Bikram Yoga- The Risks of a Blind Practise
Since starting my yoga school, one of the popular classes that I take is, private lessons for small individual groups, requested by students from various Bikram yoga classes. It is not that they do not enjoy the Bikram yoga classes, but quite the opposite. They love the Bikram yoga classes and the atmosphere that it provides and enjoy the full workout that is accompanied by sweaty, invigorating, and a powerful workout.
The reason they come to me is because they are looking for something extra that is missing from these Bikram yoga classes. Having formally and informally spoken to many students from the Bikram yoga classes and having corrected or improved certain aspects of their yoga practise during my private classes and consultations I list below some precautions that you need to understand and take if you are a Bikram yoga adherer.
Bikram yoga is a popular franchise model that includes a 90-minute class that follows a structured and sequenced flow yoga practise (with some static poses) which has twenty-six poses that are repeated twice in an extremely warm, closed atmosphere replicating the humid temperature of India. The class starts with simple breathing exercises and ends off with the cooling process that involves savasana with music. Some students do not follow the last step which includes the relaxation pose of savasana and are free to leave the class when they lack time.
The studio has reverse circulation air conditioning and shower and changing facilities. The instructor is on are slightly elevated platform conducting the popular classes motivating everyone to stretch a little more, as class assistants walk around correcting the postures of students whenever they see it (not when they need it).
One of the fundamental concepts of yoga is that it is a practise that retains energy and not something that loses it. It is because of this fundamental idea that most people who practise yoga eat much less than the others (such as athletes and weights trainers bent on bulking) because energy is retained and not wasted. Something that is understood by those who have been practising yoga is that you should come out of the practise not sweating and panting but completely relaxed and never tired.
Even though Bikram yoga does make you feel refreshed and rejuvenated because you believe that you are getting the complete workout the simple act of sweating is because of the hot humid temperature and not because of the yoga postures that you have held. This is a marketing ploy that not only makes you feel good but mimics the environment of other sports or a workout that you would get in a gymnasium or fitness centre which are popular structures those who are into fitness follow.
Unfortunately, it is a myth that to get a complete workout that enhances your health and wellbeing it should be tiring and generating a lot of sweat. This is the myth that Bikram yoga feeds on and those who are less knowledgeable embrace enthusiastically. Research suggests that hot temperature practise does increase flexibility of the muscles enabling you to feel and perform certain postures much better. However, the effect of this is quickly diminished once the practise is over.
So, to summarise, working out in a hot environment does not improve your overall well being because it feeds on a myth and on the overall belief that a better workout has been accomplished because of the increased flexibility due to the temperature provided by the environment.
Due to the hot environment and as a marketing ploy most students and teacher’s ah scantily dressed. This is quite exciting for the young (feeding the visual senses) and to those who are of the belief that yoga is a sport. In the ancient and traditional practise of yoga it is understood that when you are dressed partially or naked it improves your practise. However, in the ancient past those who follow the traditional practise did not go to group classes but did their practise on their own in a secluded and private environment. Group classes such as in a Bikram yoga class where men are in their underwear and women are in clothes such as bikinis it not only distracts but also sexualizes yoga which is an unfortunate outcome. Concentration is a key aspect of yoga which can be difficult with so many near-naked bodies around.
One primary reason such classes do not work properly is because even though the teachers of these classes undergo intensive training for about 200 to 500 hours (part of the package to buy the franchise) such intensive hours of training is not adequate to even teach simple yoga postures. To teach even correctly and adequately the simplest of yoga positions and postures the practitioner or teacher should be immersed in yoga for at least 20 years. However, it is hard for the franchise model of Bikram yoga to find teachers who accept the Bikram yoga structure after 20 years of practise simply because a person who has practised for 20 years would not accept Bikram yoga as the ideal structure to teach. So, it benefits those who are willing to pay a high price for the franchise model and buy a business and run it as a commercial venture. Elsewhere in many cases I have argued against the commercialization of yoga and it is very unfortunate that a person from an Indian background (Bikram Chaudry) is behind this model.
Many students complain about the locked-up space with the rotating air conditioning which not only creates an unhygienic environment but can also affect the carpet and the bathrooms (mould build-up). It is because of this; the classrooms must be approved by the Bikram yoga centre that provides the franchises to ensure there are large reverse cycling air conditioning systems plus adequate bathroom and shower facilities. Even with all these precautions a closed environment is not conducive to yoga because yoga should be practised in the open, in natural air and light, and should be close to nature. When everything is closed and shut off, and the healthy and the sick practise together in proximity it beats the purpose of practising yoga in the right environment.
When yoga is practised correctly there is always and entering pose and exiting pose. For example, savasana is the entering pose for sedu bandhasana and is also the exiting pose for it. However, this is not the case when you look at the sequence of poses before and after sedu bandhasana which is one of the twenty-six poses in the Bikram yoga sequence. So, it is important that you enter the pose with a correct entering pose and then you exit the pose with a correct exit pose. If this is not done correctly you face the risk of hurting yourself.
Like the above point made where there is no reliance on entering and exiting poses most Bikram yoga poses are not followed by the counter pose. The counter poses are essential to make sure that you do not hurt yourself or face the risk of long-term health issues. The purpose of a counter pose is to stretch and heal all the muscles, bones and body systems that were activated during the original pose. if this is not the case the healing process does not happen successfully which can cause short- and long-term body pain and health issues.
Removing the concept of the entering pose-pose (the main pose)-exiting pose and the concept of the counter pose is simply to make it much more exciting and physical for those who are practising Bikram yoga. Hence Bikram yoga looks fast pace, but it exposes those who may have certain physical, and health related to considerable risk.
None of the Bikram yoga classes use mantras, mudras, or bandhas. As I have mentioned these are all elements that must be incorporated into the yoga asana to derive the complete benefit of that specific asana. As mentioned elsewhere in many of my articles, yoga is not a physical exercise programme or gymnastics. Because yoga is not a physical exercise programme that only focuses on the yoga asanas but relies heavily on mantras, mudras and bandhas removing these elements is like teaching someone to drive by only using the steering wheel. Just like driving involves coordinating many aspects, yoga too requires coordinating many aspects. If these are lacking the practise is not complete and becomes useless. Still, we should give credit because some elements of pranayama (yogic breathing techniques) are included which should be considered a positive. Again, I must remind even though pranayama is considered in certain aspects of the practise of Bikram yoga not all situations that require it, are included. However, this partial use is better than no use at all.
Since these are extremely popular group classes it is difficult for the main teacher to correct the yoga postures of the students on an individual basis. Hence many students have been following these classes for years doing the postures incorrectly repeatedly causing more harm than benefits. There are some assistant teachers who walk around making certain corrections but the ratio between teacher to student is incredibly low (20 to 1) and consequently it is almost impossible for one teacher to go around correcting the postures of all the students. It is better to do a few poses correctly to derive the benefits of yoga than doing twenty-six poses incorrectly which is much riskier with no benefits to you at all.
Savasana is the last step in the Bikram yoga class that relaxes you to music. Many yoga teachers pick up a single aspect of yoga nidra and combine it with savasana. Yoga nidra is a bigger subject and should be practised in a complete manner which would take at least 20 minutes. There are many benefits of practising yoga nidra correctly and a piece-meal approach is not ideal. The reason yoga nidra is not completely practised is because the teachers are not taught how to do a proper yoga nidra meditation or sleep. Hence it is a pretence that something valuable is being provided but it is just a packaging without the product in it.
I hope now that you have a complete understanding of how Bikram yoga can be misleading in its marketing and business practises. We should also understand that not only Bikram yoga but many other yoga studios that are conducted in the hot yoga tradition follow a similar structure and teaching style. In business, buyer be aware. So is the case when yoga is a commercialised business with a seller keen on profits.
Copyright – Skanda Kumarasingam (Sydney Yoga School)
