Bikram Choudhuryby Kara-Leah Grant
There is one simple action that the Government could take which would slash hospital waiting lists.
It would turn us from a nation of porkies into a nation of bendies.
Plus it would seriously put a dent in the increasing number of us who are living with mental illness at some stage in our lives.
This one action would take commitment from us though.
We would have to invest 90 minutes 3 times a week into our physical, mental and emotional health. That’s 4 and a half hours.
For many of us, finding that four and a half hours in between children and work and friends and family would be near impossible.
But the magic of this time is that it positively affects the quality of sleep so that people who do that 4 and a half hours every week find they needs less sleep each night – effectively increasing the number of waking hours they have at their disposal.
Imagine that.
Committing 4 and a half hours every week to something that means you feel refreshed after 6 hours sleep a night,
Something that arrests the aging process, rehabilitates old injuries and builds the immune system.
In a country as socially engineering as ours, it’s a miracle that this system of creating health and time hasn’t already become compulsory. Perhaps that’s because politicians work such horrendous hours that they haven’t yet caught on to the miracle that is Bikram Yoga.
Yes – Bikram Yoga. A 90 minute practice of 26 poses performed in a room heated to 40 degrees.
This is what should be compulsory for each and every New Zealander over the age of 18. Maybe the age of 14 – if we could peel the teenagers away from their cellphones for long enough.
Because there is no doubt that if we ALL did Bikram yoga, we would solve the obesity crisis, the mental health crisis, the health crisis, and the time-poor crisis most of us experience.
Designed by Bikram Choudhury, this is a yoga series created to specifically attract the western mind by appealing to the ego, and created to specifically heal the western body by focusing on postures which heal modern western ailments.
Bikram was a child yoga prodigy who went on to become an Olympic weightlifter – until a weight lifting accident crushed his knee and left him severely crippled.
European doctors said he would never walk again, but Bikram went back to Bishnu Gnosh’s school of yoga and after six months of intensive work was healed.
His personal experience with the healing power of yoga in the face of Western pessimism lead him to a United Nations sponsored three year research project at Tokyo University Hospital. He worked with doctors to prove that yoga regenerates tissues and cures chronic ailments, making a presentation at the International Medical Conference in 1972.
26 years on and Bikram Yoga is one of the most popular and successful styles of yoga in the Western world. In New Zealand, it attracts a significant following. The Wellington studio fits almost 60 people at capacity and is often full, despite there being at least 3 classes a day on offer.
So if it’s such a miracle, why aren’t we all doing it?
Could be because we’re lazy.
And Bikram is hard.
It’s likely the hardest physical exercise that you would ever do. It will challenge your body, your mind and your ego. For most people, it would be so far out of their comfort zone that they’d want to run screaming from the room. It would make them feel stiff, and weak, and awkward, and weak, and pathetic, and fat.
And who wants to feel like that.
Thing is, most of us ARE either stiff, or weak, or awkward, or weak, or pathetic, or fat, or some combination of all those things.
But being confronted with who we truly are is just too much for most of us to handle. We’d rather pretend that it doesn’t matter that we’ve carrying a spare tire around our waist, or that we have to sit down to put on our socks, or that we wheeze walking up stairs. We pretend it’s a normal part of life, and a normal part of aging.
We don’t want to stare at ourselves in a mirror with 50 other sweaty people and confront the realities of our bodies and ourselves. Nope, we’d rather get sick and break down and overload the health system and reach for the happy pill and just accept that the dicky knee from the old rugby injury is with us for the rest of our lives.
Yet people do start Bikram, and even though they feel awful during class, they come back.
They come back because after completing a Bikram class they discover to their amazement that they feel incredible. Fantastic. Blissful even. And those joyful feelings outweigh the struggle and resistance they encountered during the class.
That feel-good factor lures them back week after week until they note that their lower back no longer aches when they dig the garden. They notice that they’re naturally reaching for healthy food simply because that’s what they feel like eating. And they notice that they have more energy, need less sleep, and feel happier over all.
Class is still hard. Class may still be hard even ten years later. But the rewards are rich, and rising to that challenge week after week, year after year has made them strong. Not just in body, but in mind and emotions too.
A life has been transformed.
Now imagine if every Kiwi was doing this every week. We’d be able to collectively toss away our blood pressure pills, our depression pills, and our anxiety pills. We wouldn’t be lining up for knee replacements and hip replacements and back operations. Our hearts and lungs and livers would support us all the way into our later years. Our binge drinking culture would dissolve away into nothing.
A nation would be transformed.
My recommendation is that the Government forms a working party to investigate the long-term effects of Bikram yoga on the body and mind. After gathering testimonials from long-time Bikram yogis, they’d soon see that it’s absolutely ludicrous that we aren’t all doing Bikram.
In the meantime, I would love to see the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, get himself to a Bikram class just so he can see what it’s all about.
Whaddya say Minister Ryall?
Up for a challenge?
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You’ve got to be joking. Bikram ‘yoga’?
Since when did to physically ‘push, push, push’ become part of the yoga ethos?
(Probably about when $$ and people’s distorted expectations of what they think they need. But not my principle point here)
In my experience ‘push, push, push’ is to literally quote these BY teachers. Come into an asana and ‘go further, push, now push further’……So disappointing.
I spoke about this to a physio friend of mine and she shook her head. “A recipe for torn ligements……and with due diligence a tendon”
This kind of teaching is blackening the word ‘yoga’ and who knows what the effect will be.
I wonder how these teachers, let alone the students will be in 20, 30, 40 years?
Bikram so-called yoga is far removed from meditation, self care and ahimsa. If anything, surely ahimsa is to be observed by teacher and student alike. Neither has been the case in the classes I checked out.
Additionally the teacher seemed to have memorized a script, sounded like a robot. The same metaphors, same phrases. I am all for a certain consistency but it seems so…lacking.
I worry about the image of yoga. I worry about people hurting themselves. I worry about a yoga school wanting to copyright what is the inheritance of our past and gift to the future.
I am much inspired by yoga and the myriad of school and approaches. For me this one is highly dangerous, under-thought out, over-valued and simply bad news.
For the fans, please take an objective look at the practice, the environment and what yoga really should be about. The feeling in my heart is not a good one when I consider Bikram ‘Yoga’.
dear marianne!
I have been practising and teaching BIkram yoga for over 10 years now…..and even though i would like to tell you about my own and other incredible healing experiences i have been blessed to observe….
i just want to make two points….
1) YES Bikram yoga teacher are using what you call ” a memorised script” ….we call it a ” dialogue” meaning a dialogue between your body and the teachers words…..to bypass and switch off your mind…to find your 90 minute moving meditation…it is there to tell you what to do, when to do it and what it does for you…it is for precision, timing, rhythm, etc…
i wonder how many classes you did ….the “push , push, push” you made a big point of in ONLY dialogue of the very first posture and there for a reason:)…
2) Emmi Cleaves is over 85 years old and has been teaching BIkram yoga for over 35 years
have a look at this 3 minute documentary about her ( http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090118/bc_yoga_teacher_090118/20090119/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome&mid=52548 )….maybe this could made you rethink and even more importantly ” re-feel” your very harsh judgment?
Namaste
Marianne,
I wish you a positive experience with our practice one day.
Namaste.
Marianne,
Please try to be a little more informed before claiming that this isn’t real yoga. I have personally met Bikram yogis who have practiced this yoga for decades & their minds, bodies, & spirits are a beauty to behold. This yoga has caused me to look within myself for strength I never knew I had & I am grateful for that “push, push, push” mentality for, without it, I would never push myself to the points I need to go. It is human nature to take the path of least resistance. This yoga does not allow you to do that; & this is translated to othe parts of the yogi’s life outside of the yoga room. This yoga is FAR from disappointing. It’s the best thing that has happened in my life; second only to my husband & daughter. Those who commit to trying this yoga, without prejudices, will surely see amazing benefits. Namaste.
I’ve tried Bikram. I liked it and I did benenfit from it at the time. However, it’s not the “yoga for me”. Just because I don’t get something great from it, doesn’t mean others don’t. If it works for someone else, who are we to know if it does or doesn’t. Personally, I do agree with Mirianne to a degree, but I’m not fully convinced either way.
Since Marianne is curious to know how the students and teachers will be in 20, 30, 40 years, I’d like to invite her to take a moment to read the following article, written by an extraordinary woman named Emmy Cleaves. Emmy took her first Bikram Yoga class in 1973, Emmy is now in her eighties. Ms. Cleaves has been practicing AND teaching Bikram Yoga for over 30 years. She is the hottest, fittest, most energetic octogenarian I have ever had the good fortune to meet.
http://www.bikramyoga.com/News/LAYogaMagazine0105.htm
Not everyone has to like Bikram Yoga. Whatever resonates with someone is quite simply the path that they should choose. Be it Yoga or anything else in life. But proclaiming that this Yoga is not real is an allegation that is uninformed and grossly inaccurate.
Hey Marriane, angry much? The instructor who told you to lock your knee and tried to keep you from running out the room really wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings.
I’ve been attending Bikram classes since 2003, so i haven’t reached the “ten year” mark you mentioned. Funny thing, I seem to be stronger than ever.
I do admit I took some time off to try some “real yoga” for a while — bad experience for me. The inverted poses and upper body work did damage to my neck and exacerbated the arthritis in my shoulders.
I’m a very muscular 48 year old man. Maybe “real yoga” works for you, but it doesn’t work for me. The heat and relative gentleness of Bikram allows me to maintain a regular practice. My resting pulse rate is under 60 and my blood pressure stays very low relative to my age.
In regards to “push push” — I find that communicating with the instructor about limits or injuries helps
Dear Mirianne
Open your mind,let go of your fears and practice yoga. How can you be so negative and full of fears …if you do practice? Namaste
Hey all,
First up – great conversation. Awesome to hear from everyone.
Marianne – Was I joking? Well yeah – I’m for less Government in general and more personal responsibility… but I wanted to get people talking. Mission accomplished 😉
Joseph,
Thank you for your simplicity & acceptance.
Rose,
I’m with you – there’s no way to avoid anything in the Bikram room. Resistance is futile!
Tash,
You’re walking the middle way with great delicacy 🙂
Alexis,
Great article, thanks for the link.
Bluebird123,
Man! I can’t wait until I can see Bikram as “relatively gentle”. Right now, of all the yoga styles I’ve practiced, Bikram kicks my arse the mostest!
Gina,
Practice is a path, and after ten years or so, I’ve still got some pretty nasty fears and negativity that comes up. But I’m working on it… and I’m sure Marianne is too.
Blessings all,
KL
@Kara-Leah Grant.
LOL… Yes, the gentleness is very relative. I should have specified that it’s relatively gentle to the joints — yes,it kicks my ass also.
Marianne – I would research Bikram further and I think your fears will dissipate. Bikram himself is teaching in the style he was taught by top yoga masters in India as a boy. It is a meditation and the teacher’s memorized script is a big part of that. During the asanas, you totally let go and only listen to their words as a guide. All thoughts are put on hold and you are totally in the moment. Ie meditating.
Bikram yoga is so great!!!!! 🙂
Hey Waylon,
Thanks for that reminder about the meditative quality of Bikram.
During the workshop, Paul and Jaylee often spoke about getting to a stage in one’s Bikram practice where everybody else in the room “disappeared” and you could literally only see yourself in the mirror.
Ninety minute moving meditation – powerful stuff indeed!
Blessings,
KL
Great article!
And, Waylon’s post is right on!
I’ve had a knee injury and because i kept going to bikram and really listened to my body and only did what i could, the injury has healed correctly and in the right alignment. I believe in this stuff. Being able to only focus on my body, my emotions, and the teachers dialogue, i can block out everything, from my struggling neighbor to the sweat dripping in my eyes. It really is a meditation.
I love bikram!
Oh Yeah – Bikram for sure kicks butt in the best way! Desiree…. I’m with you 150%. Bikram seems a bit nutty… but the class is changing my life one drop of sweat at a time.
Hey Desiree,
Thank you! Had a blast writing it 🙂 It sounds like you’re having an awesome experience with Bikram.
Blessings,
KL
Bikram yoga needs to have a more in depth health review before allowing new student to start this practice. ( You sign that waiver for a reason.) The room is not heated to 40 degrees, as this article states but 95 to 100 degrees. This temperature with very physical exercise is not recommended for pregnant women, people with high blood pressure or any heart irregularities.
I know women (that is more than one) who continued there Bikram classes while pregnant and miscarried. I also witness a seasoned Bikram teacher pass out in a back bend, seizure, and defecate while teaching a class. This women looked amazingly fit, healthy, and strong. The cause, we were told she was dehydrated. My acupuncturist has also told me that he has witnesses several women go into early menopause, he believes from their Bikram yoga practice. I have had severe hormonal imbalances and have been told my OGBYN and acupuncturist not to practice hot or Bikram yoga. I have also had great improvements with the imbalances since I have stopped.
My point being, this is a dangerous practice and should be practiced with caution.
Hi Yoga girl,
Actually, the room is 40% humidity and heated to 105 degrees.
I’m surprised a teacher passed out “in a backbend, seisure, and defecate[d] while teaching a class” because teachers do not do the poses while teaching; they simply talk the whole time.
I do believe that we all have different paths. Not everyone should have the same diet, same exercise or even same anything really. Bikram IS intense. It is not for some people. People who have a low tolerance to heat and humidity should not do Bikram.
The instructors inform you how to do it correctly and how to listen to your body, but I do believe that peole who are not in general good health should start very slow or even build up their health first before going to Bikram. Some people should never go.
I must say though, everyone that practices Bikram has such gorgeous velvet skin… that alone, and I”m in (not to mention it has increased my flexibility immensely).
Best of everything to everyone! 😀
Hey Yoga Girl,
Welcome to the Yoga Lunchbox! We’re down in New Zealand, so use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit for temperature, which makes a Bikram class 38 to 40 degrees here.
Sounds like you’ve had some pretty interesting experiences around Bikram yoga – thanks for sharing your insights.
Blessings,
KL
Hey y’all
We’re all entitled to our views on what constitutes yoga for us individually. My only issue with Bikram is that the statement I just made is anathema to its founder who is proudly intolerant of forms other than his own.
I’d love to see all NZers yoga-supple and energised but I have no interest in lining the pockets of Mr Choudhury to do so.
Hey Sascha,
It would be wonderful eh? A whole nation of yogis… maybe we could just make 90 minutes of intense, focused, physical yoga compulsory, ditch the Bikram component?
Blessings,
KL
So I’ve come to this conversation a little late, its been a while since I’ve had a chance to peruse. I’m personally not a fan of Bikram, but am more concerned about this website being used as a forum to push one style of the practice. Absolutely if the gvt made yoga compulsory we’d have a much healthier nation, but to suppose that only one style of yoga, esp. one as definitive as Bikram is going to address the needs of a nation is more than a little arrogant. This attitude is one that us yoga teachers as a whole battle with on a daily basis to get public engaged with a practice – which if practiced, even a few small minutes, a few days a week is going to improve wellbeing. If a practice doesn’t resonate with them, they turn away from yoga, as opposed to being encouraged to try one of the many practices and philosophies that may suit them instead. The more people doing yoga (regardless of what style), the more the benefits become known and the more we all benefit. My (yes limited) experience of Bikram is that it is a very full on practice, and requires a fervent vigor – a personality type that most Bikram practitioners I have met hold. Suits them but doesn’t hold the space for others with different body needs, goals and time constraints. And all of the benefits Bikram sings are available from any yoga practice, if practiced with the commitment that most Bikram yogis have.
Kara -Leah – you’ve done an amazing job of this site and creating a sense of community that is often sadly lacking in our need to make sure our classes and belly’s are full, and I know a lot has changed since you have written this article, but I do suggest that something so divisive is better left to personal websites promoting personal styles of teaching, not a forum that (I perceive anyway) is a great reference tool for anyone who is interested in knowing more about the practice of yoga.
Please keep spreading the good word, just in a way that is inclusive of all.
Hey Gin,
You do realise that I was taking the mickey right? That this article is having a bit of a joke?
It would be wonderful if everyone wanted to be well and fit and to practice yoga. It would be horrible if everyone were required to practice yoga. In fact, if it were compulsory it wouldn’t arguably even be yoga any more. Bikram yoga, which I LOVE, is an extreme practice, and it tends to draw extreme people. You are obviously one of the extremists. All your syrupy “hope you enjoy your practice” comments aside, it is not loving, balanced, or healthy, to force people to do things. Humans are inherently self destructive, but in a strange way, that’s fine, because we were meant to suffer and die. Why do you imagine that you know better than the Earth, or time, or fate, all of whom consume us? What makes you imagine that we were all meant to be healthy and well? Some of us were clearly meant for a different road, and the road they choose is between them and whatever god they choose to know, it is none of your business. Get back on your own mat yogi brother. It is your practice that needs work. When you can practice your yoga without worrying about everyone else “grasshopper” it will be time for you to go…
You realise this article it written tongue-in-cheek right?
That I’m not serious?
That I’m having some fun?
I am an ex-athelite, gymnast turned springboard diver and I’m now involved in theatre and music also involving heavy dance and I can tell you that yoga in general has helped me in ways no other exercise has. Why? Because it was intelligently designed by people who knew how the human body works. I’m not a yoga fanatic but what I do know is that my body says thank you to me every time I practice yoga. That said, yoga is not something everybody is going to get into and while that is a pitty, making ANY form of exercise compulsory WILL NOT solve the above problems. What it will create is extra stress and undue injury simply because people who are not used to exercise are usually not aware of their body and how far they can push themselves without hurting themselves. Those of us who have grown up active are lucky in that most of us have this awareness, but as many of you will know a lot of pain and injury often happens in that learning process. Now yoga is extremely beneficial but it is not the only exercise that can rehabilitate injury and cure illness. It might be for some of us but not everyone CAN do Bikram yoga for one and also everybody’s different and we all have our limits. I would not for example recommend that pregnant women do Bikram as it could harm your unborn child and I would not recommend it if you’re sensitive to heat or have MS or heart problems… the list could go on and on. Putting Bikram in the spotlight as some sort of magical cure for everything is not very intelligent. Yoga is about finding balance and wellness in your body, mind and soul so take it easy on those who can achieve this without doing Bikram. Now I happen to LOVE extreme exercise and Bikram is an EXTREMELY disciplined branch of yoga so I enjoy challenging myself every now and then but if I was to do 4 hours a week I would loose valuable time I need to practice my music and dance and vocal skills. Bikram is awesome if you can do it but not everybody can or should. We need to be careful of judging people who can’t do it and try not to insist upon pushing it in people’s faces as a cure-all. It’s not a cure-all it’s a cure-some. If it works it works but it won’t for everybody that’s just a fact. Get over it and just encourage people to be active and incorporate awesome combination yoga posses into their routine. The only difference btw bikram and other yoga forms is the heat factor and this has its pros and cons for different people.
Hey Susanna,
Thanks for your considered response.
I’m not serious about making Bikram compulsory for everyone. It’s written tongue-in-cheek. Because yes, it’s not suitable for everybody, nor do I think that having a practice imposed on us externally will be beneficial in the longrun. This article was just a way to explore something and get people talking. Which it’s done!
Hi everyone
Just came across your website, KL, and read this post and all comments this morning – before 12noon bikram class. I think this is a really interesting discussion, and have come across people seeming to react to bikram from a place of being threatened before. I listened hard to the dialogue in class today, and the only “push” is to do with pushing hips forward or to the side during half moon and camel – using the hips as a counterbalance for spine bending along with core muscles. We never “push, push, push”. The push is gentle. We do pull quite a lot, on the other hand. And I understand if this seems like splitting hairs but to me pulling and pushing are VERY different things – physically and dynamically as well as spiritually and compassionately.
As for locking the knee, correct me if I’m wrong, but we never lock the knee for more than 60 seconds, do we? And “locking the knee” is shorthand for engaging all the complex quads and other muscles around the knee to protect the joint. It’s a misnomer, actually, we engage muscles, we’re not actually being aggressive with our knees. Bikram yoga teaches us patience and great respect for our knees, e.g., fixed firm where no one is encouraged to go into full expression unless totally pain-free and comfortable.
Anecdotes to do with early menopause and miscarriage are another kettle of fish – and quite irresponsible, I think. Wouldn’t this be actionable? Until I see a law suit I will treat with a pinch of salt, I’m afraid. No offence.
Lastly, I’m thrilled to have found your website. Thank you.
Breathe normal!
Caz xox
Hey Carol,
It is an interesting discussion eh? Fascinating for me to see how different people react, and how widely people’s experience of Bikram Yoga seems to vary.
Thrilled you’re thrilled, and hope you find some fascinating articles in the archive… there’s something like 400 in there!
Blessings,
KL
Absolutely. It’s a great resource. I am having a wee scout around from the other side of the world (London, UK). I’ll read little by little so as not to yoga overwhelm myself!
I love Bikram yoga! To me it’s as essential as drinking water. However, I don’t feel the negative reinforcement “pathetic and fat” is going to win many hearts. Just my thoughts. Best. 🙂
Yah Yah tell the world ! It is so very true!
The experience of Bikram on my life has been transforming,mentally and physically,it is simply wonderful.
The most positive,energising,strengthening exercise I have done,I am now a lifetime addict.
Yes,if only,there were walk in-as you go-Bikram government classes NZ would have a chilled out population.
Cheers,Bickyxxxx
Am so down with this, a society of lazy office dwelling stoops needs way more crazy hot hard yoga to create balance! I wish I loved the sultry office poses as much as camel, and I wish I looked forward to office politix as much as I looked forward to balancing stick ??
Hey Susylou,
Oh can you image offices emptying out on a Friday night and everyone heading to their prescribed Bikram Yoga session? What an office culture it would create!
I love my yoga practice! I was introduced to yoga 16 years ago, and practiced for 11 years before attending a Bikram studio (in NZ actually), and it really disappointed me. It was nothing like all of the other yoga experiences, studios and styles I had tried (most in the US). Bikram felt strangely cult like to me, although the room was warm, nothing else about it was. Bikram receives a lot of bad press in the US, where he lives a very hollywood lifestyle. Check out the latest: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/bikram-yoga-lawsuit_n_3709518.html
I endorse wholeheartedly the practice of yoga, it is life changing! And the article title is accurate- sans the word Bikram. Bikram is a fantastic business man who marketed his brand. Making a Bikram endorsement is like saying “wear lululemon leggings to class” instead of “wear leggings to class”.
Peace and love, Erika
Hey Erika,
So true – Bikram is a fascinating character, getting into some serious trouble right now. It’s not the man I’m endorsing at all though. The practice itself is a solid sequence that has serious benefits. It’s not the right style for everyone though.
Yoga needs to be practiced in its real form and not as aerobics !
Are you implying that Bikram Yoga is aerobics? Have you ever been to a class? How can you determine if the way a practitioner is approaching Bikram is ‘real’ or unreal?