Hot Yoga Vs. Bikram Yoga
As both hot yoga and Bikram yoga have gained in popularity through the years for their many health and fitness benefits, the question has arisen about what the distinctions are between the two - if any whatsoever. The fact is, hot yoga and Bikram yoga are indeed two unique practices. Their main link is that Bikram yoga is a type of hot yoga. The two practices involve comparable health benefits, but Bikram yoga has come under some fire because of its relatively strict methods, while hot yoga has a wider range of styles and attributes it can incorporate.
Bikram yoga was first developed by yoga champion Bikram Choudhury in the year of 1974. It involves a series of 26 yoga poses with two pranayama (breathing) exercises that are performed twice in an 80-105 degree F room for approximately 90 minutes. His precise method not only includes these specifics, but also the type of carpet and mirrors in the room and usage of his prescribed text. He has an institute that certifies practitioners to become instructors of his style called the Yoga College of India.
There was a recent lawsuit that dealt with Choudhury attempting to copyright his set of poses used in a hot room, since he didn't want other hot yoga practitioners to reference their training as "Bikram yoga" specifically. The U.S. group targeted eventually agreed not to use his name in reference to their own hot yoga, as they did not train under his methods. The majority of hot yoga instructors, however, are only too happy to forego such strictness and use heated rooms for many other types of yoga practices, with the most common being the gentle hatha yoga style.
Hatha poses are also utilized by Bikram Choudhury, and he admits that other trainers may teach the same positions, but he believes that his sequencing of the poses are what sets him apart. Regardless, there are many advantages to doing hot yoga that are present despite what style is performed. Other than hatha yoga, other types include vinyasa, moksha, and power yoga, which can all be practiced in a heated room - making them "hot yoga" too. Choosing what the best style will be for you is reliant on determining your current strengths, fitness levels, and the area you want to develop.
Advantages of performing hot yoga include weight loss, greater core strength, improved flexibility, and building your immune system. Hot yoga tends to have a way of becoming an important aspect of many people's lives, and if you feel it's influenced you, then becoming a hot yoga teacher may be a satisfying course of action. There is certainly no need for you to study at the Yoga College of India to achieve this, either. One option is to speak with local teachers in order to see what training they may have available, or look at options online that offer courses for certification, often in beautiful locales. Whatever the path you take, hot yoga's benefits on both physical and mental levels will spread into all the aspects of your life.
Being a yoga instructor is a gratifying and wholesome option to show people how to better increase their health and well being. Yoga teacher trainings begin with study and practice with certified teachers and finishes with receiving a yoga instructor certification.