Training & Nutrition - Hot Yoga

Anyone out there try Bikram (hot) Yoga?

They crank the room up to 105-107 degrees and put you through a fairly demanding 90 minute workout. If you've tried it, what do you think?

I can't take the heat. I've got a couple friends who are really into it, but I get lightheaded after about 5 minutes in that temperature.

I prefer Iyengar yoga, which focuses more on holding the poses. It forces me to strengthen muscles that are unbalanced from the rest of my body. If you don't like the heat, see if you can find an Ashtanga or Power yoga class. These focus more on pose flow and deliver a butt-kicking workout.

i only know one person who likes this. maybe it feels good or something. i don't buy it. it doesn't look like it helps his fitness. hmmm ... that was mean to say. oh well.

If you don't like the heat, see if you can find an Ashtanga or Power yoga class.

what he said

Edit : i cant handle the heat, i prefer my sweating to come from the actual workout and not the enviroment. Some people love it though, kinda like doing stretching in a suana.

Anyone out there try Bikram (hot) Yoga?

They crank the room up to 105-107 degrees and put you through a fairly demanding 90 minute workout. If you've tried it, what do you think?


Wow, what a timely post yours turned out to be for me!

This past Friday, I was invited to participate in something akin to bikram... akin insofar as it employed traditional yoga poses and that took place in a 90 degree room. Where it deviated from traditional bikram: there was a DJ spinning hypnotic electronic music.

When I showed up to meet my friend (who had not yet arrived), the instructor met me at the desk and asked me if I had ever been there before. I told her that I hadn't and that I had never participated in a yoga class of any sort. The expression on her face told me that I had no idea of what I was getting into and she confirmed this by telling me that it was a medium-to-advanced class. When I gave her the name of my friend, she seemed a little more comforted (as if my friends opinion of my ability meant something).

Anyway... the instructor might have just as well have said, "be afraid... be very afraid!" as my workout that night proved to be among the best I've ever had. Some of the poses I was able to master better than anyone might have expected, and some I doubt I'll ever be able to pull off. One thing's for certain: yoga forces you to use muscles that you might not be aware of having. It is a tremendous means of strengthening your core, and it serves very well as a means of loosening muscles tightened by riding and strengthening muscles in opposition of them.

As I now wright (four days later) my hamstrings are still sore (I probably over did it), but I see myself getting hooked on this activity.

Haven't tried Bikram, only Kundalini so far...which was pretty relaxed. Lots of meditation and breathing exercises. The postures we did weren't too physically demanding.

My friend took a Bikram class in New Haven a couple weeks ago and said it was real intense...combination of the heat and difficult postures.

Anyone out there try Bikram (hot) Yoga?

They crank the room up to 105-107 degrees and put you through a fairly demanding 90 minute workout. If you've tried it, what do you think?
haven't tried it...but it makes sense for tissue pliability.

i think they should do Polar Yoga, it would be most challenging

I like Ashtanga myself.

I have a friend who tried Bikram and loved it from the start. 3 months later her entire body morphed in really good ways. She was already in good shape, but her body responded well to the heat . . . and the consistency of doing it 3 times a week. Now she does it 6 days a week. One thing is you want to be hydrated at least an hour before the class starts. After almost every class she had a different story to tell . . . someone passing out, someone crying, someone running out of the room. Just be mindful of your body.

The heat scares me a bit. Ashtanga becomes heated, but it's from the power of the core. I love that feeling . . . generating your own heat.

i have done a decent amount of both bikram and ashtanga yoga. bikram is great for a basic thorough workout, once you get used to the heat. it takes time to get used to it. the first couple times i felt terrible and sick, but after that it was great. now, whenever i go into a sauna, i feel like it's time to get up and do some serious stretching! it increased my tolerance for high temperatures a lot, too, which is a nice side effect. the heat is scary at first, but i really enjoyed it.

ashtanga, though, is an entirely different practice - it's like the difference between bikram and ashtanga is like the difference between grape juice and red wine. bikram is great for basic stuff, but ashtanga is far more subtle and complex. for staying in shape bikram is great - for changing your life, ashtanga is the way to go.

I highly recommend hot yoga but not bikram. Bikram is known in yoga circles as McYoga - chain yoga. Just google hot yoga in your city and see if you can find a non-bikram hot yoga facility. Many people have been injured in bikram classes because the teachers are very rigid in their approach and many of them have trained with bikram but haven't done any yoga previously. If you find the right hot yoga class it is fantastic.

I highly recommend hot yoga but not bikram. Bikram is known in yoga circles as McYoga - chain yoga. Just google hot yoga in your city and see if you can find a non-bikram hot yoga facility. Many people have been injured in bikram classes because the teachers are very rigid in their approach and many of them have trained with bikram but haven't done any yoga previously. If you find the right hot yoga class it is fantastic.


Sorry to say, Shona, I have to agree with you. I'm the original poster, and I went to Bikram Yoga maybe 10 times. It was extremely challenging, and I was getting more flexible--but yesterday, my back really went b-o-i-n-g during class--and not in a good way. My buddy, who got me started, went for two months and says his back hurts worse than ever. Maybe I did something wrong. I won't blame the instructor. But I'm not going back. :(

I highly recommend hot yoga but not bikram. Bikram is known in yoga circles as McYoga - chain yoga. Just google hot yoga in your city and see if you can find a non-bikram hot yoga facility. Many people have been injured in bikram classes because the teachers are very rigid in their approach and many of them have trained with bikram but haven't done any yoga previously. If you find the right hot yoga class it is fantastic.

i agree with you also. i did bikram for awhile, and then the studio switched to "hot yoga," which i liked much better. i still go to bikram classes when there is nothing else available, but after practicing for this long i know my own body well enough to not listen to the instructors all the time.

I did bikram yoga twice a week for 6 months. I loved it. I noticed many positive changes in my body and mind. That said, any yoga would probably do this, not just bikram. I liked the heat because I was used to sauna's growing up.

If you judge the practice of bikram yoga on one class, you are wrong.
If you think your experience will be the same as someone else, you are wrong.

Just try it and decide.

One of my friends have been trying to get me into her hot yoga class... Are there any concerns of overheating? People passing out, going into coma?

I have done Astanga, Kundalini, Power and Bikram Yoga classes and in general they are all OK, but I don't recommend the Bikram or Hot Yoga. I think the heat is a gimmick to make you feel like you are getting a better workout when that is not the case. I think it is much better when you sweat from your own exertion rather than turning up the thermostat.

Another thing about the Bikram classes that I took, is that there was very little instruction. They packed the room with 20-30 students and one teacher. The instructor mostly stood at the front and called out the poses, but did little to correct or adjust anyones poses, so it is is terrible place to learn Yoga. All of the Asthanga and Power classes had very good teachers with just a handful of students and they taught you the proper way to do the poses.

But, don't take my word for it. Try different kinds of Yoga and decide for yourself what you like.