Turning up the heat on an ancient practice

Devotees to Bikram yoga, which is practiced in a room heated to triple digits, swear by its therapeutic benefits.

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 1/29/17

From its origins in northern India more than 5,000 years ago to becoming a $30 billion industry in the U.S. today, yoga is everywhere. The East Bay alone is home to dozens of studios and …

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Turning up the heat on an ancient practice

Devotees to Bikram yoga, which is practiced in a room heated to triple digits, swear by its therapeutic benefits.

Posted

From its origins in northern India more than 5,000 years ago to becoming a $30 billion industry in the U.S. today, yoga is everywhere. The East Bay alone is home to dozens of studios and opportunities to practice yoga any day of the week. It's an exercise program that offers something for everyone, whether you are looking for a gentle "moving meditation", the cardio benefits of a fast-moving vinyasa flow, or a chair yoga class designed for people with limited mobility.

Then there is Bikram, which is in a class by itself.

Developed by Bikram Choudhury, an Indian yogi, Bikram is a series of 26 yoga poses performed in a room heated to 104 degrees. The poses are done in the same order and held for the same amount of time each time. Every class is, structurally, at least, the same as every other. The variety comes from how your body responds on any given day.

The heat may seem extreme, but in reality, it doesn't take long for novices to become acclimated. "And some people are fine with the heat," says Juliana Olmstead of East Bay Bikram Yoga in Bristol. Opened in 2014, it's the only official Bikram studio in the East Bay.

Juliana was introduced to her first Bikram class over a decade ago, while interning with the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Lab in eastern Washington state over the summer of 2005.

"It was July, and over 100 degrees outside. My friend took me to a Bikram class and I didn't even realize the room was heated," Juliana says. "I thought the air conditioning was broken."

Juliana, an engineering student at the Massachusetts Institute of Techology, was intrigued. She continued to practice Bikram through grad school at UC Santa Barbara. Then one day she came to the realization that she really did not want to spend her life in a lab—her passion for Bikram and working with people was leading her in a very different direction. She decided to enroll in the grueling 9-week certification course to become an official Bikram yoga instructor.

"I wanted to do something that would engage all parts of my brain and personality. My parents thought I went and joined the circus," she admits. "But they were used to me taking twists and turns; they trusted I knew what I wanted."

Despite the impressive skills and flexibility of advanced Bikram practitioners, Bikram is, in fact, for everyone. As with all yoga practices, students are encouraged to listen to their bodies and do what feels right for them, on that day. In Bikram, if that means spending the better part of a class horizontal on your mat, so be it. But students that stay with the practice find that it reaps tremendous rewards.

Satomi Stogdill, originally of Tokyo, Japan, has been practicing at East Bay Bikram for about a year, and says, "I was suffering from back pain after herniated disk surgery, and wearing my back braces when I first started, but not anymore. I was so afraid to take plane rides before, but I recently had 16 hrs of flight to visit family and my back held up! This is a huge change for me."

Sandra Massa of Bristol gets to the studio 3 to 4 times a week, and cites the after-effects of class as the reason she returns. "I was searching for something to ease me into my retirement years, that would help me with my flexibility and mobility, and uplift my spirits."

Stacy Epstein of Warren also found relief from chronic pain through her Bikram practice. She took her first class in May of last year and the results were almost immediate. "The heat in the hot room was an amazing feeling to me, and I quickly fell in love with everything about the studio and the practice itself. Within just two classes, for the first time in ten years, I could lift my arm above my head with very little pain," she says. "With every class that I attended, my shoulder was getting better. Now, eight months into my Bikram practice, I have zero shoulder pain, I am the happiest I have ever been…I'm planning on becoming a Bikram yoga teacher myself within a year."

Juliana's classes are full of students with similar stories of the therapeutic benefits of Bikram, and the healing effects of practicing yoga in in the "hot room."

"Bikram is accessible to anyone, including people who have never taken a yoga class. Just take a break when you need to, take a drink when you need to," she says. "And just breathe."

For more information on East Bay Bikram Yoga, visit eastbaybikramyoga.com.

East Bay Bikram Yoga, Juliana Olmstead

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