Richard Baimbridge | Yoga Space & Yoga Journal Magazine

So a quick primer for people who don't know, what is hot yoga? It's a system of 26 yoga poses done in a room heated to about 39 degrees. It was developed by an Indian yoga teacher living in America named Bikram (thus it's called Bikram yoga). He's very controversial in the eyes of yoga purists. Like him or not, why do you like hot yoga? As a teacher, I like it because it allows you to teach very advanced students and total beginners in the same class which is unusual. How about as someone who does yoga? As a practitioner, I enjoy the feeling of really opening up my body and sweating like you only can in hot yoga. It's just like being in the sauna! But why does it need to be so hot? Because if you want to shape a sword, you must heat the metal. If you want to purify water, you boil it. Heat allows the muscles to relax and stretch, and is a great way to detoxify the body. My first yoga teacher used to say that the reason we should practice is because when you feel good inside, you're far more likely to treat other people with compassion. We know it's hot, but what other than the temperature differentiates hot yoga from other forms? The poses are easier, but they require more strength–particularly in the legs. Does it have the same religious history as other forms of yoga? It's actually not religious at all, but I do teach it as a form of meditation. Can you teach us a yoga pose to relax during work? Try leaning back in your chair, and very slowly pull both your arms back, like you're taking a coat off, thrust the ribs upwards, hold it there and take ten focused breaths. Now lean forward and reach towards your toes and breathe. Next take your left hand to your right knee and twist backwards and breathe ten breaths, then your right hand to your left knee. Now roll your head in slow-motion circles, one direction ten times, then the opposite direction. When you want to stick your leg behind your head, call me.

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