Bikram Yoga - A New Sensation In Los Angeles, CA

Posted by Arnold Yu September 01, 2009.

Bikram Yoga. You have probably heard of this innovative new trend circulating among the health conscious community. One of my friends actually called it “brick room” yoga, mistaking the name because she thought the exercises took place in a heated “brick room.” So I decided, for her sake as well as everyone else, to learn more about and share the 411 on this new yoga art form.

Bikram, not brick room, is actually the first name of Bikram Yoga’s creator, Bikram Choudhury, a yoga instructor living in Beverly Hills. He was educated in Calcutta, India, and founded Bikram’s Yoga College of India here in LA.

Bikram Yoga consists of a series of 26 yoga postures called “asanas” and breathing exercises called “pranayamas”, each of which are specifically designed to help blood circulation, muscle strength, flexibility, and to live a healthy life.

The most unique element of Bikram Yoga is that each session is held in a room that is heated to an average of 100 degrees Farenheit, because it’s believed that under extreme heat, the body not only sweats out dangerous toxins from the body, but the warmth creates muscle and joint flexibility. More flexibility, in turn, means less chance of injury and greater stretching abilities.

For more information, you can go to www.bikramyoga.com and read more about it from the yoga master himself.

Despite its popularity, however, there are some light dangers involved. For some people, such intense heat may lead to fatigue, heat stroke, or dizziness. At these times, however, participants usually sit out until they are ready to join again. It’s important to always, always bring a bottle of water (or two) to each session, because we want to rehydrate our bodies as they sweat out the toxins.

Each session is about 90 minutes long. For those of you wanting to try this new yoga form out, there are new Bikram Yoga studios opening up everywhere! Bikram Yoga is said to improve breathing, flexibility, and eliminate stress. For about 10-20 bucks a session, I’d say it’s worth a try.




Bikram Yoga







Another Bikram Yoga Video




2007 Bikram Yoga Championships Amsterdam