The Benefits of Bikram Yoga

By: Bradley Stoner

Most people know that yoga is an excellent regimen of exercises that promotes a condition of perfect health. There are various types of yoga postures and breathing exercises, each one of them specially designed to optimize the functionality of both internal and external organs.

Bikram yoga is an improved yoga technique where the benefits of the yogic postures are amplified by heat. There are twenty-six postures prescribed in this type of yoga, which if done correctly, take exactly 90 minutes of your time. In these 90 minutes, you stretch and massage each and every muscle, tendon, ligament, and organ in your body in order to correct and optimize their functioning level.

The postures are to be done in a particular non-negotiable sequence (that gradually increases the level of body flexibility) which ensures that anyone – no matter at what level of flexibility their bodies are – is able to complete the regime and enjoy its full benefits. The room where the exercises are practiced would need to be pre-heated at exactly 40.5 degrees Celsius (104.9 degrees Fahrenheit). This is the reason why Bikram yoga is also called “Hot Yoga.”

Bikram yoga is a copyrighted regimen of yoga postures (asanas) researched and put together by Mr. Bikram Choudhury (born in Kolkata in 1946). He had learned yoga from the tender age of four and before he reached adulthood, he had completely mastered the practice. At twenty years old, he was already a popular and successful teacher of yoga in the United States.

Over time, Bikram carefully selected 26 postures of yoga that exercise each and every part of the body. While researching these postures, he found that the body expels toxins faster as well as allows for better stretching when the temperature of the room is increased to 40.5 degrees Celsius (104.9 degrees Fahrenheit).

Hence, in 1979, he came out with a special set of yogic postures called “Bikram yoga,” and claimed that anyone who practices this form of yoga in the prescribed manner would never suffer from any kind of ailment. While the statement is broad and bold, it has not, to date, been proven wrong.

Since it is imperative that the exercises be done in the correct sequence and manner, the best approach is to learn the technique from a licensed Bikram yoga teacher. Once you have mastered the postures, you can use self-tutoring DVDs, CDs or video cassettes.

The proper combination of these workouts is meant to help you get rid of different ailments in your body, enhance your concentration power, and sharpen and de-stress your mind. No wonder yoga has become so popular all over the world.

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