When I first started taking yoga, one of the first classes I took was from Bikram Choudhury in Beverly Hills in 1973. He didn’t charge me since that was in the 70’s and I couldn’t afford his high price of $10.00 a class. Back then he did not use heat, just Bikram strutting his stuff as students were sweating from the inner power of the breath and the natural heat from the body holding strong postures.
Sometime in the 90’s Bikram started adding the high heat.
I can only guess that it started because in India there is just no getting around the depressing heat. Now, it has become very chic for those in the west to embrace the discomforts that those in the East are running away from.
Kudos to Bikram for his genius marketing to bring people who are stiff and unfamiliar to yoga to get an instant result… Sweat! In the exercise world, If you are sweating you must be doing something right. So now here we are in 2000 and something. You walk into most yoga classes and within the first 5 minutes the heat is up to 90+ degrees. Dedicated students are breaking out into a deep sweat along with a room packed with other fellow sweating yoga people… so, of course you must be warmed up… right? You’re hot, You are pouring sweat, you feel that you can move better, deeper and you are believe that all that sweat is getting rid of all the toxins from your body. Students are meant to believe that in order to warm up you have to sweat first, and do a million sun salutations before you can actually do “yoga.”
There is no compassion in these hot rooms. No window can be cracked; no fresh air can sneak in through the space at the bottom of a door. Heat! It’s all about the heat, the sweat, the deep discomfort
Welcome to Yoga Hell.
When I think of my perfect yoga space, I imagine open windows, fresh air, in a clear and clean environment so I can benefit while breathing deeply. Breathing in fresh air. When I breathe in, I am taking in the moment of newness and freshness and I breathe out all that is stale, old and allowing the space for that next new breath..
So what has this HOT yoga done to the face of yoga in the last 20 years? Why are people getting injured practicing yoga of all things? Could it be this false sense of instant flexibility? A good analogy is the vision of a glass blower creating a beautiful shape while the material is hot and malleable. Once it cools the piece is unmovable unless it breaks.
While hiking in the countryside of Ireland, the weather, as it often does, turned from sunny to almost snowing. In a short time my ears were hurting, my face was stinging. I took a moment to do downward facing dog. I went into the pose slowly as I began to breathe deeply and within one minute I was hot! Wow, no heater, no artificial heat, just from my own body. It was really, really cold outside. I warmed up so fast that my face became flushed with heat as my body began to slowly and patiently stretch and within a minute or two I had to take off my second sweater.
I was at first under the impression that it was unique to the new popularity of Bikram Yoga (which was not popular prior to this), but when I began to take some classes in t Los AngelesI found that the class that I did like also had the heat up. I would stand near a window and quietly sneak to crack it open just a bit. The teacher would come around and close it. Midway through the class I was ready to go to sleep. I would be breathing in everybody’s exhales. Not only that, but their flatulence, coughing, sneezing and since it was so hot and not a drift of air, all of their garlicky onion and broccoli body odors. How is this healthy? How is this rejuvenating?
At that point in time I have been doing yoga for about 35 years. I was older but I didn’t think I was that weak, old, or out of shape. I did have a continuous practice of my own. Maybe I just couldn’t do classes anymore. Finally, I had to walk out of class and told the teacher that I could not do yoga in the time of the so called “Sars” outbreak with the windows closed and the heat up… I didn’t think it was a healthy way to practice, and instead of having more energy, I was exhausted! She gave in and said I could crack a window…. Hallelujah!
Breathing is the catalyst that moves all functions of the body’s vital energies. From Breath one creates heat in the body. From Breath, movement is inspired.
True flexibility is a continuous practice of intelligent movement and awareness. Little by little the body will move towards flexibility that sustained and is real. The false sense of flexibility from outside heat will overstretch and leave a student without the understanding of the inner movement of posture. In my opinion, breathing deeply in a room without fresh air, elevated extreme heat gives a recipe for disease rather than health. Over stretching and strain rather than an organic gradual release of muscle restriction will leave a student with injuries and no understanding why.
One of my favorite books on Yoga right now is the well-respected book A Matter of Health by Dr. Krishna Raman. He describes the health giving affects of Asana as producing a “gentle sweat.”
The cardiovascular benefits from practicing yoga with awareness and dedication are undeniable. A practice of standing poses or backbends will produce a gentle working of the heart as well as a “gentle sweat.”
Yoga is Organic. Yoga is freedom. I don’t want to depend on an artificial environment in order to be able to practice yoga.
Beginners may find the intense heat helpful to encourage an expedient sense of flexibility. However, when students discover the internal power and heat from holding poses and breathing deeply, a maturity of practice will prove to be a life long gift of an intelligent, enduring journey of discovery, freedom and joy.
So, chill out and enjoy yoga the cool way.