Intense heat, bright lights, instructors who could pass for drill sergeants, loads of sweat, warm meditation music- in a nutshell, that's Bikram Choudhary’s Hot Yoga. Bikram Yoga or what has more popularly come to be termed “hot yoga” started in Los Angeles around thirty years ago. Today, the style has spread far beyond the coastal confines and the Bikram Yoga College of India, Los Angeles, (named after the founder, Bikram, has over 314 certified schools all over the world, with 12 studios in New York alone.
As more and more people take up this discipline to lose pounds and gain strength, medical professionals are expressing concerns about the demands of yoga contortions performed in extreme heat.
The point here is whether it puts your body through unwarranted stress. Because, certain people are known to react with fatigue, shock, and nausea on practising hot yoga, or even working without air-conditioning. This is just the body's natural response to being overwhelmed.
On the other hand, a lot of Yoga enthusiasts quite confidently say that Bikram is very difficult, intense and best avoided. As a matter of fact, many have even gone on record to say that it is just too much of a good thing. Bikram Choudhary has earned the nickname the “bad boy” of Yoga and his hot Yoga has been referred to as “boot camp” Yoga. Some people have termed it “militant.” They feel that Bikram’s Hot Yoga can reverse the basic benefits of Yoga that are to slow down and relax.
Like many styles of Yoga, Bikram Choudhary’s Hot Yoga has been credited with helping people get relief from symptoms of fibromyalgia, arthritis, and many other ailments. In fact, Bikram Yoga practitioners swear that the intense heat adds to their relief as against the practice of other styles of Yoga.
The fact remains that the discipline teaches its practitioners 26 Yoga poses with a no nonsense approach, stressing complete discipline and adherence. These 26 postures are absolutely standardized, never mind which institute you visit, where you go..
Some doctors say that heat increases a person’s metabolic rate. By warming up the person, it certainly lets him / her stretch a lot more. Then again, if you stretch a muscle more than 20 or 25 percent of its resting length, it stands the chance of getting damaged.
Doctors in New York alone say that every week they see as many as 5 Yoga-related injuries to the lower back or the knees. Most of them are Bikram Yoga students. It therefore requires some restraint and sensibility. Don’t force your body beyond its capacity and always exercise caution. This form of yoga is excellent for some, but may not be for many others.
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