Comments on: Bikram Yoga Cult & “The Yoga Nazi”

By: Yogaguy

Yogaguy — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 03:53:43 +0000

Dude, sounds like you had a horrible instructor. I have had many different Bikram instructors and none of them have been insulting. I like the verbal instructions but having said that, the instructors will demonstrate a move if you ask before class or if people aren’t getting it. There is a genuine workout to be had in Bikram but you cannot experience it by only going to one class. My first class, I thought some moves were rather easy because I wasn’t doing them properly. When you do them properly the workout is more challenging. As for the cost, my Bikram studio has better prices per class than the other yoga studios in town. It is cheaper if you buy a package of classes and they don’t make you pay an initiation fee like at many gyms or make you give your credit card. There are absolutely no gimmicks or surprises with payment. This yoga, the instructors, and students are the real deal. If it appears to have a cult following, it is because it makes you feel so good afterward. Bring on the endorphines!

By: Perry

Perry — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:24:39 +0000

I do Bikram Yoga and I love it and feel amazing from it. But it is certainly a full on cult. They (instructors, guru and their organisations) constantly make unsubstantiated claims about what it can heal and how it will improve you and your life and their robotic followers parrot these claims and talk about their guru with adoration in their eyes. Its all classic cult material. Also I a agree with the article – they do not show you proper alignment and a bad teacher will ruin the experience – and it is doubtful that it is more beneficial than any other yoga. I have been a sports person all my life and have had a stretching or yoga practice for much of my life to counterbalance the effects of high impact sports – so I go to Bikram already knowing how to look after my body and make poses safe. I enjoy the heat and the sweating and jsut find it enjoyable and good for me. But you need to be discerning, intelligent and see through the bullshit and the lies (yes unsubstantiated claims are lies in my view) and take if for what it is.

By: Toop

Toop — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:52:20 +0000

It certainly is a cult. Check out the teacher training plan. Punter’s spend 9 weeks, pay upwards of $25K to become certified Bikram teachers. (It takes the Army 10 weeks to complete boot camp) I have friends who went thru this and it has all the hallmarks of classic brainwashing. Sleep deprivation, food deprivation, complete lack of time, indoctrination, small groups so you never have time to think. Hats off to him, he found a way to relieve the bored middle classes of bundles of cash. I have done it a few times and found it intensely dull. And as to the claims of benefits, lots of assertions, noooooo evidence. Very destructive of friendships too largely because people, a) become very boring about it and b) always seem to be rushing off to do a class.

By: Rico Boricua

Rico Boricua — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:53:09 +0000

I have been doing Yoga in various flavors (i.e. Ashtanga, Hatha, etc.) for about 5 years now… I just recently (abotu 1.5 years) picked up Bikram (not exclusively… it is NOT my religion…) – and it is great! (of course there are many people that say this but don’t tell you why so I will try my best to explain…)

First off, and I am not the only person that has said this, this is one of those things that you either love it or you hate it… It might not be for you, and if you are successful at staying “in-shape” with other exercise routines, etc. – then great for you… But some people that would have never let themselves been dragged to a gym or care much for exercise have been seeing great benefits after making this Yoga a part of their life… If that is the case, and for these people, the end more than justifies the means….

As for me here are some things to note:

1. Persistence and Consistency: The same routine 26 Poses in the same order everytime… You can really get to work on your form and developping these poses fully – you become perfect at it… There is something to be said about practicing the same thing repeatedly to master it (since when did a professional dancer look good by practicing two dance moves 15 times in his life and moving on to the other possible 10000+ types of moves he could possibly perform… since when did anyone master the splits by just doing them once a week… maybe…). Discipline is key and this is part of the practice.

2. The “dialog” is VERY DESCRIPTIVE… I had too many Yoga teachers before “show the move” but really I found out after three years that maybe I was not alligning the hips correctly when I went down, was changing the “form” to something that felt easier but could be bad for my knee or back, or simply was not getting maximum benefits due to taking shortcuts that I felt eisier or were just ignorant about… MY FORM has greatly improved by LISTENING to a well designed and proven effective dialog – so have the benefits — I CAN TELL when I go to “non-Bikram” classes, and believe me SO CAN OTTERS – as they have told me… I can also perform better (cardio wise) in other classes like Step and Spinning…

The 90-minutes are intense, but afterwards it is very rewarding… I feel proud of incorporating Bikram Yoga in my lifestyle, of the discipline that I have developed with this Yoga, the benefits including the overall improvement on the form.

The dialog as I said is very descriptive… Everyone as an adult should have learned how to listen… if the intructions are Step 3-ft to your right, arms down immediately sideways and paralle to the floor, start forward bending with a straight back abs engaged until you cant see yourself in the mirror, then gran your feet from your ankles and pull downward… Come on is this not descriptive enough, the better instrutors to not do this move, but are observing what EACH STUDENT is doing if any element is not correct, or can be improve or needs to be modified they can tell you… too many intructors in other types of Yoga doing the moves better than anybody else, and you well, do what you can (or better say what you feel like doing…) – “It all good” — well not really…

I finally took my Yoga and my life to the next lever with Bikram, and that is why I incorporated it to my overall workout and weekly routines…

By: queens yoga

queens yoga — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:25:11 +0000

Now a days Yoga learning and practice center is available everywhere. Yoga ensures tension free relaxed life with full of joy and happiness.

By: kimmy

kimmy — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:24:35 +0000

Thank you for this article! I visited a hot yoga studio just this weekend and was soooooo creeped out by the spacey instructor and dark insence and icon ladden atmosphere I couldn’t get the heck out of there fast enough. All she kept giving me was one word answers and calling me “gorgeous” and made no eye contact.

me: So,what is hot yoga about?

she: heat gorgeous

Me: and yoga?

she: yes gorgeous

me: Okee dokee then. Do you have a class schedule?

she: Over there gorgeous.

me: thanks, bye. (zooming out leaving behinde a cartoon cloud of dust)

I’ve done regular yoga at Bally’s and the library. I’ll stick to those.