Bikhram yoga is not good for you

From Fuhrman's forum:


I (and ALL of my yoga teaching friends and peers) DO NOT recommend Bikram yoga, and with good reason. I do not want to come across as judgmental but I will provide the top 5 reasons for you. This is not intended as gossip, these are well known issues and facts and then you can do what is appropriate for you. But educated is always better than going in blind.

1. The heat is not healthy from a variety of perspectives. The most important issue with the heat is that that intense kind of heat actually encourages the muscles, and ligaments to open up much further than they are actually ready or able to do. While the Bikram folks might tell you that this is a good thing - it is not and it leads to injury and over stretching and hypermobility that is inappropriate. An appropriate temperature for a yoga class is at about 80 degrees, although I often practice in temps that are even somewhat cooler than that. It's the old adage, just because a little bit is good does not mean that a lot is better. In this case that much heat is NOT a good thing.

2. The second issue with the heat is that it often creates nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness and other symptoms of that type. Again, the Bikram folks will tell you that it's detox and that it's good for you. It is not. I have eaten ETL for nearly 2 years now and I've been practicing yoga and healthy eating for 15 - when exercising in that kind of heat makes me vomit and feel faint it is most assuredly NOT detox and it is not good for me to exercise feeling that way. I break a pretty good sweat at 80 degrees, more is not necessary or healthy. It is detrimental to the body and does not promote healing.

3. While injuries can happen in any style of yoga practice there is some evidence that the Bikram style has an inordinate amount of injuries, particularly to the knees. In Bikram yoga they use the word "lock" in relation to the knees, but it is rarely explained just exactly what "lock" means. So when a student hears "lock your knees" they instinctively straighten the leg (which for me and others means the knee is now hyperextended) and freeze the knee. This is quite dangerous to the knee and the ability of the body to move and absorb impact, and can lead to injury.

"Locking the knees" actually should be stated as to "engage the quadriceps so that the kneecap is lifted upwards towards the quadriceps". But the knee is kept soft so that momentum and movement can happen - a pushing off energy, so to speak, should always be available to the body, while standing or in movement. Try walking with a "locked" knee and then try moving with a soft knee - you will immediately be aware of the difference. This use of languaging has been at the root of many an injury within Bikram.

4. Yoga is yoga is yoga is yoga - the ancient wisdom and the asanas have been around for thousands and thousands of years. Bikram decided to take a few of them, modify a few ways of doing things, put the asanas into a specific order, and then copyrighted them. While it may be a legal thing to do in a modern American world - it is the antithesis of an actual yogic life. And this copyright exists so that he could market, franchise, and make money. I have nothing against anyone earning a good living and enjoying the good things in life - but to "copyright yoga" is highly offensive to a whole lot of teachers, practitioners, and true yogis. And it makes one highly suspect as to motive and intent.

5. This is the part that may sound like gossip, but again, it is well-known and well written about. Bikram himself has exhibited a lot of sexual misconduct with his students. He is not the only one, and he is not the only famous one, but it is just additional fuel for the fire for the argument that the man and his yogic style are not in alignment with yogic principles.