Does anyone here do Bikram Yoga (an Indian form of yoga - 26 poses, in a very hot room). I heard it just melts off the fat off of you, can reduce chronic pain, and other health benefits.

I bought a book on it and have been reading about it for the past while. I just don't want to go quite yet because a lot of really fit people go and I'm too embarrassed right now to start wearing short shorts and tank tops (a requirement, so you can move better). I'm joining it for one of my "rewards" (when I get down to 140lbs).

What do you all think about this form of exercise?

Don't wait to do it until you're fitter, do it to get fitter!

I used to do Bikram yoga and I loved it. My room mate and I did it on Friday nights. It was a 2 and a half hour class and you sweat so much you'd think your pores were running taps. I always slept so soundly after the class.

HOWEVER, it does not melt the fat off of you. It might dehydrate you so you have an artificial weight loss the next day. It's just yoga in a hot room. If you're one of those people who believes in the powers of saunas and detoxing through sweat then you could say there is that benefit, but the reason why I took bikram is because I found the heat made an impact in the way I was able to stretch and perform poses.

It is NOT some magical fat burning exercise.

I'm actually gonna try this today! I can tell you right now, I don't care how hot it is, I am NOT wearing a tank top. Shorts, maybe. I'll let you know how it goes for sure!!

Most of the time I wore a fitted t-shirt and yoga pant like capri's and there were other people who were not scantily clad there as well.

I really don't think that any one at the class is wearing so little to be like 'ooooh look how hot and fit I am' like some girls at the gym do when they wear make up to spinning class. It is just honestly unbearably humid!

Yah you're right, there is no magical fat burner thing out there. Put I think if you work at it constantly (like any other exercise) it really helps with speeding things up. Plus everything to do with stretching and "detoxing" is a plus.

I really want to try it but there's a little voice inside of me that says "wait". So I thought I would make it one of my rewards to keep me motivated to keep losing weight since it is something I really wanna do, so therefore, I'll really work at it to get it!

futuresurferchick: Yes please tell me how it goes! As it is your first time, I would like to find out how it was for you!

I do yoga at home, and I really want to try some hot yoga. I'm just not accustomed at the moment to having to pay for my exercise , but I still want to try it.

I've maintained a regular Bikram practice for over a year now & love it. It's like any other exercise, though - it can assist in weight loss if you also modify your food intake, but it is not magic. My weight has gone from 149 - 157 - 138 while practicing Bikram 6x / week, because my diet has changed.

People of all shapes & sizes practice at the studio I go to. Some are tiny, others are probably 200+ pounds. Some wear shorts and tank tops, others wear long or capri pants (though I would find this uncomfortable) and t-shirts.

To the OP, who wanted to wait until more in shape to try Bikram - I can tell you exactly what the teachers at my studio would say to that. "Saying, 'I'm not in good enough shape, I don't want to do the yoga yet,' is like saying, 'I'm too dirty, I don't want to take a shower yet." Food for thought!

Good quote! Kind of motivates me to try sooner when you put it in those words...

I've got a few friends that swear by this! They absolutely love it. I dunno where they give those classes here? But it's ok...I have a gym membership that gives classes including yoga...just not HOT yoga classes!

Definitely something I'd like to try some day (soon!)!

Alright, I survived my first bikram yoga class. I enjoyed it. It is definitely challenging, but you just have to do what you can do and when you can't do any more then you don't. I wore shorts, and a camisole with a t-shirt over it. I sweated buckets--everyone does. Everything I wore is soaked, and the towel I used is too.

I wouldn't worry about being fit or not fit. It's true there were a lot of hardcore fit people, but honestly, the room is so hot and what you are doing is challenging and requires concentration so no one is looking at you or caring about you. And if you don't want to wear a tank top I don't think it's a big deal... I survived wearing two layers on top as I mentioned (I often wear a camisole under a t-shirt to exercise because I have saggy skin and it jiggles around a lot which annoys me).

If you have ever done regular yoga, you know about the whole philosophy so I won't comment too much on that. If you like the spirituality of it, then you will enjoy that part... and if you'd rather just take the exercise and leave the spiritual stuff aside, you might find the ramblings of the teacher a bit irritating depending on the instructor you get. The instructor I had was pretty cool... she managed to balance that aspect while not becoming too mystical if you know what I mean.

I suggest you try it and don't wait.

i do bikram 2x a week in addition to my strength training and cardio at the gym and i think it helps for toning while also getting my heart rate up... its a good thing to do to change things up.

I used to bikram 3x a week. I loved it for the most part, it took me a bit to get used to breathing in such a hot room.

I stopped mostly because I couldn't justify spending the money and not being able to go as often as I would have liked.

thumbs up to you for wearing two shirts! i used to do the same thing, cami + tee!

you're 100% right, as soon as people get into positions they don't really notice their neighbors.