Yoga Bikram is an increasingly popular form of yoga, which is particularly famous for the high temperatures in which it is practiced. Also known as Hot Yoga, practitioners perform a series of 26 positions, or asanas, twice during a 90-minute session in rooms heated to temperatures ranging from 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

The ideal temperature prescribed by its founder, Bikram Choudhury, is a minimum of 105 degrees Fahreheint, with approximately 40% humidity. According to the website of the Bikram Yoga Institute of India, this is the optimal environment that is required to increase the heart rate, improve muscle strength, detoxify the body, warm and stretch the muscles, improve blood circulation, decongest the circulatory system and avoid overheating.

Bikram Choudhury was born in Calcutta, India, in 1946, and has been practicing yoga since the age of four. After winning multiple national yoga championships in India, at the age of 17, Choudhury suffered a knee injury in a mishap during a weightlifting. When doctors told him he would never walk again, Choudhury went to his yoga teacher for help and in six months he was walking again.

With a deeply held conviction that yoga could heal physical injuries and chronic illnesses, she first started by opening yoga schools through her teacher, and then went on to establish the Bikram Yoga Institute of India in Beverly Hills in the year 1974.

Bikram Yoga is a powerful physical exercise that offers the general benefits of yoga, such as improved flexibility, deep muscle stretching, detoxification, increased oxygenation and improved circulation. With the combination of the traditional yoga asanas and the sauna effect of rooms heated to high temperatures, those who practice Hot Yoga experience a profuse sweat, a deeper stretch through the muscles that warm up quickly and an improvement in the detoxification The series of postures were designed to stretch the muscles and connective tissues according to a special method, and to use the tourniquet effect for the purpose of creating pressure in the arteries and veins by interrupting the blood supply, after which the pressure is released quickly , causing blood to flow precipitately through the arteries and veins, cleaning them of toxins.

Those who practice this type of yoga experience weight loss, muscle strengthening and toning, improvement of the functions of the circulatory and lymphatic systems, increased lung function and general improvement in the sense of well-being.

A growing movement has developed around the Bikram Yoga community, apart from most yoga traditions, which sponsors competitive yoga competitions in which titles and trophies are awarded. The organizers of this movement are actively promoting campaigns in favor of yoga being included as a sport in the Summer Olympic Games of the year 2020.

Although many yogis may frown in disapproval of this possibility, Hot Yoga is growing in popularity and attracts a wide variety of practitioners. While some undoubtedly enjoy the aggressive and competitive nature of Bikram Yoga, others simply enjoy the intense physical exercise and health benefits it offers.

From the series of postures to the special breathing techniques, called Kapalabhati Respiration, Hot Yoga is a unique and intense form of stretching; toning and muscular strengthening that offers a great number of physical and emotional benefits for those who practice it.

If Yoga Bikram sounds like the kind of physical exercise appropriate for you, be sure to bring water to drink during and after class, a change of clothes, and your own mat and towel. You will probably also want to bring a sweat-soaked bag and avoid eating within the couple of hours the session lasts.