HOT YOGA IN AMERICA
We opened our first studio here in Manhattan in 1999, and at that time, there were only a handful of “hot yoga” studios throughout the United States. Certainly we were the first in New York City -- something we take great pride in all these many years later. Over the past two decades we’ve introduced hundreds of thousands of practitioners to the benefits of a consistent hot yoga practice, and have built an incredible community in the process. But there still seems to be much confusion about the difference between “hot yoga” and “Bikram Yoga.”
To set the record straight: All Bikram Yoga is hot, but not all hot yoga is Bikram.
Of course, you may also know Bikram’s yoga by some of its other names including the 26 + 2 Series and Original Hot Yoga.
IN THE BEGINNING
Above: Bishnu Charan Ghosh
Bikram Yoga was created, of course, by Bikram Choudhury, who brought his brand of yoga to the US in the 1970’s. But the history of hot yoga in America really begins half a century earlier in India when a man by the name of Bishnu Charan Ghosh opened his Yoga College in Kolkata. The younger brother of Yogananda (“Autobiography of a Yogi”), Ghosh trained hundreds of students throughout his lifetime including one Bikram Choudhury.
Ghosh’s Yoga College opened in 1923, as an institution specializing in yoga therapy. Less a “gym” and more like a “clinic,” attending Ghosh’s Yoga College was similar to going to the doctor for an illness or injury. After an initial assessment, patients (or practitioners) would be prescribed a series of postures (or asanas) to resolve a particular health concern. Much like taking a daily pill, individuals were urged to make their yoga practice part of their daily routine — stretching and strengthening both body and mind.
In time Ghosh became a mentor to Bikram Choudhury. When the young protege declared his intentions to leave India, he said it was to spread the practice of Ghosh’s yoga across the globe. Drawing from the things he’d learned from Ghosh, Bikram laid out a series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises that when done regularly would work every major muscle, ligament, tendon, and internal organ in the body. Fundamental to its success was the belief that it could help prevent injury and assist in healing the body.
BEYOND INDIA
Bikram’s first stop was Japan, where he found that the temperature was significantly cooler than what he was used to in India. He quickly realized that the heat — something he’d long taken for granted — was an important component of the practice. To solve the problem, space heaters were brought in. This soon became the norm as Bikram’s students discovered the incredible benefits of practicing in a heated room.
When he eventually came to America, he began teaching at some of the luxury spas in and around Los Angeles and brought his now-famous series with him. These spas were well-attended by many of the biggest names in Hollywood. Famously, this was how he began cultivating a roster of celebrity clients including Shirley MacLaine, who encouraged him to open his own studio. As the popularity of “Bikram’s Yoga” grew, so did his client list including Quincy Jones, Raquel Welch, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Martin Sheen, George Harrison, and more.
During the 70’s and 80’s, Bikram cultivated a celebrity clientele
CELEBRITY STATUS
Bikram’s rise to fame paralleled that of Hot Yoga in America. Before long “hot yoga” became synonymous with “bikram yoga,” which was somewhat appropriate. Before Bikram there really was no such thing as “hot yoga” — unless of course you were practicing in a tropical climate (like India). What he did was insist on heating the studio to a balmy 105 degrees. As we now know, that became a key ingredient to the practice.
As Bikram Yoga became more and more popular in the US, others started copying his formula. In some instances teachers simply stole his series and gave it a new name; others assumed they could find similar success by teaching their own proprietary sequence in a heated room. But the beauty of the Original 26 + 2 Series — what we now call Original Hot Yoga — is that it was designed for the absolute beginner. It was created with yoga therapy in mind to heal the body and prevent future illness and injury. The specific structure and flow of the class is what we believe makes this practice so popular. Young, old, big, small, healthy, or sick… the practice invites you to participate in whatever way you can today.
THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING BIKRAM
It bears mentioning at this point that we have worked hard to separate Bikram’s persona from Bikram’s yoga. His trials and misdeeds are well-documented at this point. As a women-led business, we find his behavior unbecoming of a true guru — a betrayal of the trust so many of us put in him.
From the beginning this company — bodē nyc — has been a privately-owned business, independent of Bikram Choudhury and his Yoga College of India. Aside from the tuition we paid to attend his training, we have never paid any sort of fee or royalty to him. Though not the only reason, his behavior was the catalyst for us changing our name in 2017 from Bikram Yoga NYC to bodē nyc.
We’re proud of the new path we’ve forged and remain grateful to have a community that trusted us enough to head in this new direction. At the same time though, we believe in the power of the 26 + 2 Yoga Series. In our eyes his actions have little bearing on the yoga he brought to America, and we are committed to providing a home for this practice in New York City.
AUTHENTICITY MATTERS
These days you’ll find thousands of yoga studios across the country offering “hot yoga” classes, but most are not teaching the Original 26 + 2 Series. The question then becomes: what sort of experience are you getting? If it isn’t the official Original Hot Yoga, it’s often difficult to know. The 26 + 2 Series, Bikram’s Yoga, was designed to systematically work the entire body. The simplicity of the postures are compounded by the effects of the heat, which help magnify the benefits. A more challenging sequence allows too much room for injury.
In the case of hot yoga, less really is more.
MAINTAINING CONSISTENCY
For many years, aspiring “Bikram” teachers had to get certified by Bikram himself at a 9-week training held out in Los Angeles. (It has moved to different locations over the years, but LA has most often played host.) The beauty of these trainings was the consistency they provided. There was a certain amount of foundational knowledge that was imparted — an understanding of the benefits of the series and how it related to the heat. Practitioners could rest easy knowing their instructor had gone through the same sort of rigorous training that thousands of others had already gone through.
Given the controversies surrounding Bikram, we no longer recommend this training to practitioners looking to teach this practice. Nor do we require our instructors to get re-certified by Bikram’s organization. There are now several good alternatives around the country, including our own teacher training which we hosted for the first time just last year. The Original Hot Yoga Association (OHYA) was founded just a few years back as a way of providing accountability for our community, and we’re grateful for their ongoing support. They maintain a list of studios authorized to teach the practice, as well as an up-to-date list of teacher trainings around the world.
All “hot yogas” are not created equal. The Original Hot Yoga Series is time tested, its benefits scientifically proven. As we’ve expanded our class offerings, we have been careful to maintain a strong foundation of Original Hot Yogas classes. It’s what we believe in, and what our practitioners want. Many of our colleagues and competitors have wandered from the original series, and we wish to reaffirm our commitment to this extraordinary yoga practice.
