Bikram Yoga is a good thing

In the past few years I’ve developed pretty good workout habits, first with weights and then with running.  Having a regular fitness routine helped me in lots of ways: mentally and physically.  But every once in awhile I’d still have problems with my back, which has always been my weak link.

Recently, I’ve gone back to Bikram yoga, which is a style of yoga created by a semi-controversial guy named Bikram Choudhury.  Some people call it ‘hot yoga’ because it is done in a room that is heated to 105 degrees. During the class you do 26 postures in 90 minutes, and most of these postures would be extremely challenging even if the room weren’t so hot.  But the heat isn’t there just to create a challenge; the heat allows you to stretch further and helps keeps your joints loose.

After doing this yoga for the past few weeks I can say that it is definitely the best exercise regimen that I’ve ever come across.  Doing yoga everyday has made me calmer and more mentally balanced.  It’s also made me more physically fit than I’ve ever been.  I’ve given up working out with weights, and I rarely run anymore because I don’t need to.   It’s hard to understand how yoga can give you all of the benefits of other forms of exercise unless you do it for a while. I can tell you from first hand experience that it does.

If you are in New Orleans and want to try Bikram yoga then the place to go is Yoga-108, which is on the corner of Carrollton and Oak St.  Bruno Teyssandier runs the Bikram classes, and he’s a really good instructor.  When you first go you can pay $10 and go for 10 days.  The class schedule is here if you’re interested.