by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Eureka! Since I wrote about my experiences with pain in Bikram classes, I've been mindfully watching my yoga practice, and eventually tip-toed back into the Bikram room. Here's what happened. First, some background. I've long had back issues, which you can read about here. Over the last two years, I've been going into Bikram classes pain-free, experiencing pain during class which starts at Pranayama Deep Breathing - the first postures in class, … [Read more...]
Search Results for: bikram class
Why I Don’t Go To Yoga Classes Anymore (But Maybe I Will)
by Lucinda Staniland I have a confession to make. Even though I practice yoga every day and work for a yoga website, I haven’t regularly attended yoga classes in years. My home yoga practice is consistent and serious, I'm constantly consulting my bookcase of yoga books, and I attend the occasional one-on-one session with a teacher. But yoga classes? That thing where you join a group of people to be led through asana and perhaps some pranayama and meditation? The answer used to be, … [Read more...]
Why Bikram Isn’t the Only Heir To The Ghosh Lineage
By Tom Sutherland, Traveling Yogaman I left my small, humid, rotting Calcutta hotel room at 6:00am and set out on a mission to find the historical center of yoga therapy established by the late Yoga guru Buddha Lall Bose in 1937, the Yoga Cure Institute. Publicly, little is known about the Yoga Cure Institute. However, my teacher, Tony Sanchez, and his wife, Sandy, recommended that I visit Buddha Bose’s yoga school during my three-month yoga study tour of India. Although I planned to spend … [Read more...]
Tom Sutherland on the difference between Bikram Teacher Training and Tony Sanchez Teacher Training {video}
by Kara-Leah Grant Meet Tom Sutherland, an American Yoga Teacher who has trained with both Bikram Choudhury and Tony Sanchez. I meet him, briefly, at modern Yoga Napier when I was up there at the end of September. I didn't get a chance to practice with him but heard from other people in the studios that he was teaching Bikram Yoga in a very different way, with heavy emphasis on letting the breath lead. I was intrigued. Bikram Yoga and I have a long history. I have always appreciated … [Read more...]
Benjamin Lorr on Why He Didn’t Write about Bikram & the Sexual Assault Allegations in Hell-Bent
by Kara-Leah Grant The moment I was a chapter into Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain and the Search for Something like Transcendence in Bikram Yoga I knew I had to track down the author Benjamin Lorr and interview him for YLB. So I did. And he didn't disappoint. Benjamin was an overweight school teacher who'd graduated with a double degree in environmental biology in creative writing when he walked into his first Bikram Yoga class in 2008. Within three months he'd lost 45 pounds, met a yoga … [Read more...]
Video Interview with Bikram Teacher Lucas Miles on Drugs, Addiction and Yoga
by Kara-Leah Grant I first met Lucas Miles at the lecture Bikram gave in Auckland in January of 2012. He was this crazy tall, lanky tattooed guy who spoke a mile a minute and had some damn interesting things to say. Later, he sent me a link to some articles he'd written about his journey into yoga. It was intense reading - Lucas has lived one helluva life. I attempted to cajole him into writing something for The Yoga Lunchbox, but he never got as far as sending me an article. Then this … [Read more...]
Yoga Injuries and Pain During Yoga Class – What’s the Story?
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Matthew Remski is currently researching asana-related injuries in an attempt to understand what we are actually doing with yoga, and how we can know the value or safety of the postures we practice. After taking the time to read his first article on the subject - What Are We Actually Doing in Asana - I found myself asking questions about my practice and the pain I sometimes experience in yoga. In particular, Matthew says: I would like to explore … [Read more...]
How Bikram Yoga Evolved into Evolation Yoga with Mark Drost and Zefea Samson
by Kara-Leah Grant Mark Drost was once a Bikram Senior Teacher, completely immersed in the Bikram World. Like so many though, there were aspects of the Bikram Culture that bugged him. He could see the yoga was run on fear and control and it didn't sit well with him. After six years in the inner circle, and after meeting his wife Zefea Samson, Mark left. He and Zefea took everything they had learned during their time with Bikram, and prior, and used it to create Evolation Yoga. They … [Read more...]
The NZ Bikram Yoga Community Responds to the Bikram Sex Scandal
by Kara-Leah Grant In the last year five women have filed lawsuits against Choudhury, with charges ranging from rape to sexual harassment. The allegations are serious, and according to an in-depth Vanity Fair article about Bikram and the charges, the plaintiffs all tell a similar story. A young woman is singled out for attention, Bikram tells her how wonderful and special she is, using spirituality to imply there's a unique connection - like shared past lives. The attention becomes … [Read more...]
Is Bikram Choudhury really an alien?
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat On Sunday I drove a 440 km round-trip to see Bikram Choudbury speak. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Not only did I get to meet more of the NZ yoga community, but I also got to check out Bikram The Man in person as he took the stage for a three and a half hour lecture. Yep that's right - Bikram spoke with barely a pause for breath for over three hours, and if it hadn't been for the insistence of the organizers, he would have kept on going. And … [Read more...]