory (cf: B.K.S. Iyengar's "squeeze and soak" analogy regarding the effects of deep twists on the internal organs).

Benefits

Weight Loss: the amount of calories burned per session varies from person to person, but estimates range between 500 and 1250 depending upon intensity of practice and other factors.

A multitude of professional athletes practice Bikram's Yoga to improve their health and sports performance. These athletes include: NBA all-time leading points scorer Kareem Abdul Jabaar (and his son is a certified instructer), NBA superstars Kobe Bryant and Elton Brand, Former World Number One Tennis Player John McEnroe and two time Australian Open Finalist Andy Murray.. NHL all-time leading points scorer Wayne Gretzky practices Bikram's Yoga, as does NFL all-time leading passer Dan Marino. It is believed that Andy Roddick, Serena and Venus Williams, golfer David Duval, NFL superstar Eddie George, and an increasing number of professional athletes in general are turning to Bikram's Yoga for its physiological benefits.. Bikram states that Pele, the soccer player, was his student.

Lady Gaga has practiced Bikram's Yoga on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and frequents different studios as she tours the world performing.

A multitude of actors and actresses practice Bikram Yoga including: George Clooney, Jason Batteman, Madonna, Martin Sheen, and many others.

Controversy

Safety

Bikram Yoga has been the subject of much debate as to whether or not performing strenuous exercise in a room over 37.8 °C (100 F) is safe. It is common for Bikram practitioners to experience dizziness and nausea, especially in the earlier stages of their practice. It is advisable if a practitioner is feeling discomfort to rest and lie down until the feeling passes, and to join back in when they feel ready to do so.. However, Bikram states that heated yoga is the safest exercise in the world. This is because in a hot environment the arterial system of the body is dilated, so that greater blood flow can reach all cells, tissues, and organs in the body. In addition, Bikram's Yoga standing deep breathing exercise significantly increases oxygen levels in the blood, so that more oxygen is reaching the organs, tissues, and cells. In addition, increased sweating leads to a loss of acid from the body and an increase in the PH of the blood, which leads to a more alkaline PH of the blood. Tumor cells do not survive as well in an alkaline environment, which makes Bikram Yoga helpful in the prevention of cancer. Bikram's use of the balancing stick posture, in a heated environment, significantly improves blood flow to the heart, making Bikram's Yoga very helpful for prevention and treatment of heart disease. Bikram's use of head to knee compression poses such as standing head to knee and standing separate leg head to knee improve blood flow to the pituitary gland, which improves the function of the endocrine system, and along with pancreatic compression poses, makes Bikram very beneficial in type 2 diabetes. The health benefits of Bikram's Yoga are innumerable, and Bikram is often heard saying, "how long do you want to live... 100? a good life or a bad life? ... good life, chasing your grandchildren and they have to tell you to slow down... i sell life." It is important to come to Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class well hydrated.

Competition

Another controversial component of Bikram yoga pertains to the prevalence of Bikram competitions, regionally and nationally. While practitioners of other forms of yoga maintain that competition contradicts the idea of peace and unity, Bikram contends, "Competition is the foundation for all democratic societies. For without 'Competition', there is no democracy."

Lawsuits

In the United States, Choudhury has claimed and been aggressive in enforcing broad copyrights in most aspects of the practice, teaching, and business of the system. While these claims are not definitively resolved (i.e., by any judicial ruling on the merits), Choudury has extracted legal settlements from a number of yoga teachers and studios.

The 26 Asanas (postures)

#	Sanskrit	English
1	Pranayama Series	Standing Deep Breathing
2	Ardha Chandrasana with Pada-Hastasana	Half Moon Pose with Hands To Feet Pose
3	Utkatasana	Awkward Pose
4	Garudasana	Eagle Pose
5	Dandayamana - JanuShirasana	Standing Head To Knee Pose
6	Dandayamana - Dhanurasana	Standing Bow Pulling Pose
7	Tuladandasana	Balancing Stick Pose
8	Dandayamana - Bibhaktapada - Paschimottanasana	Standing Separate Leg Stretching Pose
9	Trikonasana	Triangle Pose
10	Dandayamana - Bibhaktapada - Janushirasana	Standing Separate Leg Head To Knee Pose
11	Tadasana	Mountain Pose
12	Padangustasana	Toe Stand Pose
13	Shavasana	Corpse Pose
14	Pavanamuktasana	Wind Removing Pose
15	Bhujangasana	Cobra Pose
16	Salabhasana	Locust Pose
17	Poorna - Salabhasana	Full Locust Pose
18	Dhanurasana	Bow Pose
19	Supta - Vajrasana	Fixed Firm Pose
20	Ardha - Kurmasana	Half Tortoise Pose
21	Ustrasana	Camel Pose
22	Sasangasana	Rabbit Pose
23 and 24	Janushirasana with Paschimottanasana	Head To Knee Pose with Stretching Pose
25	Ardha - Matsyendrasana	Spine Twisting Pose
26	Khapalbhati	Blowing In Firm

External links

• List of all 27 postures with illustrations
• 'Yoga, Inc.', a documentary about the Bikram copyright case, 'competitive' yoga and the yoga industry