Known as the ‘hot yoga’, Bikram is once again gaining popularity. Jodie Robertson, founder of Australia’s first Bikram studio, explains the ins and outs of this style of stretch.
Q. What is Bikram Yoga?
A - Jodie Robertson: It’s a series of two breathing exercises and 26 postures in a heated room. It took Bikram, his guru, doctors and scientists three years to put the series together. Within the 26 poses, each pose follows the next for medical and scientific reasons. We warm up some parts of the body before we get to other parts, so it’s a set sequence.
Q. How does it differ from other styles of Yoga?
A - Jodie Robertson:
The heat, the mirrors, and the fact that we do every posture twice. The reason for the mirrors is so you can watch your alignment and you can make sure that everything is in a straight line. The teacher constantly talks. Some other yoga styles don’t do that. Because we cater for everyone from absolute beginners to advanced people, we just give directions the whole way through. No matter what level you are everyone can follow along.
Q. What is the recommended temperature during class?
A - Jodie Robertson: Thirty seven degrees. Sometimes with the humidity in summer or if it has been raining, people seem to sweat more.
Q. Apart from warming up the muscles, what are the other benefits of exercising in the heat?
A - Jodie Robertson: It cleanses and purifies your body. The skin is the largest organ of your body, so when you sweat it really purifies. The flexibility aspect is a key aspect of the heat. The purification is the second aspect of the heat and also what we found is that it really builds up mental strength.
Q. What types of people are best suited to Bikram Yoga?
A - Jodie Robertson: Over 13 years-old to any age. Classes are also popular with men, not just women. We sometimes have more men than women.
Q. What about women who are pregnant, people with high-blood pressure, those arthritic sufferers and individuals with back problems?
A - Jodie Robertson: With Bikram, if you’ve been practicing for a year and you fall pregnant, we tell you to have the first trimester off and then you can come back and continue. But if anyone comes to us and they haven’t been practicing for very long and they fall pregnant we tell them to come back later. We do special pregnancy classes.
For those with high blood pressure, there are a couple of poses that we modify. For the arthritis sufferer, Bikram Yoga is great. The heat and stretching really gets their joints moving.
Q. How much time do you need to spend on Bikram to be in peak condition?
A - Jodie Robertson: Bikram says, ‘If you really want to change your life, come everyday for 60 days as a new person’. Some people have taken us up on that and completely turned their whole lives around. But we do recommend for beginners, two to three times a week as a minimum.
Q. Does Bikram have a spiritual development focus?
A - Jodie Robertson: Once you get your body and your mind aligned, your soul or spirit just comes alive. That’s what spirituality is. So again, we never preach about any religion. Through yoga, people find their own way to what they believe is a higher power, their own power or their own inner light.
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