Most of you will have done yoga but only a few of you will have turned the intensity up a notch and given Bikram yoga a go. Bikram refers to the founder of the practice ‘Bikram Choudhury’ a yoga guru from India and involves 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises in a room heated to 42 degrees with 40% humidity. Yeah, we know, wow! so why are people taking to this so avidly right now? Find out with these Top 5 Benefits of Bikram Yoga!
1. Sweats out toxins
Don’t reach for the towel, as this is all part of the process and allows your body to maintain a normal temperature! At some point, all of us will have sat with our faces above a hot bowl of water with a towel over our heads to draw our spots out and this is the same thing. Excessive sweating flushes impurities out of the skin, leaving you totally cleansed.
2. Heat makes you work harder
Due to the room being insanely hot, your body is being forced to perform at its absolute peak. It makes for a more satisfying workout, as it can usually be pretty hard to break a sweat during normal yoga practices. Heat also helps the body to relax, which improves breathing and could even help with asthma.
3. Brilliant for weight loss
Like normal yoga, this practice is amazing for toning up problem areas such as the arms, legs and tummy, but the heat comes with the added bonus of making you sweat. This means that as well as toning and building muscle, you will also be able to shift those pesky, stubborn extra pounds.
4. Builds inner confidence
Due to being really quite difficult, I can safely say (as a keen Bikram yogi) that you will gradually begin to feel like you can take on the world. If you are able to withstand immense heat while stretching, bending and flexing in a room with no windows, you are able to do anything!
5. Increases pulse rate and metabolism
Extreme heat quickens the heart rate in any case, but combining this with exercise means that eventually, your body will learn to burn calories more quickly. Furthermore, your blood vessels in turn become more flexible, meaning that circulation will be easier and a greater blood flow will be passed into your limbs.
Bikram yoga tutorials can easily be found online, especially on Pinterest and Youtube, but will not have the same effect as a class due to not being able to replicate the heat. A quick online search usually reveals a few unexpected studios cropping up in your locality and prices for classes are reasonably cheap -definitely worth it for the intensity of the workout, so give it a try! This kind of exercise requires some perseverance but the benefits are quickly convincing. Already practice Bikram Yoga or tried it before, what was it like for you? Let us know below or @ KeepFitKingdom !