Bikram Yoga Decatur

When I first opened BYD we had traditional carpet in the yoga room, complete with padding underneath. It was already installed and in good condition so it didn't make sense to tear it up and put down something else. Traditional household carpet is absorbent and the padding underneath even more so. It was with this in mind that I implemented a variation on how we perform a few of the Bikram postures with the goal of minimizing the amount of sweat that got on the carpet.

As with all other standing postures the three "standing separate leg postures" are supposed to be performed while facing the mirrors in the front of the room. Because we have mirrors on the side wall I decided that we would instead turn sideways to the left which allowed us to keep both feet on our towels. This helped prevent our carpet from getting soggy and it also extended it's life (as you can imagine, carpet in a Bikram Yoga studio needs to be replaced more frequently than in a typical home or business).

When we replaced our carpet a couple years ago we used a product that looks and feels like carpet but is actually made from non-absorbent nylon, called Neo-Floor. Neo-Floor was designed for high moisture environments like hospitals, nursing homes and gyms. In addition to being waterproof, it cleans easier than carpet and it is slip-resistant ("improved co-efficient of friction when wet," according to the distributor). In other words, it solves the problem of soggy carpet.

But habits are hard to break and so we've continued to turn to the side for those wide leg poses. Until now. Effective immediately, we are now facing forward for all the standing postures. We are now doing what virtually all other Bikram Yoga studios do, which is to stand with our feet directly on the carpet, straddling our mats.

It actually took a comment from one of our students that prompted us to revisit this issue.

I recently practiced at a studio in Baltimore that did the three side standing postures on the carpet. Day 1 was a disaster with sliding, falling and an unhappy camper. By the next session it was better and at the end of just five sessions, it was ok. I suspect I had not grown new adductor muscles. Instead, I suspect it was more mental focus on an aspect of practice that I had forgotten (or never knew). As all our instructors say, it's all mental.

There have been many discussions among students (and instructors) about which is easier to stand on for these poses: one's towel, yoga mat or the studio floor. Such discussions are meaningless because everyone has their own preference and there is no objective answer. Worse, they distract us from the real issue which is that these postures require us to discover and use our leg muscles in such a manner that we ultimately will become able to perform them standing on any kind of surface, as Stuart's testimonial, above, proves.

Unsurprisingly, we've already begun seeing resistance to the change. I suspect the primary motivating force behind the resistance has little to do with the actual physics of the postures but is instead simply a resistance to change. I think this because for as long as we have been doing these poses on our mats or towels I have been busting people for "sneaking" their feet onto the studio floor because they experienced less slipping there.

The bottom line is that Bikram Yoga works when done the right way and that way has nothing to do with external factors (beyond the heat) like the surface we stand on. Some of you will struggle with slipping on mats, some slip m

ore on towels and some on the carpet. In all cases you have the opportunity to work on becoming stronger and not letting trivial circumstances get in your way. These struggling moments make up the heart of the physical challenge of Bikram Yoga. I often like to point out in class that you don't keep coming back to Bikram Yoga because it's easy -- you come because of the benefits you receive from engaging with the many challenges it offers.

We are facing front during these postures because it provides more overall benefit to the entire class: it allows us to continue an uninterrupted flow of movement; it saves time; it gives everybody a better chance at seeing themselves in the mirrors during the setup; it offers a better ability for the newer students to see the more experienced students in front of them.