What is Hot Yoga\Bikram Yoga
Hot Yoga or Bikram yoga is a set of 26 yoga asanas, two sets of each and 2 breathing exercises for 90 minutes in a room heated to 105 degree F. That is hot, expect to sweat. The asanas are held for 60 or 30 seconds. To see all the asanas in the series, please use Bikram Yoga Asanas link 1 or Bikram Yoga Asanas link 2.
There is no background music during the class, no props are used, hands on alignments are rarely provided. The instructor\teacher is continuously talking during the class, either giving the directions and tips or encouraging.
The name comes from the creator of the concept of yoga classes in heated studios and the sequence arrangement, Bikram Choudhary (No relation to me). See picture on left, some information from the official website.
The complete list of Hot Yoga studios around the world. None in India yet.
What’s the big deal about it?
- It is an intense aerobic and stretching exercise which means one loses weight (my rough guess ~900 calories spent in a single class)
- The heat and sweating makes it detoxing and leaves on feeling great later. The heat is great even colder places like Seattle, WA.
- The non-impact method avoids injury and the yoga makes it great health and flexibility wise.
- I also like that it is the same set of asanas in every class, the selection is an all around good mix and it helps to measure each session against the earlier ones.
What does one have to be aware of?
- The heat takes some getting used to.
- It is not calming like a typical yoga class. It is more of a intense workout and draining. Since the instructors are continuously talking as I mentioned earlier there is not much of quiet time, except for one two minute savasana.
- Each teacher uses almost the same instructions and words, you will hear a lot of “Go back, push back, wayyyy back”, “full body stretch” and “full body sensation”.
- Be careful, the teachers tend to push the students, you will hear “If you are feeling pain in your back, you are doing it right” or equivalent. I do not go that far to avoid potential for injuries
How to prepare for your first three Hot Yoga classes:
What to carry: A Yoga mat, Large towel for mat and a smaller one for sweat, and a large water bottle (32 oz\500 ml or more)
What to wear: See above picture, the mirrors make the room seem larger than it is (If wearing a T-shirt, do not wear cotton, go for polypropylene or similar material)
General tips:
- Expect a good workout and a lot of sweat.
- If feeling dizzy (which I did 3 times in the first session), pause and catch your breath in either tadasana(standing), sitting down or savasana(lying down), till you feel better.
- Remember to be cautious the first few times and do not over-extend, the instructions are also for advanced students.
Review of Bellevue Hot Yoga (Now called Bellevue Bikram Yoga):
The studio I go to is Bellevue Bikram Yoga. It is also the most popular Yoga studio in the Bellevue Redmond area by far. The evening classes tend to have 15-20 people atleast.
The key for any yoga studio is the teachers. Here is my opinion and experience about the Bellevue Bikram Yoga teachers (number of classes I have attended by each.)
Teachers:
- Katy(5+): Great teacher and very good attitude. Timings: Tue & Wed evenings.
- Hilarie (5+): Again Great teacher, explains reasonings, Owner of Bellevue Bikram Yoga. Timings: Fri evenings, Sat & Sun mornings.
- Elliot (10+): good teacher, consistent instructions and quite a nice guy. Timings: Thu & Fri evenings.
- Amber (10+): Excellent teacher, respects your space and the best teacher. Currently teaches mostly at West Seattle Bikram Yoga
- Tracy (2+) and Saiko(1): Overall pretty good teachers. Timings: Varies.
- Loressa (2): Unbearable and I have returned from the studio without taking a class, if she is teaching. She is overbearing, rude and physical(snatches towels, etc), though her instructions are not bad. My suggestion, avoid her as she will kill the Hot Yoga experience for you. If you want to read more, see my earlier post: Immaturities by Bikram Hot Yoga Teachers
Studio and facilities:
The studio address is 626 120th NE, Bellevue, Washington, 98005 and phone no is:425-637-9642
There are showers and the studio wall has glass on two sides to check alignment. Mats, Towels are available for rental and water bottles are available for purchase.