What’s the Difference Between Bikram and Hot Yoga
So you’ve seen the signs around town or read articles on the internet about the benefits of hot yoga. Stretching in a heated room enhances flexibility and aids detoxification, studios promise. Then you see some funny yoga called Bikram while others just call themselves hot. What’s the difference between Bikram and hoy yoga?
The short answer: Bikram yoga refers to a specific set of 26 postures while hot yoga is normal yoga, just in a heated room.
Are you ready to sweat? Studio temperatures for Bikram and hot yoga range from 90 to 105 degrees.
While yoga is an ancient practice rooted in India, Bikram yoga has more modern roots. Indian born and trained yogi Bikram Choudhury opened the first Bikram yoga school in California in 1974. The practice involves completing the set of postures and two breathing exercises in a specific order at a specific temperature–105 degrees with 40% humidity. Only licensed Bikram yoga schools may offer classes under the trademarked name. These schools frequently offer only Bikram yoga without supplementing their schedules with additional types. Other rules apply to Bikram too. There’s no music and the instructor’s dialogue follows a prescribed speech.
Hot yoga, on the other hand, involves a regular vinyasa or hatha yoga class that takes place in a heated room. Some studios merely bump the temperature to create balmy exercise conditions while others might crank the heater so practitioners really work up a sweat. Temperatures usually range between 80 a[……]