What do you think of Bikram? & what do you think of other schools of yoga?

I started with Bikram and migrated to Iyengar. My primary practice
is still Bikram because it is close to work and I continue to use it as
a foundation building series. I love Iyengar because it was/is more
spiritual for me but it also lites fires Bikram does not.....but.....the Bikram
heat allows me to go into another type of depth of meditation.

Note: Because I started to see that a number of yogi's from different
styles had opinion with ...other styles than their own and there is some
serious judgment of Bikram....I'm hoping to spend the next few years
(most likely the rest of my life) checking other yoga's out and am
just toally excited about this road I hope to walk.

So I find and like what I have in Bikram but.....one thing I find strange
and somewhat limited is that a number of Bikram instructors I have
talked too have only done Bikram......

When I started yoga I thought it was just the physical...asana....
It wasn't to long before I was shown that yoga is much more than asana
and just taking the first step whether it's Bikram or Iyengar or meditation
or???? is ....WOW...heart chakra just completely opened.

Yoga, rocks! :) and I Love yoga people

family

I personally *can't* do Bikram. I have almost passed out from the heat the only two times I tried it. For my body, I can't put my all into my practice in that kind of heat... and if I'm not putting my all into it I'm not paying for a class.
Besides the fact that I have the same issues with it that are stated above.

"Yoga is the whole, of which Kundalini is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Laya is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Mantra is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Nada is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Raja is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Tantra is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Bhakti is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Hatha is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Jnana is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which Karma is a part.

Yoga is the whole, of which ____?___ is a part."

All Yoga leads to the same end. Some take the bus while others like to walk.

Wishing the best of all possible worlds,
Iyengar Yoga teacher, tony eason

Does it really take at least six months to get that whole breathing thing down?

I truly appreciate all the thoughtful responses I have read to this post. I have practised many styles, including both Iyengar and Bikram and I share my impressions and experiences only. I too agree that we must each find our own path, and our own teachers, and find the experiences that suit us individually and will help our souls to grow.

I took my first Bikram class six or seven years ago, and having a young and very able body, I was pushed hard to achieve poses and "stand in the front of the room" I quote from my teacher at that time. I found this to be somewhat uncomfortable, but wasn't able to identify why until later, after studying with some teachers who helped me to understand more deeply the eight limbs of yoga and the mental practice that is cultivated in tandem with asana. I feel that other styles may connect us more deeply to some of these mental practices and may help us to more easily strip away some of our ego and our clinginess to percieved beauty and what a pose is "supposed" to be.

Another characteristic of Bikram classes that ultimately I found untenable was the use of a script for the teachers leading class. I did not know they did this until taking classes in many cities and studios and realizing my teachers were basically saying, word for word, the same thing to take us through class. Every time. My personal feeling is that having a script can prevent us from being in the moment, as a teacher, and as a student. Rather than being aware of the reality of the bodies and minds in the room in a particular class, a script assumes that everyone can access the teaching in the same way, through words alone, all the time. I appreciate other styles such as Iyengar where demonstration and physical adjustments are used, as I feel these methods can be just as useful in teaching bodies as words.

Another issue I have with a scripted class is that I do not feel it creates a safe environment for students to ask questions, to deviate from the plan. If a teacher exists to serve the learning of the students, it seems to me that it should be comfortable and easy to ask questions. My own experience in Bikram classes has been if a question is asked, the answers are fast, general and fairly unspecific. And then we go back to our 26 poses timed with the stopwatch so we don't run over the alloted class time. There was a fairly hierarchical sense in the classes I took, where you do what the teacher says and you don't question it. If you have trust in your teacher, this isn't a problem. but I can't say that I always did trust the teacher, to know what was or wasn't safe for me, to know anatomically and energetically what was going on in my body. I have reservations about how these teachers are trained and how much training and apprenticeship they receive before they have a class of 40 students in front of them. But that is true of more yoga teachers than just those teaching in the Bikram Colleges!

The heat is the heat. If you have ever practised in the tropics then you know that the heat can definitely be a part of yoga practise, naturally.

My final feeling about Bikram yoga was that it was not the practice for me. Many of the teachers I encountered had a deep respect and humble gratitude towards Bikram for healing them, helping them to overcome huge pains and hurdles, so I know there are people out there who value this practise.

I think Iyengar is very compling to technique junkies (like me). As a dancer, posture and technique were my priorities in finding a style. I find that when my body is properly lined up I can hold the poses longer and my mind can rest. I'm sure different styles appeal to different personalities.

As for Bikram, I've never tried it and probably never will. I struggle hard with doing intense physical activitiy in temperatures over about 95. Maybe my body doesn't cool very efficiently, but I tend to get sick to my stomach and light headed when I exert myself at high temps. I think the discomfort of the heat and sweat would make it hard for me to focus on and relax my mind.

I enjoy flow styles of yoga because they are dance like, but feel I personally get more out of focusing on the form and details of single poses in Iyengar.