What is Bikram vs. Hot Yoga?
There is much confusion about the difference between Bikram yoga and hot yoga in many circles. There are many traditions of yoga from Ashtanga, to Vinyasa, Iyengar, Kundalini, and Hatha, Integral, Bikram, and so on. Hot yoga is a version of Bikram yoga without the Bikram blessing since all his teachers are required to become certified at one of his centers in order to call themselves ‘Bikram yoga teachers.’ If you want to practice yoga in a heated room and experience the benefits of a hot yoga class you can do so, but you will find lots of different styles and varying temperatures, humidity levels and asana.
Bikram yoga is always done in a room heated to between 80 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Anyone who says that heat their rooms to a specific temperature is fooling you since it is nearly impossible to keep a rooms temperature constant. Bikram swears that his students burn more calories than people practicing just ‘hot yoga’ because the body’s metabolism is elevated with his level of heat and humidity. There are also only 26 postures in the beginning Bikram series. 13 are seated postures and 13 are standing postures.
Hot yoga is simply any style of yoga in a heated room. You may practice more postures or less, practice stagnant poses or ‘flow’ where you never stop moving and joining breath with movement. Many people prefer to practice in a heated environment because they sweat more and feel this is a ‘better’ workout. The level of the class, however, and the energy each student puts into practice will determine the total number of calories burned.
Precautions for either type of class are to be sure you don’t overstretch muscles, and to stay hydrated. You should drink lots of water before, after, and during a hot yoga practice. If you have Diabetes, are pregnant, or have heart disease you should consult your doctor before practicing hot yoga or Bikram yoga.
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