On Yoga (Part I)

When you tell someone that you practice yoga (you have to say "practice" – it's way cooler), there's always that point where you have to discuss what kind of yoga you do. So I'll just come right out there and say it: I do Bikram Yoga.

If you're not aware, there has been a certain amount of controversy surrounding Bikram Choudhury and his yoga – a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises – that is practiced in a room heated to approximately 104 degrees Fahrenheit and a fair amount of humidity.

I'm going to address the controversy in part two of this posting tomorrow, because when I wrote everything out, it was getting rather lengthy. Today I'll just explain why I like Bikram Yoga, despite the insane heat factor. I'm a big fan because it's very predictable – you do the same postures in each class. Some may thing this would be boring, but it works for me. Firstly, because you can really see your progress week-to-week. Secondly, this is helpful for someone who has a hypermobile (bendy) body like me. I need to make sure I know what I am doing and am not surprised by some over-eager teacher trying to get me to do a handstand (I'm still not ready to do any weight-bearing postures, in fact, including downward facing dog). Also the teachers in Bikram are excellent for the most part – they don't push you to do things you don't want to do. I think this is superb. Correcting a posture is one thing, but as everyone knows their own body best, I don't want someone telling me to go further into a back bend than I can – or would actually benefit my body.

The postures are done slowly so that you can really think about your positioning and using the right muscles. And as far as I can tell, the series builds up the right muscles to promote better posture and to prevent future injuries. The heat feels great – especially in the winter – and you don't worry about how much you're sweating because everyone else is dripping too. Plus, it takes my mind off any worry at all. It's such a hard 90-minute class that you seriously can't think about anything other than just making it through.

I can only manage it once a week right now, but this helps me look forward to it. I feel much calmer after it's done and it's a really good cure for the Sunday Night Blues (when done on Sunday, or even on Saturday – so long lasting are its effects). But the best part of Bikram is when it's over. I always look at the students coming in for the next class and think: suckers.