Looking for a New Workout? Try Bikram Yoga!

Bikram yoga is not your typical yoga set up.  It is 105 degrees Fahrenheit with 40% humidity. Talk about extreme conditions. While in the hot room, yogi's and yogini's perform 26 postures two times each with two breathing exercises. They are firm believers in second chances, which is why you do each posture twice.

This is not necessarily a meditating practice. There are some meditating aspects, but the instructor is talking, counting, and motivating you through the entirety of the class. You find stillness in the postures (standing and seated) where you try not to flick away sweat or itch that scratch. Complete stillness.

Bikram Yoga is great for SO many reasons, but the main reason I stick with it is for all of the health benefits. Coming from a twenty-something-year-old who is constantly worried about those fluctuating three pounds, you would think I would be pumped about the fact you can burn 400-700 calories per class. Don't get me wrong, I am. I'm freakin' here so that I can burn that much and not even know it, but that is secondary to my health. Anyone who practices Bikram seems to have a clean bill of health when they go into the doctor. You do hard work in the room, but the practice makes it easier for life outside the yoga room. 

So beyond that, why do I stick around to put myself in a hot room with strangers who wear next to nothing while flexing their bodies in various ways?

Bikram forces you to watch your diet.

There are certain rules you need to follow in order to properly practice hot yoga. You cannot eat before you go into the hot room otherwise you will find a lot of discomfort in the postures. You need to give yourself about 3 hours of digestion time, so you really have to plan your day wisely. They say the goal to a great body is 20% working out and 80% how you eat. That also includes how frequently and how much you eat.

Bikram forces you to drink water.

Not a water drinker? Well, in order to practice Bikram, you need to be. You need to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!  Drink water before you come into the hot room and drink water after your practice. You lose buckets of sweat. Replenish your loss.

Bikram teaches you self-discipline.

This is something I write down in my gratitude journal frequently. I LOVE how much self-discipline this practice has given me. Since the instructor does not do the poses while in the hot room because it is too hard for them to explain how to do the poses and do the poses at the same time, you really have to train yourself to listen to their every word and follow their instructions to a T.

While in the 105-degree room, you are bound to sweat. You have to learn to just let it go. If you try to wipe it away it will just make you hotter. Self-discipline is mostly about respecting the others in the class. If you are off doing something else, it is distracting to the other practicing members.

Bikram challenges you... A LOT.

Not a lot of people can handle purposely putting their body in such insane conditions. Hot yoga will test your limits and test them again. You will feel dizzy, you will feel tired, but you will feel like a million bucks after it is over. That saying goes "no pain, no gain", and this is 100% true when it comes to Bikram yoga.

Bikram is yoga practice, not yoga perfect.

Everyone in the room is on a different level. It is not a competition to see who can stretch the farthest or breath the loudest. You do what is best for your body. You end up feeding off of your neighbor’s energy. We all know there are days when the last thing you want to do is go exercise. When the person next to you is having a strong practice, you are going to want that too! Sometimes you give and sometimes you take.

Bikram makes you healthy (mentally and physically).

Bikram is 100% mind over matter. You develop that mentality in the room, you'll practice it out of the room. You work every joint, bone and muscle on a cellular level. Fresh oxygenated blood is flowing all throughout your body and you open up some of your major joints. There have been miracle stories about this practice because this stuff works. Revitalizing and rejuvenating your body from the inside out. 

Bikram makes you slow down.

We live in a time when everyone is hustling and bustling along. Giving yourself those 90 minutes of bettering your practice feels so rewarding. You are giving yourself time to not worry about that text in your inbox or what you're making for dinner when you get home. Take your time in the room, and take your time winding down from your practice as well.

Bikram hot yoga makes you... HOT.

Ninety minutes in a sauna is bound to change up your skin tone and your body mass. You develop a yoga glow. As you sweat your pores open up and your skin becomes extremely soft. It does wonders for the epidermis. You come out feeling like a shiny new toy, maybe even shinier than you'd like. *Wink*

You also burn anywhere fro, 430-720 calories PER CLASS. Talk about summer body ready. 

Bikram makes you a total badass.

You feel a sense of accomplishment when you tell someone you do hot yoga and they look at you and tell you "You're crazy." Uh, yeah, that’s kind of the point.

If you're looking to make a change in your workout regimen, I would 100% suggest Bikram. Do something out of your comfort zone and go somewhere you have never been. Read about my first Bikram experience here. It could not have been that bad. I mean, I keep going back for more!