My experience with Bikram
As it happens, when you live in Singapore, you also go on vacation to Bali. It is a must. So that was the goal in July 2017. The male head of the family had just started with yoga and wanted to continue also on vacation. For this he had chosen a yoga studio at the resort. According to the Internet, one of the best on the island.
So the kids were parked with non-alcoholic cocktails by the pool and their parents set off, the studio was close to the hotel in walking distance. You could pay per hour and we decided for 3 hours for a special price.A lesson had just ended and the teacher came to meet us, free upper body and sarong, very friendly.It was really hot in the training room, ok, Bikram is hot yoga, we knew that. However, hot yoga in the studio where we usually go to in Singapore is not always hot. The older tai-tais tend to open the the doors because they are too hot. Hm, maybe they think hot means something else? Anyway, the yogis there in Bali were very lightly dressed, yoga in bikini and swimming trunks? Funny.
To shorten it, we have rarely sweated so much, every part of our body was wet and also the complete mat including the surface around it.
We found each other great and sporty, meanwhile I know more.
Bikram Yoga is a hatha yoga method and was developed by the Indian yoga master Bikram Choudhury. Bikram Choudhury was born in Calcutta in 1946. Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 yoga exercises that are practiced in a hot room (at about 35-40 degrees Celsius). In general, Bikram Yoga is known as Hot Yoga and with over 600 schools worldwide is a very popular type of yoga. Chordry Bikram tried to protect his yoga method. However, the US court dismissed its claims on May 8, 2015.
There are 26 physical exercises (asanas) and 2 breathing exercises (pranayama). The hot room should make a safe muscle and tendon work possible and sweating should “detoxify” the body.
But the loss of water and electrolytes caused by the heat can lead to muscle cramps and circulatory collapse. Therefore, cardiovascular problems, such as low or high blood pressure, should be clarified by a doctor. It is advisable to ensure sufficient intake of water, electrolytes and possibly glucose before and during exercise. The alleged “detoxification” is scientifically untenable.
So maybe we were sweating merely because of the hot room and not because of detoxification?
