page_title: Bikram Yoga
section_title: Style
hierarchical_section_title: Bikram Yoga / Style
caption_attribution_description: English: Dandayamana-Janushirasana
context_page_description: Bikram Yoga is a system of hot yoga, a type of yoga as exercise, devised by Bikram Choudhury, that became popular in the early 1970s. Classes consist of a fixed sequence of 26 postures, practised in a room heated to 105 °F with a humidity of 40%, intended to replicate the climate of India. The room is fitted with carpets and the walls are covered in mirrors; the instructor does not adjust the students, who are expected to adjust themselves. Choudhury's teaching style was abrasive.
  Bikram Yoga spread rapidly across America and the Western world, reaching a peak of some 1,650 studios in at least 40 countries in 2006. Choudhury attempted to copyright the Bikram Yoga sequence from 2011, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In 2016, facing lawsuits and accusations of sexual assault, Choudhury fled to India, leaving Bikram Yoga, Inc. to be run by others.
context_section_description: Bikram Yoga Beginning Series classes run for 90 minutes and always consist of 26 postures, namely 24 asanas, one pranayama (breathing exercise), and one shatkarma (a purification) in a fixed sequence. The room is fitted with mirrors and carpets; students are not adjusted by the teacher, but are expected to adjust themselves using the mirrors.
  The hot yoga style is practised in a room heated to 105 °F (41 °C) with a humidity of 40%, intended to replicate the climate of India where it was created. Bikram Yoga trains its own teachers. They are taught a standardized dialogue to run the class, but are encouraged to develop their own delivery style.
  The author Brigid Delaney described seeing Choudhury in his first yoga studio in Australia, and was "shocked" by the environment and by Choudhury's bragging and abrasive manner; she noted also the docility of his students and the "fawning" atmosphere, writing:
  What the hell was this practice? The yoga took place in a room heated to around 41C. It was packed and it stunk. There were mirrors everywhere and the room was carpeted, which absorbed the stench and the sweat."
caption: Bikram Yoga's 26 postures include some such as Dandayamana-Janushirsasana not widely used in other styles.
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