Customer Reviews

Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class (Second Edtion)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have been using Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class (the book alone, no instructor) and found it to be tremendously effective for improving flexibility, strength, conditioning, and energy levels. I do my best to follow the instructions to the letter and perform each pose as well as I can, and it really works.

I knew nothing about yoga before I started, so I intentionally chose this book for it's defined program and limited set of poses, as opposed to others that have a smorgasbord of poses that I could dabble in. As other reviewers have pointed out, some of the poses are not easy, and there are many that I still probably only get 25% right because I don't have the strength and flexibility, but the honest effort I make is paying off.

I found myself getting more and more out of shape because nagging injuries stopped me every time I tried to start an exercise program. My formerly active lifestyle was slowing way down, and I just felt bad -- and felt bad about myself as a result. Bikram's yoga has turned that around in 2 short months. I've lost some weight, gained a tremendous amount of flexibility, added muscle tone, and feel a lot better about my long term health outlook.

I do the full program (it takes me about an hour and 15 minutes) at least 4 times a week, usually 5 or 6. I'll probably take a class with an instructor eventually.

Is Bikram's yoga the best way? I don't know. But it's working for me.

Bikram Choudhury's classic Yoga work has finally been revised. Unlike the second edition of many popular books, this one is better than the first. It's good for what it has and good for what it doesn't have. The book retains Bikram's detailed, often hilarious, commentary and descriptions of how to perform each of his 26 postures (asanas) and breathing(pranayama). It also retains his unique "ideal" and "reality" versions of the poses, a great help to novices. In addition, there are more than 200 high quality black and white photos to augment Bikram's commentary.

What the book doesn't contain is just as important. It eschews adding anything about the new, trendy forms of Hatha Yoga that have taken over American popular culture. After all, Hatha Yoga has been a highly successful form of physical and spiritual renewal for more than 5,000 years. As Bikram in his new introduction states,"Americans are very inventive, even if what they invent is wrong. They are inventing posture after posture, making up names for them. Then they sell their wares to innocent, uninitiated people who do not know that they are getting ripped off, even getting hurt. There are more flavors of Hatha Yoga in the West than ice cream. Americans think that's wonderful. I tell you it is disastrous. Most of these so-called Yoga systems are not Yoga at all. Giving them a Sanskrit or Bengali name doesn't make them Yoga."

Bikram's series of postures and breathing performed in a 100-plus degree studio, taking 90 minutes, is one of the more challenging but worthwhile things you can do for your physical and spiritual well-being. It is certainly unique and is totally different than many of the so-called Yoga Systems available today. This book explains it all. Study it, take a Bikram class. They may change your life.

I attended classes at Bikram's Yoga College of India for three years, and have received instruction from Bikram himself during quite a number of those classes. About two years ago the college moved to a different location and since then I have continued my practice at home.

Everything they say about Bikram the man is true. Yes, he is an egotist. Yes, with his millions of dollars and multiple Rolls Royces he has fully embraced the materialistic lifestyle of his adopted country and in particular of his home city of Beverly Hills. He is well aware of his egotism and materialism, and revels in both to the point of self-parody.

None of this erases the fact that the 26 Bikram postures are perhaps the most concise, therapeutic, balanced and adaptable compilation of the yoga repertoire ever brought together under a single method.

They are concise, in that every part of the body is exercised, but if the same part is exercised in more than one posture, it is always in a slightly different way, and always in a way that takes advantage of the repetition to further increase the flexibility of the body, and always far enough from the original posture to make the repetition meaningful rather than redundant (e.g., standing head to knee is posture five, while the seated head to knee is posture twenty-four). They are therapeutic, in that circulation is enhanced, muscles are stretched to release toxins, and intense heat and perspiration help to carry those toxins out of the body. They are balanced, in that each posture that stretches in one direction is invariably followed by another that stretches in the opposite direction (e.g., camel pose followed by rabbit pose). Finally, they are adaptable, in that every posture can be done to a greater or a lesser degree, allowing both beginners and long-time practitioners to benefit from exactly the same set of postures.

In so many ways, this makes the Bikram postures "all you really need" - a comprehensive set of postures beyond which you need look no further in order to maintain your flexibility and health.

Yes, just as some others have reported, I too made an effort to attend classes taught by "anybody but Bikram" while I was at the college. While he is very knowledgeable, his constant banter often interrupted the flow of the postures, and his classes invariably ran late as a result. But I will always be grateful to him for having developed his method, which has been of enormous assistance to me in maintaining my physical health and clarity of mind.

I believe one reviewer missed the point of this book. It is not intended to be a do-it-yourself yoga course. It is a guide to the yoga student who attends a Bikram yoga class. I'm fortunate to have a Bikram studio only two blocks from my house in San Francisco. Classes are crowed and instructors don't have time for a lot of one-on-one instruction. That's why it is helpful to read through the descriptions, especially after you are familiar with the poses. It gives lots of hints which cause lightbulbs to go off in my head. Bikram at home? First of all, you *must* have a super-heated room and a wall-sized mirror. And an instructor is mandatory, especially if you are beginning. It's not yoga for sissies, and I'm pretty much a sissy. But you will be surprised how good you feel about yourself after completing 90 minutes of stretching,sweating and pushing yourself to your limits. The other thing is you get maximum benefit from your workout even if you are beginning, as long as your pose is in good form.

A great thing about the photographs is that he uses a variety of ages and body types so that no one is excluded. Thin, fat, young and old are all there. And I was delighted with Bikram's sense of humor--he's a great showman! He's not afraid to be silly and by doing so he takes some of the sanctimoniousness out of yoga.

I started taking Bikram's yoga class without prior knowledge or experience with the style and I'm still fairly new at it. This book is definitely intended to be a supplemental guide to attending classes and it is helping me understand the medical benefits as well as clarifying proper pose form.

The book is well laid out and breaks each of the 26 asanas (poses) into "Ideal" which describes the technical elements of the pose and "Reality" which describes how to get through what you will most likely experience as you are trying to contort and stretch your body into the pose. It has amusing anecdotes from his students that describe their successes, failures fears and experience with the practice and Bikram.

There is a medical advisory section in the back that describes how to handle injuries and medical conditions and how Bikram's will help.

I love this book. It's a fun, easy read and is written as [I imagine] he speaks - you sort of get a sense for what kind of person he is. I recommend it as a supplement to the class.

If you are currently practicing or thinking about taking Bikram's yoga classes, you will get a lot out of enjoyment and education from this book.

As a new student to Bikram's Yoga (just two months),I bought the book to further my comprehension of the poses and their benefits. As such it has been invaluable. The book does a better job than I would have imagined of describing how to perform each posture, and describes and shows not just the "ideal" way to do the pose, but what you can realistically expect your body to do and not do as someone brand new to the practice.

Personally, I would have a tough time sticking with the yoga and being sure of my form if I were relying on the book exclusively and not attending classes. But as a companion, it is so helpful in understanding what I'm supposed to be doing and why I'm doing it (i.e. specifically what each pose does for the body and mind. It's worth mentioning that Bikram's narratives are often quite funny, which makes reading the book that much more enjoyable.

The book has encouraged me to continue attending these very challenging classes, for several reasons. For one, reading it reinforces in my mind the benefits I'll receive if I stick with this practice. Secondly, the pictures of students today alongside pictures of those same students 20-plus years ago are an incredibly inspiring advertisement for what this yoga can do for your-- the folks appear not to have aged at all!!!

Bikram's book is an informative and enjoyable way to learn his style of Yoga, and I do believe that it is basic enough for a beginner, yet is still pertinent and helpful enough for a more experienced student. I was really disappointed to find out that this is basically a reprint of his first book written with the same co-author in 1978. Yes there are some new pictures and additional narrative, but I believe this book could have been updated totally and made into a companion piece with with new pictures, new students and new stories and dialog since Bikram has been a continuing and dynamic force in Yoga for at least 30 years. So if you've never read his first book, by all means buy this one--it gives clear and concise directions and reasoning behind each posture, but if you already own it, the choice is yours--you might enjoy the update, or maybe not.

Reviewer Michael Charles quotes Bikram as writing, "These are the classic Yoga Postures handed down from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras."

Only 3 of Patanjali's 195 yoga sutras are devoted to asana (posture) and they are about attitude rather than descriptions of actual postures.

Be wary of anyone who tells you that his or her yoga is the "true" yoga as delineated by Patanjali. (Bikram is not the only yogi who makes this claim).

I have nothing against Bikram, his methods, or this book--in fact, I enjoy Bikram Yoga classes. I just wanted to point out this misleading claim.

This book has been extremely helpful to me in learning the accurate 26 poses of Bikram Yoga, and what I'm trying to achieve while doing them. It gives me background information about what to expect, the benefits, the ideals and reality. In conjunction with taking Bikram Yoga classes, it is the perfect companion, and definately recommended! Written in conversational style, it is very easy to read, inspiring, motivational, and infused with Bikram's own sense of quirky humour. I would strongly recommend it for the student of Bikram Yoga, but not necessarily as a stand alone item, as I can see a beginner of Yoga not understanding the principles or correct methods.

A very regular customer at my salon was recently bedridden for a day after attending what the instructor labelled his first lesson of yoga - 'Yoga Boot Camp'. Having heard her story, which I will not reiterate, I suggested she buy Bikram's Beginning Yoga, and offered to find out if it was still in print. I had purchased my copy whilst working in Saudi Arabia some 19 years ago. I pulled out my copy and re-read it - words of gold. It so inspired me I did all the exercises after 13 hours at work - and yes, I still felt the way I had during my early years of yoga - wonderfully relaxed, stretched out, and eager to repeat the lessons tomorrow.