Bikram Yoga: An overview of the yoga style

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Bikram yoga
The yoga style at a glance

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Stephanie Pingel

by Stephanie Pingel

Bikram yoga, also known as hot yoga, consists of 26 yoga poses that are performed in a hot room. You can find everything about the yoga style here.

What's like Bikram Yoga?

Bikram Yoga is part of Hatha Yoga and is named after its founder Bikram Choudhury. The yoga style is also called hot yoga – because Bikram Yoga comprises 26 exercises that are performed in a hot room (room temperature between 35 and 40 degrees, humidity of at least 40 percent). The heat in the room should protect muscles and tendons and reduce the risk of injury. The inevitable sweating in Bikram Yoga is supposed to support the body in detoxification.

Different from other yoga stylesIn Bikram Yoga, the focus is less on switching off and relaxing and more on fitness. Because Bikram Choudhury developed the style together with his yoga teacher after an injury while doing sports and managed to get fit again within six months.

These yoga exercises occur in Bikram yoga

The 26 yoga exercises in Bikram Yoga are always performed in the same order. A total of about 90 minutes is needed for one unit. There are the following exercises in hot yoga:

  • Twelve standing asanas
  • Seven reclining asanas
  • Seven sitting / kneeling asanas

In addition, two breathing exercises (pranayama) are built in, which are also carried out at set times during the yoga session. During Bikram Yoga in the studio, yogis can check in a large mirror whether they are doing the exercises correctly. Important: Since the water loss in Bikram Yoga is very high, you should drink regularly between the exercises.

Can i lose weight with Bikram Yoga?

Since hot yoga is so sweaty and consists of various demanding yoga exercises, Hollywood celebrities also like to do it to do something for the figure. In fact, you can even lose weight with Bikram Yoga: the asanas build muscles, which can then effectively burn fat. Generally speaking, a 90-minute session can burn up to 700 calories – that makes Bikram Yoga a real calorie cellar.

Criticism of Bikram Yoga

Can't wait to get started with Bikram Yoga? Before doing this, however, you should note that the yoga style is not necessarily suitable for everyone. On the one hand, Bikram Yoga requires a certain basic fitness due to the demanding exercises. There is also criticism of hot yoga:

  • The heat in the room quickly threatens cardiovascular problems, especially with existing health restrictions. That is why you should only do Bikram Yoga if you are in good health.
  • It has not been proven that muscles and tendons are warmed up faster due to the high room temperature, which in turn reduces the risk of injury. Therefore, you should definitely do classic warm-up exercises before each unit of Bikram Yoga.
  • Nor is there any scientific evidence that sweating actually helps the body detoxify.

In general, however, it doesn't do any harm Try out Bikram Yoga once you are healthy and fit.

Reading tips: Bikram Yoga is not yours? You can find out more about Hatha Yoga here. We also explain how you can learn meditation and other relaxation techniques.

Would you like to exchange ideas with others about your yoga sessions? Then take a look at our BRIGITTE Community!

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