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| i have been practicing "hot yoga" for about 6 months now...although it is called "hot yoga" it is exactly the same as bikram yoga ...same postures/same dialouge/same heat/same duration...
i know this because i took a break from my regular "hot yoga" studio and went to a certified bikram studio and everything was the same...except i found that my teachers in the "hot yoga" studio were so much more pleasant, encouraging, less like drill sergents i guess you could say...
personally i prefer my "hot" classes and found that my experience in the bikram studio was not like my typical yoga experiences (i also practice power and iyenger yoga) in which i felt calm, at peace and was able to really listen to my body and feel the sensations in my body ( i was mostly listening to the yells of the instructor)
when i visited the bikram studio, i informed them that i had been practicing bikram yoga for half a year and when they asked where and when they found out that it was not bikram certified, they immediatly became defensive and a bit negative about it.
dont get me wrong, im not bagging bikram studios, just sharing my experience. i was just wondering what all of you thought about the whole bikram/hot yoga debate and if any of you have had similar experiences...for myself, i found that i respond better in a calmer environment..and i was a little taken aback with the negativity regarding the fact that my studio wasnt "bikram certified"..i understand the importance of being trained by bikram in order to teach the practice properly but isnt yoga for everyone? im still not too sure about my opinion about the whole bikram yoga patent.. |
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Expert Yogi
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| rina - how do you find the comparison between hot yoga and Iyengar? I have no comment on the hot/bikram thing. I don't like heat and I'm not too keen on people yelling at me, either... |
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| my experiences in a hot and iyengar class are similar actually..i dont know if it is because of my hot instructors (as opposed to bikram), but i during and after the class,i feel calm and relaxed..during a bikram class, i can tend to feel tense...personally, i like the heat but cant deal with yelling as well.. i enjoy practicing both, hot when i want to sweat and iyengar to chill out...if that makes sense  |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| I wish I could chill out at my Iyengar classes. My teachers make me work pretty hard  |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
| Bikram and yelling drill instructors are not synomous. Some Bikram studios have
nice instructors who talk you through a pose with no yelling. |
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| Wow, Bikram and Iyengar seem worlds apart to me. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| *Fifi* - 2006-06-26 6:51 AM
Wow, Bikram and Iyengar seem worlds apart to me.
Me, too. But here where I live the studios are less than a block apart!   |
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| My Bikram teachers do not yell and do not act like drill instructors. |
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| The Bikram-style "Hot Yoga" studios tend to keep temperatures at well below the 105º minimum specified by Bikram himself. The instruction tends to be less precise as well. All in all, I just prefer the real, certified deal - especially since there typically is never any discount offered at the imitation studios. There should be! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| FriscoTexas - 2006-07-01 9:27 AM
The Bikram-style "Hot Yoga" studios tend to keep temperatures at well below the 105º minimum specified by Bikram himself.
FT - this is definitely not what mot people report to this forum. Would be good to do a nationwide survey! |
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| I agree. I just wish there was a certified studio in the Frisco/Allen/Plano area of Texas. The nearest one is an hour drive from me - each way! Unfortunately, I'm lost as to who to ask if they have plans to open a Bikram Yoga studio. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | FriscoTexas - 2006-07-01 12:27 PM
The Bikram-style "Hot Yoga" studios tend to keep temperatures at well below the 105º minimum specified by Bikram himself. The instruction tends to be less precise as well. All in all, I just prefer the real, certified deal - especially since there typically is never any discount offered at the imitation studios. There should be!
Sorry, but the last HOT yoga studio I visited in a very popular area...was well over 110 degrees...it was very hot. The only thing good about it was the instructors didn't yell at you and you were able to pace yourself without instructor interference....this in itself was enough to make the class half way desirable.
Edited by Cyndi 2006-07-02 9:45 AM
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I have to wonder why this studio isn't certified? |
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| Well, as a "newby" to regular yoga practice and Bikram, I can only say that my experience at the local Bikram studio has been nothing but positive. The instructors are gentle, encouraging and helpful. There is no "yelling" and I leave the place hot, but very relaxed and unstressed! From what I've seen and heard, both from the local instructors and some of my fellow practitioners who have taken the Bikram training, yelling and running a boot camp is not what they were taught! Guess some instructors put their own "spin" on it!
Peace,
Michael in Maine |
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| FriscoTexas - 2006-07-02 12:08 PM
<>
I have to wonder why this studio isn't certified?
umm, maybe they don't want to be? |
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| In my experience, it is very often the result of a *loss* of licensure/certification. Many studios are unable to attract adequate clientele in the area by offering only Bikram classes, so they add others (a big no-no according to BikramYoga.com) ... or the electric bill proves to high from holding classes 115º or so, so they choose to dramatically lower the temperature. All in all, if there is no certification, many aspects of the practice must be varied to avoid Bikram Choudhury's legal wrath. Since the price is usually around the same per class between Hot Yoga and Real-Deal Bikram Yoga studios, I won't be lining the pockets of the former. |
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| FriscoTexas - 2006-07-10 4:57 PM
In my experience, it is very often the result of a *loss* of licensure/certification. Many studios are unable to attract adequate clientele in the area by offering only Bikram classes, so they add others (a big no-no according to BikramYoga.com) ... or the electric bill proves to high from holding classes 115º or so, so they choose to dramatically lower the temperature. All in all, if there is no certification, many aspects of the practice must be varied to avoid Bikram Choudhury's legal wrath. Since the price is usually around the same per class between Hot Yoga and Real-Deal Bikram Yoga studios, I won't be lining the pockets of the former.
I think that is an oversimplification and certainly in the case of the studio where I practice simply untrue. I agree from a business model point of view, it may be difficult to survive as a uniquely bikram only studio. Without ever discussing this with the owners of where I practice, I will make the assumption that since they offer a variety of yoga styles, (bikram, power, yoga-pilates, and yoga sculpt with hand weights) they simply chose to broaden their base and appeal to a variety of yoga practitioners. And once you build the facility to accomodate heat and humidity controls, it matters little whether you keep it at 104 or above for a hot yoga class or at 100 for a power vinyasa class. A number of the instructors I have taken classes from have been through Bikram's official instructor training classes, some of them are from his first several classes of "graduates" long before it became popular. They know their stuff and have been teaching bikram classes for well over a decade. They simply choose to do so now within a studio that is not exclusively bikram and therefore have to call it hot yoga. Once you are in the room and starting the initial pranayama of the sequence, I don't think it really matters what it is called on the schedule or over the door. If the instructors are bikram trained and certified and the environment is kept to standards, I don't see what I am missing or what the studio is missing other than the licensing fees out of their pockets and undue control over their own business model.
I think it's great that you have chosen a bikram certified and bikram only studio. It's a wonderful practice. But I think there are many other reasons why other studios may choose to offer hot yoga and not seek bikram certification that have absolutely nothing to do with "loss" of certification. Maybe they just never chose to seek it in the first place. Are there also likely many studios who try to capitalize on the popularity of what he created, and try to approach it on the cheap and offer sub-standard (per Mr. Choudhury) classes? I am sure there are. As always, let the buyer beware and vote with their wallet! It's sort of the American way! It seems to have worked very well for Mr. Choudhury in fact! |
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| It is not they are not certified, often they don't want to be a part of Bikrams org. With his franchise attempt, I would not want to either (unless I was the head of the franchise! ) Legally they can teach as long as they don't use Bikrams name in anyway. He just will not claim the studio in question or honor their already earned certification as valid.
Legally there is not much he can do as long as said teacher don't use his name and add a pose or two.
Edited by yogabrian 2006-08-19 5:47 PM
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| As a 10-year certified Bikram teacher as well as a certified Barkan Hot teacher I find this forum a great place to educate myself on many topics. There are many teachers here much more eloquent than I(see redrox's reply as an example) so I don't feel I have much to add to many of the discussions. This is one of course that is particularly close to my heart.
rina88, I am disappointed by your Bikram experience but then that may just be a particular instructor at that studio. I was not trained in a "boot camp" atmosphere nor was I encouraged to yell at my students. Bikram, the messenger that he is and having brought yoga to so many, is Bikram. Those of us certified in his style should eventually find our own voice as our teaching practice grows. I hope your Bikram teacher was simply new and not yet confident in his own voice.
FriscoTexas, My temperatures are consistent for both Bikram and Barkan Hot. I do lower it a bit for the Barkan hot vinyasa. I really can think of no reply to your thoughts that I should discount the classes I teach that I certainly value as much as my Bikram classes. And just because I do not teach in a "Bikram" studio, you might not want to suggest I am an imitation.
Cyndi, I had to laugh at your comment, "the only thing good about it," followed by the quotation lower in your thread, "Everything works if you let it." Let me be the last person to suggest you seem to have an issue with Bikram yoga, although I expect I wouldn't be the first.
yogabrian, One clarification regarding the use of Bikram's name. Through my certification I receive the right to use Bikram's name with regards to my training and the classes I teach. I believe I can not use his name with regards to what I name my studio. It can get a bit murky.
I have arrived at this station in my life appreciating that there are in any discipline, teachers that are encouraging as well as teachers whose style does not resonate with us, but I have never found a teacher that I couldn't learn something from, even if it is only how I wish to differ. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | AKBrooker1 - 2006-08-21 3:35 AM
Cyndi, I had to laugh at your comment, "the only thing good about it," followed by the quotation lower in your thread, "Everything works if you let it." Let me be the last person to suggest you seem to have an issue with Bikram yoga, although I expect I wouldn't be the first.
Well, let me be the first person to tell you that if you go back and read this forum, you will see that I am one of Bikram's biggest fans. I've always liked Bikram and understood him, where others have not. Besides, as I've stated before, Bikram is like a brother, my husband really likes him alot....they are both Kshatriya. My husband also encouraged me years ago to do the Bikram method and has attended workshops and yoga class with me. NO, he is not a Bikram Yoga practictioner either.
However, I am entitled to my opinions in relation to the heat issue, the styles whether they be called HOT or BIKRAM. Have a great day, |
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| Just want to clarify that I am not a yoga teacher and I cannot even consider it my primary form of practice. I do enjoy it as a completely different experience than my usual heated power classes though.
AKBrooker: What's Barkan Hot?
Anybody want me to continue to stir the pot with my impressions of my studio's lunchtime 60 minute version of "hot yoga" which I have termed "bikram lite" in my own mind and usage? 
Edited by redrox 2006-08-21 7:50 PM
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| I have had a similar experience. I did enjoy the heat and postures of the Bikram class but I felt the instruction was intense and competative. The studio I went to had yoga contests and the dialoge and tone of voice used reminded me of a drill sergant also. The main instructor was an x-football player. I felt the instructor wanted me to push my body farther than it was ready to go. There were other instructors that used a calmer format but the majority of the classes were taught by the hottie foot ball player. I take "hot yoga" and "hot vinyasa" classes now and I really like them. |
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| My experience on this issue was similar to the original post. The folks at my hot studio were more informative, gentle, and calm. It was easier for me also to listen to my body. My Bikram certified studio was much more militant and instead of seeing if I was ok on my first day of class the teacher said to me "Why aren't you in the pose" My hot studio is just more human to me.
However I know there are great bikram studios out there with awesome teachers. I have been to a few but where i live this is far from the case. |
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| I like being yelled at. It does wonders for my ego and the only way I dont start getting too lazy in class is if I have someone with a whip over me. I bet most Bikrma instructors feel subconciously that they feel they need to be "like Bikram". That is take on his personality which does involve some chastising of his students. I still remember Bikrma's bark and its been over 10 years ago that I did classes with him. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
Location: Oregon | I used to really respond to the push. But the circumstances have changed. I no longer need to be wrung out. I'm looking for balance. My practice has plateaued somewhat. And I've got a bum knee to boot. I've struggled with one teacher lately. I've told her I'm rehabbing my knee and, in general, can't push myself so hard any more. This is a new angle on Bikram for me. But it seems to me, this is also part of the Yoga.
One of the things I'm aware of, is that I'm the one that has changed. Not the instructor. I can't expect her to change for me. This has lead me to realize how I may have been the one to change in the past--not the other person, as I had thought. I'm owning that, and owning my role in certain things more completely. It's given me a different perspective. |
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"hot yoga" vs "bikram yoga"
