Category Archives: Bikram

Special Offer: Yoga Classes – “Hot Bikram Yoga Studios, Fulham and Balham”

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Hot Bikram Yoga have a special offer of £15 for 10 consecutive days

If you are new to Hot Yoga, or Bikram yoga, this is a great opportunity to try it out. Your body needs to practice regularly when you first start to adjust yourself to the combination of heat and exercise. It can be tough for the first few sessions so they recommend that you go at least 3 or 4 times before you decide whether to carry on or not.

When its cold outside, the bank balance is low after Christmas and work is still relatively quiet, its a great time to dedicate some time to yourself and warm up with some hot bikram yoga for just £15. 

Special Offer runs at the Bikram Hot Yoga Fulham and Balham studios only.

Visit the website for more details: http://www.hotbikramyoga.co.uk/specialoffer.html

Centre: North London – “Bikram Yoga Centre, Queens Park / Kilburn”

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Is Hot Yoga right for you?

There are so many horror stories about hot yoga but it’s not as scary as people like to make out. I personally don’t like hot yoga, because my body is not very good with extreme temperatures. It left me feeling completely knocked out and I went to about 6 sessions before I gave up. Maybe that wasn’t enough. Read more about Bikram yoga

Bikram North

Bikram North is one of three yoga centres called ‘Bikram Yoga’. The reception is quite friendly but more like a fitness club than a yoga centre. You won’t find much incense or many chanting CDs here. The changing rooms are decent but can get overcrowded as everyone needs a shower after Bikram, unlike other yoga forms.

The studio has low ceilings as it is all rigged up with the extremely powerful heating units. It is like going in to a cocoon. There are mirrors and mats hanging along the hot pipes around the walls. Using someone else’s sweaty mat seems a bit disgusting but as soon as you step in, you realize that you are at one with everyone’s hotness anyway.

There is a little courtyard where you can cool off and replenish lost liquids with some fresh juices. No one was using it when I was there but in the summer I imagine it would be quite a nice place to rest after a strenuous session.

The Bikram Teacher

The Bikram teachers recite the set routine through a headset. The ones who taught me were all extremely lean and didn’t seem to sweat a drop. They ask the regular ‘anything I should know about?’ and give a few words of advice and encouragement. However, it feels that they are just reading off a script so I didn’t feel any connection with the teacher of the other students. You could say, it left me feeling cold.

The other students

I found that most of the students were new to it, and very hesitant. Out of classes of around 50 only 5-10 were regulars. Some people looked like they’d been giving it their all but looked a bit disheartened as they limped to class and out again. The upside is that teachers and others are used to nervous newbies, the downside is that they have lost a natural empathy for nervous newbies because there are so many of us.

I would recommend you give it a go if you’re curious, it’s not going to be a hellish experience. Try a few and see what you think – if you like the heat and want to get seriously fit, go for it!

  • Yoga Styles: Bikram
  • Private Classes: No
  • Studios: 1 large heated studio
  • Classes/wk: 36
  • From/To: 6.45 am – 9 pm
  • Class length: 90 mins
  • Prices: £14 drop in, 10 classes = £110, 30 day unlimited = £145 (other options available, see full rates)
  • Special offers: £29 for 30 days unlimited for beginners

Changing Room: Decent changing rooms with communal showers and lockers

Equipment: Used sweaty mats provided!

Reception: Very efficient but a little bit cold perhaps.

Typical visitor: More athletic than in some yoga classes, more men and a lot of people who are in a hurry to get fit.

Other services: They have a cafe in the courtyard selling fresh juices.

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Website: http://www.bikramyoga.co.uk/intro.html

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Yogi Lifestyle: Personal Experience – “If you can breathe, you can do yoga”

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Jan Fuscoe, Time Out Writer and Writing Yogi
Jan Fuscoe, Writing Yogi

I have practised yoga on and off for many years and know that it isn’t always easy to find the right class, let alone the right teacher, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for; choose a class that’s too relaxing (restorative or kripalu) and you might, as I have, find yourself dozing off (though that might be the perfect class for those who are just starting out, or have trouble sleeping); pick one that’s too physically demanding and you could find that your body simply isn’t up to it, and be put off by the experience.

Different types of Yoga

I’ve learned that the practice that I like best is the one that I need at the time, hence moving from Hatha (slow and gentle) and Iyengar (lots of poses and use of cushions and blocks) to Kundalini (core work) and Bikram (lots of poses in a hot environment) and back again, with a bit of candle-and-chill-out yoga thrown in for good measure. My most recent sessions have been Iyengar and I’ve found that the focus on alignment is an excellent remedy for a sometimes creaky back.

The conclusion I have come to is that there is a yoga practice for everyone and Find Your Yogi is a great way of finding it, as we do all the hard (or should that be ‘relaxing’) research in order to help you find the class and/or teacher that is right for you, whatever stage you’re at: nervous beginner who’d like to be less stiff in the mornings through to athletes who want to push themselves even further – such as World Champion freedriver, Sara Campbell, who practices Kundalini yoga to improve her breath and focus.

Where to practice yoga

The ability to focus is an essential part of the practice. While I lived in South Africa I was lucky enough to be able do my Sun Salutations looking out over a beautiful sea under sunny skies. When I came back to rainy old London my classes took place in a windowless room in Bethnal Green. Having focus meant that my environment didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the practice – too much (putting on a windcheater after class slightly dampened the experience).

The best thing about yoga is that anyone can do it. As Simon Low (Triyoga) says ‘if you can breathe, you can practise yoga’.