Back to Bikram

I realize I pretty much renounced Bikram in a previous post, but I’d like to revisit some of my words. Because while I still have some major philosophical quibbles with the guy and don’t plan to ever attend his teacher training, I’m finding it impossible to separate his yoga from my own.

I thought I’d hit on a clever cop-out, calling his style of yoga by the generic term of “hot hatha yoga.” But I was wrong. Not only is “hot hatha yoga” too general of a description–I’ve learned there are plenty of studios who heat their rooms and use a sequence different from Bikram’s–but the man deserves credit for what he created.

So even though I still prefer to avoid officially licensed and endorsed Bikram studios, I recognize that the hot yoga I want to practice is the sequence he developed. I don’t like that he claims to have proprietary ownership over a style, and I don’t like that he charges unreasonable franchise fees. But I sure do like his yoga.

Since I’ve been focusing a lot more on vinyasa lately, I’ve come to really appreciate the rare hours I’m in the hot room. After hours and hours of teaching my body new tricks, it’s a welcome relief to return to something familiar. Something I can count on for focus and release.

Not that vinyasa doesn’t allow for focus and release–it most certainly does, and in a variety of ways I’m just beginning to discover. But moving slowly in a heated room; being given the time to sink into each posture and adjust for every nuance; having to cope with the intensity of my environment…these things do a body (mind and soul) good.

So even if I don’t always understand the choices he makes, I’m grateful to Bikram for practicing his yoga and for wanting it to be popular. I admire his confidence and accomplishments, and my own teaching will inherently reflect what I continue to learn from his classes. Different as we may be, the light within me definitely honors the light within him.