Why Not Bikram Running?

By Eddie Suarez

Bikram Yoga is defined as a type of hatha yoga characterized by a set series of postures and breathing exercises, performed in a room heated to a very high temperature. Let’s focus on that “heated to a very high temperature” part of the definition. By high temperature, what they mean is  that the room is heated to a temperature of 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit!

Yogis in already hot Miami pay money to go into an even hotter room to practice. It’s already 90 degrees outside, why pay someone (FPL?) to heat a room 10 degrees more? This makes ZERO sense to me. Why not just practice outside? I don’t always do Yoga but when I do, I’d prefer to be in a cool pleasant air conditioned room. But the Bikramites say practicing in a 100 degree oven they call a Studio is more cleansing and relaxing. So if Bikram Yoga has this many benefits and is this popular, then why is Bikram Running the exact opposite?

I’ll take the liberty of defining Bikram Running as running in Miami. I guess we’re lucky that in Miami we get to practice Bikram Running for FREE! Yay US! But why does it feel so awful? Why can’t we achieve the same level of “Zen” as the Yogis doing the Bikram? We slop through an hour run in 90 degree “cool” temperatures. Cool compared to the 100 degrees in Yoga! While the Yogis enjoy the cleansing and relaxation of their practice, we get to enjoy dripping sweat, chafing, dehydration, elevated heart rate, and heat stroke from ours. Why the difference? Isn’t BIKRAM supposed to make it better? In Yoga it’s Om and Namaste but the only mantra I recite while Bikram Running is please don’t die, please don’t die, please don’t die…

Please use the comments section below to tell me your thoughts.