Bikram Yoga is a form of Hatha yoga. It's suitable for beginners of all ages and fitness levels, lasting for 90 minutes in a constant temperature of 40 degrees! It is comprised of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises.

The heat assists in warming the body up faster and deepening the stretches. It is quite a cardiovascular workout as it pushes you through several stretches and isometric holds, where the muscles are held under constant tension for a prolonged period of time. Anything of this nature increases your blood pressure and your heart rate! So if you're not breathing calmly in and out through your nose, there is a possibility that you may begin to panic… as I did!

Thankfully my instructor was watchful and quietly spoke to me from across the room, through his microphone, "pigtails" (as I had my hair in 2 plaits) "no panting! Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose". This then allowed me to refocus my breathing and regain control. I was thankful for the advice, as my erratic breathing combined with the heat was making me feel dizzy and slightly suffocated.

The sweat! Oh my! The sweat! You've heard of the term ‘sweating buckets’ - well it applies here! The workout combined with the constant 40 degree temperature makes you sweat like you've never sweat before! My client, who took me along as his guest, compared it to his 42km marathons! When you come out and shower you feel like you've gone through some sort of cleansing ritual. I like this aspect, and to be honest, I felt very refreshed after the experience.

BIKRAM PROMISES

PROMISES CONFIRMED

I will admit that I found Bikram Yoga hard work but like I said above, I came away feeling refreshed and less stressed. Even more than that, due to the intense setting and new nature of the physical challenge, I came away feeling STRONG and EMPOWERED that I had made it through.

Reduced stress? You bet!

Developed Muscle Tone? I believe it definitely will develop your muscle tone if you are consistent in attending classes. Anything that increases muscle will aid in weight reduction. Body weight exercises burn the most calories and are great for developing muscle tone and strength.

Improved sleep? I have to laugh at this as I remember the feeling of utter exhaustion after! A big yes :)

Building strength and stamina? Bikram Yoga will build body weight, strength and stamina in the fact that your body would get used to the conditions. If you were consistent in attending classes, your body would learn to cope with the heat more efficiently.

Improving circulation? Most definitely! As with all exercise when we use our body weight or any other kind of weight training, we improve our circulation: the rate at which the blood is transported around our body. The constant heat increases this effect, as our body lifts a gear to try and cool our body through sweating and increased breathing.

Detox through perspiration/sweat? As we sweat the toxins that leave the body are sodium and potassium and not much else, so not completely. The MAIN DETOXIFYING BENEFIT you get from all the sweating, scientifically speaking, is through the amount of water you need to drink before and after the class. This needs to be 3 litres before and after -especially after! (I failed to do this after my second class and suffered the next day from severe headaches; my own fault for not replenishing properly) As it's the water that flushes toxins through our blood and out of our bodies, not sweat.

What I LOVED about Bikram Yoga was the fact that it was a new challenge. I felt stronger - having made it through and not having keeled over from the heat. I liked pushing and stretching my body and feeling refreshed afterwards. I LAUGHED at myself trying to balance and we all know how good laughter is for the soul. I SWEATED gallons and looked like I had been thrown in a pool; I was drenched! I GROANED. I even let out a little whimper when encouraged to push myself just that little bit further in one of the stretches, much to the delight of my client, who, like I said, had brought me along. He leaned over as I buried my face in my towel and quietly said "this is karma". I smiled and let him enjoy watching his trainer suffer a little in the name/pursuit of physical wellness.

My advice: take a friend and sweat it out together! I will continue to go, I like it hot!

Yours in health and fitness,

KellieLong.com

**Note** I would not recommend Bikram Yoga to people with heart conditions or those who are pregnant. If these two conditions apply seek the advice of your medical practitioner.