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Bikram Yoga is the ORIGINAL HOT YOGA and can trace it origins back to the early 1970’s.  The hot yoga phenomenon is an offshoot of the huge popularity of Bikram Yoga and began mainly in the last decade.

 

A genuine Bikram studio will only offer a specific sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises.  Each posture is held in a static position for a specific period of time and is followed by a brief rest period.

This follows an ancient yogic principal that required holding the body in a particular position, with optimal alignment and using focus and breath to create physical and mental change.

These important moments of rest allow the student to recover, re-oxygenate their body and prepare for the next posture. This is unlike a vinyasa or flow class where there is no break between postures.

Every 90 minute class is held in a carpeted room, at a temperature of 40 degrees C with 40% humidity.

The class requires the first 50 minutes of the standing series postures to slightly elevate the core temperature to induce physiological and mental change in the body.

The final 40 minutes allows the body to continue healing through the floor series postures. The heat produces profuse sweating to cleanse the skin and therefore the use of carpets reduces the risk of slipping and injury.

A genuine Bikram studio will only employ certified Bikram teachers who have been trained in the officially recognized Bikram Yoga Teacher Training Program, currently held twice a year overseas. This program is conducted using the resources of the world-wide Bikram yoga community of senior teachers and staff.

This Bikram teacher training program began in the 1980s and helps to ensure that a more consistent level of teaching is offered to Bikram students wherever they practice in a Bikram studio. Other schools of hot yoga depend upon various external teacher training programs or sometimes a studio owner will conduct training within their studio.

Most Bikram studios will only teach the original Bikram 90 minute class as this is the best way to offer their students an opportunity to establish a regular and consistent practice.

Many other hot yoga studios offer a wide variety of classes that can make it more difficult to conduct a regular practice of a single style of yoga.