Bikram Yoga, or Hot Yoga

I'll be the first to admit: I was skeptical about Bikram yoga from the very beginning.� For one thing, there are no levels in Bikram, so beginners are thrown into classes that contain people who have been practicing daily for years at a time. For another thing, there was that daunting purchase I made: an entire liter of water to drink as I did yoga.� By the end of my first class, however, I was in heaven: my muscles ached and my mind was tranquil.

Bikram yoga is often called "hot yoga."� Why?� The recommended minimum temperature for the yoga studio in which classes are conducted is 105 degrees Fahrenheit.� Think steamy, not scorching, as the class is designed to make you sweat out toxins and help your muscles stretch further.� Heat, after all, does increase your ability to stretch muscles - making it perfect for the less flexible among us.

For those who like a rhythm to their yoga practice, Bikram may be just the thing.� Each class consists of the same series of 26 asanas, or poses, held twice.� Usually the first pose is held for a minute, then the second for 30 seconds.� Classes run around 90 minutes.� You do sweat; and your muscles do ache.� It's an excellent workout, both aerobic and anaerobic.

Beginners need not be intimidated; although those from elementary to advanced are thrown into a class together, instructors go out of their way to make sure beginners are comfortable, and everyone is encouraged to move at their own pace.

However, those who have never done Bikram before need to throw out all of their expectations before stepping through the door.� My previous yoga classes had been conducted in quiet, moderately warm rooms, with music and soft-voiced instructors.� Bikram is far less delicate: for one thing, in a 105-degree room, people sweat.� A lot.� As in sweat dripping on mats, people glistening until they wipe themselves down.� For another thing, Bikram yoga instructors bellow out instructions.� They don't stop, either; until the end of the class, when you lie in savasana and the heaters are turned off, there is no peace.