A+ Yoga

Bikram yoga was founded by Bikram Choudhury, a gold medal Olympic champion weight lifter in 1963. This is the only form of yoga that utilizes heat to ensure optimal results for those who have the endurance to stick with it. The heat comes into play by way of room temperature. To simulate the temperature of India, the birthplace of yoga, the poses are done in a room with a sustained temperature of 95 to 105 degrees.

Bikram Yoga Basics

This form of yoga involves 26 different asanas, or poses. These are done in sequence and then repeated again. The asanas are held for 10 to 60 seconds. It is a very challenging 90 minute routine given the level of difficulty and the heat.

Benefits

There are countless physical and mental benefits to doing this type of yoga. Some of the poses apply pressure to certain points in the body. This works as a form of acupressure to release tension and pain. Because of the intensity of bikram yoga, it has many physical benefits such as strengthening muscles and toning muscles. This helps to reshape the body and make for a sleeker and leaner look and feel to your body.

With the intensity, weight loss is bound to occur if it is done frequently due to the sheer amount of calories burned during a session. It is known as a great source of cardio. The movements of this style of yoga also balance metabolism and decrease cravings, which further supports the practice of bikram yoga as a beneficial weight loss workout.

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The continuous movements of this style of yoga work to improve coordination and balance. Even hand eye coordination will improve through this practice.  Mentally, this form of yoga, as with others, can help with stress relief and help you reach a level of mental clarity. As you increase the difficulty of postures with experience, you increase your ability to focus. These improvements also help to reduce any chance of injury, as the body accepts the postures as natural and beneficial.

The heat adds to the benefits of bikram yoga. As you do the poses, the muscles of the body and the body’s core temperature rises. This rise increases flexibility and range of motion. When the muscles are warmed, you can stretch further and deeper.

One of the most important benefits of this yoga routine that heat intensifies is detoxification. The heat causes you to sweat profusely, more so than during a low intensity yoga workout. The sweat is filled with built up toxins in the body. Sweating is a natural way to expel those toxins and flush them out. This allows the immune system to work more efficiently. As with any exercise that causes a lot of sweating, it is important to stay hydrated. By adding pure and clean water to the body to replace the toxin laden sweat, you further stimulate and improve all the inner workings of the body. You will increase your energy level too.

Bikram yoga is not for the weary or those who have never had any yoga experiences. The heat environment can take some adjusting, but the benefits are noticeable right away. You leave a bikram yoga session feeling as if you have left behind all of the negative thoughts, toxins and stressors that you may have walked in with. Physically and mentally, this form of yoga will test you and make you stronger inside and out.

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