Hot Yoga is practiced in rooms heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit

By VANESSA CAMOZZI
Observer Staff

Observer photo by Vanessa Camozzi
Yoga instructor Elizabeth Glover instructs her students.

Controversy and debate among yoga gurus, scientists and those who practice yoga continue to heat up surrounding Bikram Yoga or Hot Yoga as it is commonly called.

Bikram Choudhury is the creator of Hot Yoga. A native of Calcutta, India, Choudhury opened his first yoga schools in India and Japan. His first school in the United States opened in the early ‘70s in Hollywood, Calif.

The Hot Yoga debate

Bentley Storm, owner of The Hot Yoga Studio (the word “hot” he says is because of its popularity, not because of the style of yoga) on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, offers an alternative to the traditional practice of Hot Yoga.

Storm opened his studio five years ago, and he has more than 40 instructors. He has been practicing yoga for more than 15 years.

Storm instructs all of his classes in a studio heated to near the body’s normal temperature. “We control the thermostats to about 98.6 degrees,” Storm said.

If someone were to start doing jumping jacks in a Hot Yoga environment, Storm said he or she would become exhausted and dehydrated very quickly, not because of the jumping jacks, but because of the increase in body temperature is. Storm once owned a Bikram Yoga studio and does not see the added value or benefit of that type of yoga.

“It’s not intelligent to put your body in that kind of extreme heat. Practicing yoga above your body temperature inhibits people from going deep into the practice. When you heat up the room, the level of difficulty in the practice actually goes down. It equates to how much exercise you can do in a sauna,” Storm said.

Observer photo by Vanessa Camozzi
Bikram Choudhury, creator of Bikram Yoga

Doing any form of yoga is better than just being a couch potato, Storm said, but he doesn’t see any overwhelming benefits from Hot Yoga. Placing that much strain on the body and its muscles in that kind of environment has no added value, he said.

Katherine Kuzner, a yoga student who lives in the Washington area, attends classes at Storm’s studio. She has tried both Hot Yoga and Storm’s yoga sessions and doesn’t have a preference. She doesn’t recommend Hot Yoga for anyone who has health problems or high blood pressure. Nor does she recommend the practice for beginners. But she does say that any form of yoga has amazing effects on the mind and body when practiced correctly.

“Yoga brings me to a calm, relaxed, clearer mental state,” Kuzner said. She has been practicing yoga for more than three years.

But there are many yoga gurus and students who believe that practicing yoga at temperatures of up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit can be very beneficial.

Elizabeth Glover is the owner and an instructor at Bikram Yoga, 1410 H St., Washington. Glover has been practicing Hot Yoga for more than five years and opened her studio in July 2006.

Practicing Hot Yoga gives the body a higher cardiovascular workout while burning more calories (about 750 calories per session) because of the room temperature. It helps to sweat out all the toxins in the body, Glover said.

“Hot Yoga creates an artificial fever in your body that kills off germs and bugs that cause people to get sick. It’s a great way to improve one’s overall being, health, strength and flexibility, which is very useful, especially during this time of year,” Glover said.

She disagrees with those who oppose the practice of Hot Yoga and its added benefits.

“I have never heard of anyone experiencing anything detrimental to his or her health in Bikram Yoga. I will let the growth of the franchise speak for itself and let people decide for themselves,” Glover said.

Bikram Yoga schools have experienced exponential growth over the last few years worldwide, Glover said. It’s not recommended for children to practice Hot Yoga because they have not yet fully developed their sweat glands, but anyone else absolutely should, even if he or she suffers from high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems or diabetes. They would achieve the benefits of practicing Hot Yoga over a period of time, she said.

According to scientists from the University of Tokyo University Hospital, Hot Yoga has medical benefits. The findings were presented at the International Medical Conference in 1972. “Bikram Yoga has the ability to affect the body internally. The poses and pressure replenishes the cells and the flushing toxins in our body. It also oxygenates blood throughout our body keeping it clean and healthy,” the report said.

However, there is no consensus. While yoga studios like Storm’s don’t see the added value of practicing Hot Yoga, others continue to promote and practice it.

Many yoga devotees believe the following are benefits of yoga:

Physical benefits: Yoga creates a toned, flexible and strong body. It improves respiratory circulation, increases energy, maintains and improves the body’s metabolic rate, promotes circulatory and cardiovascular health, detoxifies the body, improves hand/eye coordination, increases muscle tone, relieves arthritic pain, reduces stress and tension and improves athletic performance. It also helps you look and feel younger.

Mental benefits: Yoga helps you relax and minimize stressful situations more easily. It helps you focus, cleanses the mind of cluttered thoughts, teaches you to focus, challenges you to reach difficult positions, and energizes your mind, body and soul. It also promotes helping and thinking of others in a positive manner.

Spiritual benefits: Yoga builds awareness of your being and those around you, promotes inner peace and confidence, helps you to think of others around you as well as yourself. It also promotes the rudiments of body, mind and soul.

Check out The Observer’s yoga column on Tuesday’s The Young Yogi Nov. 6