admin Beyond all the scandals of Bikram Choudhury himself (which are horrible enough in their own right), I highly recommend that my yoga students do not practice the classic Bikram Yoga or Hot 26 series.
My advice is based on a variety of factors, but my most important one is the basic anatomy of humans. When it comes to the human body, the Bikram sequence does not take extra precautions. The sequence needs to be seriously rethought in order to promote health and stability.
I do not try to be dogmatic about my teachings. I have studied many different styles and schools of yoga, including Hot Yoga. But this is an issue that I am very passionate about.
According to my humble opinion, the Bikram yoga sequence has many anatomically incorrect elements. However, I believe the following four should be taken into consideration:
This Script Doesn’t Apply to Every Student
To teach Bikram yoga, the instructor must memorize and adhere to a script. This can be detrimental to students.
The dialogue, as it’s called, was written to guide a student who is very capable, strong, and flexible but not a beginner through the series. Not every student who walks into a class is suited to this standard. Absolute beginners are more than likely to push themselves beyond their limits in a Bikram yoga class because they follow the script.
Students are also not encouraged to change their practices, even if they have a pre-existing injury. They are told to follow the script.
It is not possible to teach a variety of students with different fitness levels and abilities if you are so rigid about following the dialogue. It is irresponsible not to allow for a class to be customized to fit the actual students.
Push your head back. “Way, Way, Back.”
It is the first line of the whole series. This is the first practice of Standing deep breathing. I hate the words ‘push,’ ‘pull,’ ‘drop,’ etc. When referring to the body. These words are aggressive, and they imply aggressive actions, which I would never recommend.
The language used is also very poor. The dialogue encourages students to push their heads “way back, way, back,” which is stated literally in the dialogue. This leads them to overextend the cervical spine (the very vulnerable cervical spine).
This can cause a variety of problems in the neck muscles and surrounding tissues, even if no immediate harm is done.
Joints that “lock.”
Bikram also teaches locking out the elbows and knees. It is now widely accepted that locking joints can be harmful to health.
The muscles surrounding the joint are also disconnected when you lock out the joint. This encourages Hyperextension, which can cause ligaments to wear down. You are effectively dumping your entire weight onto the joint without activating the muscles surrounding it.
You are harming yourself and getting no benefit. We would never want to teach this in a yoga class.
The Spine in Deep Flexion and Extension: Immediate Transitions
Imagine for a second a piece of paper. If you continue to fold the piece of paper in the same direction, then in the opposite direction, and in this manner for a long time, it will tear on the fold.
The concept is the same, even though our spines look quite different. The spine is put under tremendous tension when you bend it in one direction, such as back turning. Moving back and forth can be stressful on the muscles that surround your spine.
It is recommended that you group all the backbends (and work up to more difficult ones) and all the forward folds during your yoga practice. Neutralizing poses should be placed between each group to help “reset” the spine.
The Bikram sequence is the opposite. It offers pose, then counterpose, and finally pose, then counterpose. This is not good for the health and integrity of the spine. It is not recommended to move from Camel pose, a deep backbend, directly into rabbit pose, a deep forwardfold.
I recommend that you avoid practicing the classic Bikram sequence, regardless of whether you enjoy the person, the heat or are indifferent. I don’t have any major problems with doing yoga in a hot room, as long as you pay attention to your body and respect your limits. But I do have some major issues with the Bikram/Hot 26 set sequence.
Before you begin to practice, I encourage you to take into consideration the anatomy of your body. You will thank me for it in the end.
