Category Archives: Other Yogas

Bikram Yoga and Bikram Choudhury

May 23, 2020 hrodrigues

Bikram Yoga is a style of hatha yoga that was developed by Bikram Choudhury (Frey 1). Hatha Yoga emphasizes the outcome of yoga’s “…physical effects [such as] weight loss, physical stress reduction, muscle toning, and flexibility” (Fish 191). Additionally, it does not focus on the meditative aspects of yoga. These characteristics of the Hatha style of yoga are pronounced in Bikram Yoga and heightened. The purpose of Bikram Yoga is for the transformation of adults to improve health, rejuvenate the body, become fit, and therefore be “healthy”. These words are put in quotations as the controversy behind this style is vast. Varying research, which will be discussed further on, has been conducted and provides both negative and positive results from individuals that have performed this style of yoga. Moreover, beyond the controversy that has been publicized about the style, Bikram Choudhury himself has received negative public awareness, specifically in North America. This is owing to his methods of teaching, claims for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR’s) on the yoga style, and sexual assault and rape allegations that have been brought forth by previous students. While Bikram Yoga is still widely debated and its reputation has fluctuated, the popularity of this style cannot be questioned.

Bikram Choudhury was born in Kolkata/Calcutta, India in 1946 (Frey 1). Before Yoga encapsulated Choudhury’s life, he was well known for his weightlifting until a knee injury prevented him from continuing with his passion (Fish 194). It was then, when Choudhury was desperate for healing, that he met his yoga guru, Bishnu Charan Ghosh, who promised Choudhury he could fix his injury through yoga (Singleton 2010). He trained Choudhury at his College of Physical Education in Calcutta, which focussed on the modern and upcoming popular Hatha Yoga (Singleton 134). This style focussed on postures (asanas), muscle manipulation, and the physical culture of Yoga. Ghosh claimed that this style was a “weights-free method of physical training through will-power…” (Singleton 133). Miraculously, Choudhury’s injury healed. From this, there are claims that he participated in the National India Yoga Championship in which he won gold consecutively for several years (Frey 2012) and became a world champion yogi by the age of seventeen. This began the journey of Choudhury’s entrepreneurial yoga empire, which lead to the claim of a special invitation from President Richard Nixon in the 1970s for Choudhury to visit the United States of America (Fish 194). From this visit, Choudhury states to have helped Nixon with his injuries, as well as Shirley MacLaine, who was a famous actress, and obtained a green card as a thank you from the President.

From Choudhury’s acceptance into the U.S. began the creation of transnational commercial yoga, which as Fish (2006) states, is the yoga franchisee equivalent to McDonald’s. In 1974, Choudhury founded the Bikram Yoga College of India (BYCI) in Beverley Hills, California. Choudhury soon coined the name “Bikram Yoga” as he taught a very specific form that included 26 different postures (asanas) and 2 different breathing exercises (pranayamas), which were taught in ninety-minute durations (Fish 194). Additionally, Bikram Yoga is synonymous with Hot Yoga (Pizer 2018). This is due to the yoga practices being taught in studios that are heated at a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 degrees Celsius), which is above the normal temperature of the human body. Heat was said to be used because it was believed that the “inner heat” (tapas) produced through a physical activity could purify an individual and destroy imperfections of mental and sensorial faculties (Singleton, 175). Therefore, Choudhury believed that increasing the heat an individual was exposed to would produce more sweating, therefore leading to better physical health by cleansing one’s body and enhancing performance through the loosening of muscles (Pizer 2018). In 2006, Fish (194) reported that there was approximately 800 franchises of Official Bikram Studios, which operated in 33 different countries.

With the creation of this college and the popularity that exploded in the west of this particular style, he soon began to exploit North American’s for their wealth and became a multi-millionaire as a result (Pizer 2018). The new modern yoga that Bikram popularized was vastly different from traditional yoga practices. As stated previously, it “[did] not emphasize lineage or the rootedness of the tradition in the religious context, [but] [focussed] instead on the physical benefits of the practice with respects to fitness, beautification, and the like” (Singleton and Byme 173), which was exactly in-line with North American trends of being slimmer and fit during this era. His infamous teacher training classes cost individuals approximately ten-thousand dollars each for a nine-week course. Choudhury’s way of teaching, style of yoga, and exploitation of students (sisya) abandoned the rules of traditional yoga, which was primarily focused on “… dealing with aims, celibacy, scriptural study, and retreat from society or social norms” (Jain 10). Furthermore, the benefits from Bikram yoga began to reflect the dominant self-development desires of Choudhury. He transformed the teaching of yoga from “… the traditional guru-disciple relationship, usually in the isolated context of an ashram, [instead] to [marketing] yoga to mass audiences” (Jain 7) to obtain wealth.

In 2002, Bikram Choudhury attempted to obtain Intellectual Property Rights for his 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises (Fish 192). This took fruition after Choudhury became irate that studios were taking profits away from him by using his style of yoga, and in non-certified Bikram studios (Fish 195). Beyond the substantial profit he obtained from holding mass studios offering teacher training, Choudhury began franchising Bikram Yoga. Individuals that successfully passed, and paid, for the BYCI teacher training were allowed to open up Bikram Yoga studios by paying continuous franchisee and royalty fees to Choudhury (Fish 2006). Although groups such as the Open Source Yoga Unity (OSYU) initially fought Choudhury, claiming that yoga was knowledge of the public and not the private domain, Choudhury was able to settle these claims outside of court with a non-disclosure agreement between the parties (Fish 2006). Furthermore, in the present day, the Indian government is creating a digital library of all yoga mechanisms and yogic knowledge to preserve the public domain of yoga. This act has been described by Fish (2006) as a “reverse patent”, as it aims to preserve yoga for all people (i.e. the public) and to eliminate the possibility of yoga to become possessed by a singular individual or entity (Fish 2006).

As Bikram Yoga became increasingly famous, sexual assault and rape allegations, as well as the harmful dynamics from the classes, began to proliferate from former students and former legal representatives of Choudhury (Pizer 2). A quote from a student that attended a Bikram class publicly stated to a recognised U.S. magazine that Choudhury would introduce the class as follows: “Welcome to Bikram’s torture chamber, where you’ll kill yourself for the next ninety minutes”. Furthermore, students disclosed the intensity of the classes describing how Choudhury would make fun of students for their weight and appearance and did not allow bathroom breaks during lessons Additionally, students claimed that the physical expectations and heat conditions caused several participants to faint or vomit in class and feel severe pain during and after lessons. Bikram Yoga did not have beginner, intermediary, or expert classes and the students that failed were humiliated publicly in front of everyone in the mass studio. The sexual assault and rape claims came from six of Choudhury’s previous students and his previous lawyer. Choudhury denies all claims. The accumulating costly allegations eventually led Bikram Choudury Yoga Inc. to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, listing more than $16 million in legal judgments (Yerak 1). In 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for Choudhury in California, but Choudhury successfully fled the United States and has yet to pay Jafa-Bodden (Pizer 2018).

The controversy surrounding Bikram Yoga and Bikram Choudhury himself is exponential, but perhaps even more thought-provoking is the mixed results researchers have produced in verifying if this extreme style of yoga does in fact have the positive effects on the human body it claims to generate. Hewett (355) conducted a randomized experiment using an experimental and control group to compare the effects of Bikram Yoga on perceived stress, self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life in adults. Results were in favour of Bikram Yoga and concluded that individuals experienced improved perceived stress, general self-efficacy, and had an increase in overall health. Moreover, Abel’s (37) study on the physiological effects of Bikram Yoga continued the positive regard with findings that concluded participants had lower heart rate and blood pressure. However, negative results from research have also been provided. Cramer’s (3) study indicated significant adverse effects on the human body due to postures performed in Bikram Yoga such as the headstand, shoulder stand, and the lotus position. Cramer (3) claimed that these positions have “… adverse [affects] [on] the musculoskeletal system and included fractures, ligament tears, joint injuries, fibrocartilaginous injuries, …” etc., as well as produced glaucoma and osteopenia in some cases. Cramer (6) continued to state that “Bikram yoga [was] the yoga [practice] that [was] most often associated with adverse events”. This study concludes by warning individuals to avoid forceful yoga practices such as Bikram Yoga, especially if they are beginners, are elderly, or have medical conditions (7).

Bibliography

Abel, Lloyd, Williams, and Miller, K. Brian (2012) “Physiological Characteristics of Long-Term Bikram Yoga Practitioners.” Journal of Exercise Physiology 32:39-15. Accessed January 31, 2020. ISSN:1097-9751

Cramer, H., Krucoff, C., and Dobos, Gustav (2013) “Adverse Events Associated with Yoga: A Systematic Review of Published Case Reports and Case Series.” PLoS ONE 1:8-10. Accessed January 31, 2020. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075515

Fish, Allison (2006) “The Commodification and Exchange of Knowledge in the Case of Transnational Commercial Yoga.” International Journal of Cultural Property 189:206-13. Accessed January 31, 2020. doi: 10.1017/S0940739106060127

Frey, Rebecca, J. (2012) “Bikram Yoga.” The Gale encyclopedia of fitness. 1:5-249. Accessed February 22, 2020.

Hewett, Pumpa, Smith, Fahey, and Birinder, S. Cheema (2018) “Effect of a 16-week Bikram yoga program on perceived stress, self-efficacy and health-related quality of life in stressed and sedentary adults: A randomised controlled trial.” Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 352:357-21. Accessed January 31, 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.08.006

Jain, Andrea (2016) “Modern Yoga.” Oxford Research Encyclopedias. Accessed February 22, 2020. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.163

Pizer, Ann (2018) The Difference Between Bikram and Hot Yoga. New York: Dotdash

Singleton, Mark (2010) Yoga body: The origins of modern posture practice. New York: Oxford University Press USA – OSO.

Singleton, Mark, and Jean Byrne (2008) Yoga in the Modern World: Contemporary Perspectives. London: Routledge.

Yerak, Becky (2017) “Bikram Choudhury’s Yoga Business Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy; Hot Yoga Pioneer Bikram Choudhury Is Facing Millions in Legal Judgments.” Wall Street Journal. Accessed January 31, 2020.

Kriya Yoga

December 28, 2019 hrodrigues

Paramahansa Yogananda, born in India in 1893, devoted his life to helping everyone he possibly could to realize the beauty, nobility, and true divinity of the human spirit (Yogananda 1946: 161). In 1946, he published his book titled The Autobiography of a Yogi, where he discussed the yoga science of meditation, the art of balanced living, and the underlying unity of all great religions (Yogananda 2007: vii). The spiritual book has circulated worldwide and it discusses the remarkable life story of Yogananda as he explores the world of saints and yogis, science and miracles, death and resurrection (Yogananada 1946: vii). The autobiography has allowed the spread of eastern spiritual thought on a global scale, opening up a discussion on yoga, meditation, and self-exploration. Kriya yoga is significant part of the Hindu tradition, and it integrates central concepts of the religion.

In Chapter 26, Yogananda gives a detailed account of his knowledge on the science of Kriya yoga and its involvement with karma, pranayama, concentration, and meditation (Yogananda 1946: 263-273). He looks to Patanjali, a philosopher and author of the Yoga Sutra on their study of Kriya yoga. Patanjali claims that Kriya yoga “consists of body discipline, mental control, and meditating on aum” (Yogananada 1946: 265). The chapter provides a detailed explanation of who should consider studying Kriya yoga and the effects that it will have on a yogi during this life, as well as in their next life.

Kriya yoga came to be widely known in India through the teachings of Lahiri Mahasaya, Yogananda’s guru’s guru (Yogananda 1946: 263). The Sanskrit word kriya comes from the root kri, which means to do, to act, and to react; the word yoga means the union of soul with God (Mangla 67). The concept of Kriya yoga is much more complex than most people believe it to be; it is a spiritual path of yoga, meditation, and ethical living. It was not until Yogananada set out across the world to enlighten and teach the ways of Kriya yoga to Westerners that his wisdom began to have an impact on millions of people.

The eventual goal in devoting one’s life to practicing Kriya yoga is to attain an uplift from human consciousness to cosmic consciousness; however, many do not achieve this goal because their life ends before they can reach it (Mangla 67). Kriya yoga is not for everyone; rather, it is only for those who are interested in seeking their soul and unifying it with God (Mangla 67). Unlike the Western concept of yoga which has been modernized over time and become popular for its physical aspects rather than for the spiritual growth, Kriya yoga is the complete devotion of oneself to their practice. When practicing and dedicating one’s life to Kriya yoga, an individual will experience joy, bliss, peace, happiness, and a soothing sensation in the spine (Yogananda 1946: 267).

Within Chapter 26, Yogananda explains the science behind Kriya yoga and why such feelings are created; he examines the science of breath and the effect that it has on the body: “it is a simple, psychophysiological method by which human blood is decarbonated and recharged with oxygen. The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers. By stopping the accumulation of venous blood, the yogi is able to lessen or prevent the decay of tissues” (Yogananda 1946: 263). When a yogi is advanced in their practice and have mastered breathing and meditation, they are then able to turn the cells into energy. It is very rare for an individual to completely master their practice, and many yogis dedicate lifetimes to achieving cosmic consciousness.

Yogananada discusses how a yogi who faithfully practices the techniques of Kriya yoga is generally freed from karma or the lawful chain of cause-effect equilibriums (Yogananada 1946: 263). The concept of karma plays an integral part in the Hindu religion. Bad deeds, words, thoughts, or commands lead to harmful effects that may not occur immediately, but may follow you into future lives through reincarnation. Karma represents the ethical dimension of rebirth, also known as samsara, within the Hindu religion (Olivelle). The doctrine of karma directs devotees of Hinduism towards the common goal of moksa, which is the release from the cycle of birth and death (Olivelle). Moksa provides the motivation to behave righteously according to dharma, and to live a moral and ethical life. A yogi who dies before achieving full realization carries the good karma of their past Kriya effort, and in their new life, they are naturally propelled toward their Infinite Goal (Yogananada 1946: 267).

As individuals continues to advance in their Kriya yoga practice, they come closer to reaching samadhi (Yogananda 1946: 266). Samadhi comes from a Sankrit word that is used in yoga to refer to the state of pure awareness when all mental functions have ceased, except for consciousness (McGovern 1). Yogananada describes it as a state of God-communion, where the devotee’s consciousness merges in the Cosmic Spirit (Yogananada 1946: 266). Reaching samadhi is not common among yogis, and even those that dedicate their entire lives to practicing Kriya yoga may never reach it.

Ancient yogis of India have discovered that the secret to self-realization and cosmic super-consciousness are linked to the mastery of breathing known as pranayama (Mangla 68). Pranayama is a breathing technique that helps a devotee tune their consciousness into the six higher centers of perceptions in the spine (Mangla 71). The breath that is responsible for keeing the heart pumping must be freed for higher activities through a method of calming and controlling the constant demands for breath (Yogananda 1946: 267). Yogananda claims that sleep is rejuvenating because the body becomes unaware of breathing, which allows them to recharge themselves by using the cosmic energies; they unknowingly become a yogi in their sleep (Yogananda 1946: 269). Breath rate has been linked to a person’s lifespan, and depending on a person’s emotional state, their breath rate can cause a short or long lifespan. Yogananda uses animal’s breath rate in comparison to humans to explain how it can impact the longevity of one’s life. A restless monkey breathes at the rate of 32 breaths per minute, in comparison to a humans 18 times (Yogananda 1946: 268). An elephant, tortoise, snake, or other animals that are known for their longevity have a respiratory rate of 4 times a minute (Yogananda 1946: 268). Yogis have associated the rate of breath with lifespan, and by slowing their breath, they come closer to reaching consciousness.

Along with discussing pranayama and its relation to Kriya yoga, Yogananda also examines concentration and meditation. He claims that introspection, or sitting in silence, is a way of forcing the mind and senses apart, but it is not successful because the contemplative mind has a way of constantly being dragged towards the senses occurring in real life (Yogananada 1946: 270). A person does not realize the skill and practice required for concentrating for ten seconds, much less meditating for hours and hours. The individual practice of meditation can take a lifetime to master, and even then, an individual still has space to grow.

According to Yogananda, the most successful way to reach the Infinite is through Kriya yoga, by controlling the mind directly through the life force (Yogananda 1946: 270). Being able to have control over one’s mind and senses takes years of experience, but if a yogi is capable of this, they can begin to rid their soul of egoistic actions. Yogananada claims that an individual must disengage oneself from negative physical and emotion identifications in order to achieve soul individuality (Yogananada 1946: 271). In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, klesa is defined as the fivefold: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego), raga (attachment), dvesa (aversion), and abhinivesa (body attachment) (Yogananda 2007: 41). In order for a yogi to seek union with God, they must first rid their consciousness of these obstacles (Yogananda 2007: 41). Individuals do not often consider that what they think, feel, wills, and digests reflects onto their karma, but it does, and at time goes on, the negative karmic actions accumulate and will after a person’s next life. According to the Hindu religion, reactions, feelings, moods, and habits that people experience on the daily are merely effects of past causes, whether in a past life or not (Yogananda 1946: 272). By freeing oneself from the cyclicality of birth and death, one can achieve moksa, which is the liberation and release from life. Yogananda details the fog that unenlightened people live in, and when they begin to practice Kriya yoga, they work towards rising out of the fog into self-realization and enlightened thinking (Yogananda 1946: 263).

Yogananda’s book on his self-realization journey is important to the Hindu religious culture. He brought global awareness to the enlightened thinking that has existed in India for centuries, and influenced many to study and take up the yogi lifestyle. His description of Kriya yoga provides readers with a detailed insight on the elements that constitute it, such as karma, pranayama, concentration, and meditation (Yogananda 1946: 263). Kriya yoga, unlike Karma yoga or Jnana yoga is about the union with God, and cleansing the soul and spirit. Yogananda says:

Kriya yoga is the real “fire rite” oft extolled in the Gita. The yogi casts his human longings into a monotheistic bonfire consecrated to the unparalleled God. This is indeed the true yogic fire ceremony, in which all past and present desires are fuel consumed by love divine. The Ultimate Flame receives the sacrifice of all human sacrifice of all human madness, and man is pure of dross. His metaphorical bones stripped of all desirous flesh, his karmic skeleton bleached by the antiseptic sun of wisdom, inoffensive before man and Maker, he is clean at last (Yogananda 1946: 273).

Those that commit their lives to the practice of Kriya yoga master their mind and body, and they achieve victory over the last enemy, Death (Yogananda 1946: 270). Through the perpetuation of Kriya yoga throughout time, yogis have experienced a sense of disconnection from the world and a unity with the divine realms, which has brought peace, nonviolence, and liberation to the world.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER RECOMMENDED READING

Bapat, Sarita (2016) “Pyschophysiological Analysis of Kriya Yoga as per Patanjala Yoga Sutra.” Yoga Mimamsa 48:18-25. Accessed October 27, 2018.

Foxen, Anya (2017) “Yogi Calisthenics: What the ‘non-Yoga’ Yogic Practice of Paramhansa Yogananada Can Tell Us about Religion,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 85:494-526. Accessed October 27, 2018. doi:10.1093/lfw077.

Mangla, Dharam Vir (2003) Kundalini & Kriya Yoga. Geeta Colony Delhi: Geeta International Publishers.

McGovern, Una (2007) Samadhi: Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained. London: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd.

Miller, Christopher (2018) “World Brotherhood Colonies: A Preview of Paramhansa Yogananda’s Understudies Vision for Communities Founded upon the Principles of Yoga.” Yoga Mimamsa 50:3-15. Accessed October 28, 2018.

Olivelle, Patrick (2018) Karma: Britannica Academic. https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.uleth.ca/levels/collegiate/article/karma/44745. Accessed October 27, 2018.

Yogananda, Paramahansa (1946) Autobiography of a Yogi. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship.

Yogananda, Paramahansa (2007) The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita: An Introduction to India’s Universal Science of God-Realization. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship.

Zope, Sarneer and Rakesh (2013) “Sudarshan Kriya Yoga: Breathing for Health.” International Journal of Yoga 6:4-10. Accessed October 28, 2018. doi.10.4103/0973-6131.105935.

Related Topics for Further Investigation

Aum

Bhagavad Gita

Dharma

Karma

Kriya Yoga

Krshna

Meditation

Moksa

Patanjali

Pranayama

Reincarnation