What’s in a Bikram yoga class?

Hot air balloons over sand dunes

A Bikram Yoga class is quite a different experience from what a lot of people may expect from a yoga class and there are reasons for this of course. There’s no OMMING, chanting, no time for meditation and definitely no navel gazing!

Instead the comparatively fast paced 90 minute class concentrates on working every bone, limb, organ, muscle, ligament, fibre and even cell of your body – inside and out – bones to skin and fingers to toes! It is very physical and it therefore demands concentration, determination and focus of the mind. It is when the mind and body are working together instead of two separate entities that the magic can begin.

There are 26 postures that except for a few are performed twice in the same order each time. They therefore systematically and synergistically work each part of the body to bring maximum function to all the internal organs, blood vessels, ligaments, muscles – you name it – nothing gets left out!

Yoga rebuilds the body from the inside out and with Bikram Yoga the postures are performed in a heated room to speed up this process. Waste products and toxins of all the glands and organs of the body are flushed away and old cells are sloughed off quicker as the body is cleansed at a cellular level.

The postures are challenging but not advanced in any way – the 90 minute class is actually the Beginner’s Class and everyone practices the postures to the best of their ability. Everyone’s body is different and some postures that seem easy for some will be more challenging for others and vice versa. Each person will have their own goal and accomplishment and that is all that matters.

The standing postures train the mind, and encourage a balance of both strength and flexibility. The floor postures work the insides of the body – and ensures correct functioning of the organs and glands. When the insides are working efficiently the outside can take shape.

I have to say there is nothing quite like it on the planet and the feeling after class is second to none. No matter how hard your day was or how stressed you felt before you went to class – guaranteed it’s all forgotten as you float out of class!

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