Bikram, the Yoga Challenge

According to Bikram Choudhury, the founder of the worldwide Yoga College of India, "no matter how old or sick or out of shape, you can still stretch and have a new beginning with yoga." Like Hatha yoga, Bikram yoga is concerned with physical and energetic purification and training. Its goal is to bring the body and mind into a perfect state of health through a series of physical postures and breathing exercises.
Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury began opening Bikram schools in India on the advice of his yoga instructor. They were so successful that he gradually began to open them all over the world. Nowadays you can find classes for a drop-in session or those catering for yoga fans who want a long term commitment and it's becoming more and more popular. But can yoga cure illness? According to Choudhury there is no such thing as a cure. He goes on to explain that what actually happens when the doctor tells you that you're cured is that a group of particular symptoms have been alleviated. However, there is no guarantee how long this relief will last. His claim is that Bikram yoga can free you from your symptoms, with continued practice. And certainly participants claim that Bikram has healed a range of their diseases from diabetes and heart disease to PMS and insomnia.
A Different Kind of Yoga
So what is the difference? Well, for a start the room is heated to up to around 43 degrees. This is aimed keeping your muscles warm enough to encourage them to work through Bikram's 26 physically challenging asanas, so you can push your limits without tearing a muscle or putting your back out. As an added bonus the heat induced sweating flushes toxins from your body.Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures conducted over 90 minutes, it commences with a breathing exercise to warm-up, then goes through 24 asanas (or postures) and ends with a breathing posture that is designed to eliminate toxins. Each posture is completed twice; each exercise leads on from the next in order to prepare the body. Some of the asanas are maintained while lying on the floor, others while standing. The postures use all muscle groups and each one has specific benefits besides just building muscle including, increasing concentration, centering the nervous system, balancing blood sugar levels, reducing depression and relieving arthritis and rheumatism. The warm temperature not only promotes flexibility, it also minimizes lactic acid build up (associated with the burning pain felt in your muscles after an intense exercise), which means you can practice longer without straining.