Bikram does it again

Bikram in Tiptoe pose (which
isn't even part of his 26 asana!)

If THIS doesn't raise the ire of many-a-Bikram-critic, I don't know what will!

Bikram Chowdhury is the founder of Bikram, or "hot", yoga, a form of asana that I've blogged about before, not favorably.  Bikram yoga is a series of 26 postures that are put in a systematic sequence which supposedly re-oxygenates the blood.  The series is typically practiced in a heated room (mimicing temperatures in India - the motherland of yoga) and the practice claims that if practiced properly and regularly, you'll lose weight, develop muscle tone, and improve your health.

There are a lot of reasons I don't care for Bikram yoga.  I feel the temperature of the room brings a "false heat" (from the outside in) to your muscles so that you can get into some of the more acrobatic postures sooner than you might have otherwise with a true, purposeful practice that slowly builds genuine fire and heat from the inside out. There's also the sense of robust athleticism that Bikram style is going for - it's almost like Yoga for Sport (lose weight?  Build muscle tone?) rather than yoga for practicing patience and discipline.  Let's just say that I'm more Patanjali's speed rather than Bikram Chowdhury's.

Over the years, other yogis (some teachers, others just people who take yoga classes) have criticized Chowdhury for being "too commercial".  He created this intense, yet very specific method which requires intensive training - available only at one of his facilities - and licensed the name Bikram Yoga, so that if you want to open true Bikram studio, you must pay him franchise royalties.  He also is credited with putting his name to a variety of fitness drinks and meal supplements which people love to indulge in, based on his endorsement.  So basically, he's capitalizing on Yoga.  This is something that traditional yogic texts do NOT condone.

Chowdhury's latest venture, USA Yoga, is a foundation that seeks to promote asana as a bona-fide Olympic sport.  Read: competition - yet another thing that traditional yogic texts do NOT condone.  A National Yoga Competition?  One where the audience is at least respectfully quiet so as to not interrupt one's concentration...causing Chowdhury's wife to spout off something along the lines of: "Well, this still is nothing compared to what I had to go through growing up back home.  People would purposely make noises to try and throw off my concentration!"  WHAT?

I'll admit, I'm well impressed when I can see someone achieve a challenging posture.  Getting yourself into crow or wheel is pretty darn awesome.  It took me many, many years to be able to do some of those things (like about 7!), and when I see someone who can do those postures, I give them a lot of credit for having the patience to practice and the diligence to stick with something long enough to progress in practice.  Asana & postures are not Girl Scout Badges.  It should not be "Oh, look, I've done that now, look how awesome I am."

It comes back to WHY you do yoga.  Are you doing it to show how awesome you are?  You're going to become bored once you can do all the postures and move on to something else, that I can assure you.  If you're doing yoga to impress people in a competition I guess that provides some sort of motivation, but the Yogic texts explain that your motivation should come from within.  They teach that asana are a form of moving mediation, preparing your mind for enlightenment.  When you focus on your postures, you can quiet the "chatter", the outside distractions that are keeping you from nirvana.  So very few people have reached this state, and that's what keeps their practice going.  Those who have reached it, are so inspired that they continue their practice to reach it again and again.

So, forget about USA Yoga, forget about competition, forget about the notches on your yoga posture belt.  Get on the mat and enjoy the path to enlightenment.  Yoga is all about the path.  You probably won't get to the end today, but I can guarantee you won't ever regret trying!