Anyone practice Bikram Yoga?

[mia1181]

Funny thing happened to me today. I was driving in a parking lot and the woman in front of me stopped her car and got out and started coming toward my car. I was

at first but then realized it was my Bikram yoga instructor. She recognized me and wanted to say hi (even though there were a line of cars behind me!). I thought it was really nice she remembered me, because I had only been going for short time when I had to stop because of a wart!

Anyway, I''ve been thinking and I think I am going to start going back (risking more warts!). I am really excited!

I miss doing Bikram. It is the only form of exercise that I have ever *really* enjoyed.

Does anyone else do it/tried it? What did you think?

Personally, I''ve heard a lot of weird things about Bikram himself. But I really like the series. I''ve also heard that the teachers can be really mean etc. but the teachers at my studio are incredibly supportive and don''t "push" like I''ve heard they are trained to do.

 

[*Danielle*]

I have always wanted to try yoga, but never felt my flexibility was quite up to par. I haven''t heard of that type of yoga either. I need to find a good workout so I am looking into new things.

Also, could it be the mats causing the wart? Maybe bring your own or a wipe down cloth could help.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I love Bikram yoga. I have always been a fan of yoga, but I was kind of nervous to try Bikram out. I actually found that I enjoy it much more and I get a better work out. I quit for awhile, but I recently got back into it.


I''m curious about the warts though.. Did you get them because of the heat? I don''t think I''ve ever had one so I don''t know much about them!

 

[Morticia]

I practice Bikram Yoga regularly. I used to be a runner, and was always getting hurt (my own fault for not training properly), so I got into Bikram Yoga. That was over 2 years a go and I haven''t gone running much since. It has helped me a great deal with flexibilty, weight loss and I sleep better. I practice 3+ times a week. I love it!

You should go back, Mia. I know it can be intimidating, b/c of the heat, but you''ll feel great after class.

 

[mia1181]

Date: 12/17/2008 11:49:52 PM
Author: *Danielle*
I have always wanted to try yoga, but never felt my flexibility was quite up to par. I haven''t heard of that type of yoga either. I need to find a good workout so I am looking into new things.

Also, could it be the mats causing the wart? Maybe bring your own or a wipe down cloth could help.

*Danielle* Bikram Yoga is not usually recommended for beginners because it is practiced in a hot (100+ degrees) and humid (40% I think). It''s 90 minutes long and you literally become soaked in your own sweat! That said, I tried it as a beginner and fell in love! I''m fairly young and fairly healthy (although definitely not flexible) so the heat never really bothered me. But there are also a lot of "older" people in my class who are awesome at it. I am just telling you this because it seems to be a very controversial style in the yoga community. There are a lot of people who feel it isn''t really safe. So if you are interested you should do some research before attending a class. But I love it!

As for the wart. Well I don''t know where the wart came from. I bring my own mat to class and they provide a natural disinfecting spray to clean your mat. However, the class is practiced in a carpeted room that gets soaked with people''s sweat (sometimes the sweat drops miss the towel) so my doctor thought it was likely that it was a "good" environment to catch the wart virus. However, I also stayed at my InLaw''s house during that period and FIL had warts so I also could have got it from their shower. Hard to say. It''s not like everyone practing Bikram get''s a wart either....

 

[mia1181]

OUpeargirl and Morticia, Glad to see other Bikram lovers! What's your fav./least fav. posture?

My Favorite is either Tree/Toe because I can get down to toe (still need a little help from fingertips every now and then), or Camel (super challenging, but I get an intense rush when I do it!).

Least Favorite is Half Moon, It's tricky for me to do it right with straining my lower back.


Oupeargirl- did you see my response above about the wart? Dr. felt it was because of the yoga class (heat, sweat, barefoot), but I don't know. Either way I had to stop for a while to not spread it to others and then it took me like 5 painful treatments to finally get rid of it so I couldn't really practice without my foot hurting. If I get another one I may be more reluctant to return, but I'm hoping it's a rare occurance.

 

[Morticia]

Date: 12/18/2008 5:12:50 PM
Author: mia1181

Date: 12/17/2008 11:49:52 PM

Author: *Danielle*

I have always wanted to try yoga, but never felt my flexibility was quite up to par. I haven''t heard of that type of yoga either. I need to find a good workout so I am looking into new things.


Also, could it be the mats causing the wart? Maybe bring your own or a wipe down cloth could help.

*Danielle* Bikram Yoga is not usually recommended for beginners because it is practiced in a hot (100+ degrees) and humid (40% I think). It''s 90 minutes long and you literally become soaked in your own sweat! That said, I tried it as a beginner and fell in love! I''m fairly young and fairly healthy (although definitely not flexible) so the heat never really bothered me. But there are also a lot of ''older'' people in my class who are awesome at it. I am just telling you this because it seems to be a very controversial style in the yoga community. There are a lot of people who feel it isn''t really safe. So if you are interested you should do some research before attending a class. But I love it!

Actually Mia, Bikram is recommended for beginners. It is considered a beginner''s series. The heat is extremely challenging but the room is hot in order to warm up the muscles and protect them during the stretch. I am only saying this b/c people (not you) saying Bikram isn''t for beginners are wrong. I''ve only learned this b/c I work at a Bikram studio.

Danielle, you should be well hydrated before you go to class and don''t eat up to 2-3 hours before class also. Like I said, the hot room is very challenging but you just do what you can, when you first start out, and if you need to sit out of some postures or lie down, you should. Do what you can. As with any new exercise, it just takes time, and will get a little easier. I highly recommend it (as you can see

.) I''ve seen it do a lot for people and their health.

 

[Morticia]

Date: 12/18/2008 5:22:18 PM
Author: mia1181
OUpeargirl and Morticia, Glad to see other Bikram lovers! What''s your fav./least fav. posture?


My Favorite is either Tree/Toe because I can get down to toe (still need a little help from fingertips every now and then), or Camel (super challenging, but I get an intense rush when I do it!).


Least Favorite is Half Moon, It''s tricky for me to do it right with straining my lower back.

My favorite posture? Hmmmm... I don''t know if I have a favorite! Ha. I actually like half moon and backward bending. I also like camel, even though it''s kind of scary at times.

My least favorite is easy. Locust, where we lay on our elbows and get both legs in the air. I have a really hard time with that posture, always have, and it frustrates me. I also struggle with standing head to knee. I can''t kick out real well yet and I''ve been practicing for 2 yrs!

 

[pixley]

What a timely thread! Thanks for starting this, mia. I've only done Hatha and just took a Vinyasa flow class, but some friends of mine are getting into Bikram, which would be great for me, since I need to do buddy system sometimes.

I know that many Hatha people have strong feelings against Bikram, and I wanted to know why. Is it dangerous because of the heat, or ???

Also, the Bikram place where I live used to have a carpeted floor.

They've since moved to a new space and now have hardwood, so I'm interested in giving it a try but would like to know more about it.

 

[mia1181]

Your right Morticia I totally forgot the series is actually intended for beginners, and as a beginner I had no problems. But when I first starting doing it I found a yoga forum with a section devoted to Bikram. There was always a lot of arguments about the safety of practicing this form of yoga especially for people with heart problems, etc. I guess there are a lot of Bikram-Haters out there, and while I am certainly not one of them, I can see where some of their arguements make sense.

 

[mia1181]

Date: 12/18/2008 11:03:28 PM
Author: Morticia

Date: 12/18/2008 5:22:18 PM
Author: mia1181
OUpeargirl and Morticia, Glad to see other Bikram lovers! What''s your fav./least fav. posture?


My Favorite is either Tree/Toe because I can get down to toe (still need a little help from fingertips every now and then), or Camel (super challenging, but I get an intense rush when I do it!).


Least Favorite is Half Moon, It''s tricky for me to do it right with straining my lower back.

My favorite posture? Hmmmm... I don''t know if I have a favorite! Ha. I actually like half moon and backward bending. I also like camel, even though it''s kind of scary at times.

My least favorite is easy. Locust, where we lay on our elbows and get both legs in the air. I have a really hard time with that posture, always have, and it frustrates me. I also struggle with standing head to knee. I can''t kick out real well yet and I''ve been practicing for 2 yrs!

I have a hard time too with Locust because my wrists get sore sometimes from doing it. I have always had weak wrists and sometimes it seems like too much weight on my wrists. Standing Head to Knee is a toughie too, I can''t really straighten my leg when I kick out. That''s the least flexible part of my body.

 

[mia1181]

Pixley definitely try it!!!!!!!! I seriously love it! Something about all that sweating makes me feel so awesome when I leave. I know it''s a great workout because my entire body is sore the next day (in a good way) and my pulse is up the whole 90 minutes. And after all that heat and sweating and working hard I honestly leave that place with twice as much energy as I came in with. No joke! It''s amazing.

I think one of the biggest reason Hatha practioners hate Bikram is because of Bikram himself (the founder, or inventor or whatever). He represents a lot of things that most yogis detest. He is known for being materialistic, and suing people that teach his style without franchising to him. There also a few aspects of the way it is done that go against the typical yoga values. For instance, in Bikram we use a mirror which people argue encourages vanity or competition. The list really goes on. I think a lot of people see it has a more "commercialized" version of yoga.

But I still love it!

Oh but really that Bikram guy really is a trip! I have his CD (so I can do it at home). You should hear the way he degrades his students!

But I do have to say my teachers are nothing like that! My studio is awesome and everyone there is so nice.

Oh, and my studio is carpeted.

I wish it was hardwood, but I have heard that can be slippery. I do tell myself that they must clean the carpets because it doesn''t stink in there, but who knows!

 

[pixley]

I''ll definitely give it a try! I''ve never known anyone that didn''t enjoy their Bikram classes, so that''s pretty encouraging. Bikram himself sounds like a real gem.

Kind of unfortunate that his personality has tainted the reputation of that form of yoga practice.

 

[lliang_chi]

Mia,

I do Bikram yoga!! I go 3-4 times a week. So far I haven''t found any changes in my weight etc.

I like Bikram, but I also don''t like it. Mostly because I don''t like how Bikram Choudary runs the "franchise". It seems so... corporate. It doesn''t stop me from still going, I just wish it was so... "pay-to-play." But I love how I feel after it, and I have found myself getting better at certain poses. My favorite pose (although I can''t do it) is the standing bow. It looks so bad a$$.

 

[mia1181]

Date: 12/19/2008 1:19:05 PM
Author: lliang_chi
Mia,

I do Bikram yoga!! I go 3-4 times a week. So far I haven''t found any changes in my weight etc.

I like Bikram, but I also don''t like it. Mostly because I don''t like how Bikram Choudary runs the ''franchise''. It seems so... corporate. It doesn''t stop me from still going, I just wish it was so... ''pay-to-play.'' But I love how I feel after it, and I have found myself getting better at certain poses. My favorite pose (although I can''t do it) is the standing bow. It looks so bad a$$.

Yay! More Bikramers! You know lliang_chi I did it about 3x a week for several months and never lost any weight either. I''m on the smalller side so it is usually really hard for me to lose any weight, but I definitely do have fat that I would like to see lessen. You are supposed to burn a ridiculous amount of calories each session, but maybe I was eating more to make up for it? I don''t usually diet.... I definitely *felt* like I was burning cals, my heart rate was up and oh my muscles were so sore. Either way I feel it IS excellent exercise. And the main benefit for me is working on my flexibilty.

Oh yeah I just thought maybe I was not losing weight because I was gaining muscle and muscle weighs more? I don''t know, clothes fit the same too I think.

Yeah Bikram himself sounds so scary in the CD. He''s not the kind of yoga teacher I would want. But like you, I am conflicted because I really do like the series he designed. Thankfully, my teachers are nothing like him!

Oh and standing bow is totally Bad A$$!!!!!! I would love it if I could ever hold my leg above my head like that! Will have to keep practicing.....