Bikram yoga is a mainstay of modern society. Nearly every town and city in the country now has a club. People want to do yoga in the heat to experience a combination of a workout, sauna, and spirituality. 

The question on many lips is why this form of yoga is succeeding. Compared to regular yoga, it seems like more hard work. Typical Vikram yoga sessions run for more than 90 minutes in a room heated to 40°C, which is intense. However, hot yoga-goers say they love the sessions and look forward to going back for more. 

Researchers believe Bikram yoga is good for the body because it targets different restorative pathways. The stretching and movement activate one set of circuits, while the heat focuses on another. 

In a sense, Bikram yoga is like a low-humidity active sauna. Air temperatures don’t get quite as high, but the heat is intense, assisting with cardiovascular health and overall feelings of wellness. 

It is also something that delivers effects immediately, similar to running. People just feel different after a session of Bikram yoga, reflecting the biophysical changes in their bodies. 

Part of the success of Bikram yoga is the calorie burning it offers. It brings the cardiovascular intensity of a conventional aerobic workout, leading to significant energy usage. Some sessions can take people over 1,000 calories, which is roughly what the average human would burn in two hours of mountain biking. 

However, weight loss isn’t the only focus. There is also evidence that hot yoga helps the body detoxify. Extreme sweat production allows the skin to release harmful sub-surface compounds like PCBs and heavy metals, reducing the load on other organs, like the liver. 

The amount of sweat produced in sessions rises with the humidity. As the perspiration encounters more saturated air, more is necessary to achieve the same cooling effect as in dry air. 

“This intense sweating is one of the primary reasons people engage in hot yoga on diets,” maker of all-natural deodorants, Emergo, says. “It can help to increase the effect of a new eating plan by making detoxification more likely.”

The level of daily toxin exposure for the average person in the modern era is extreme. Food and air and water pollution can all contribute to the toxin load. City-dwellers eating lots of animal foods are at the highest risk, but large quantities of unwanted compounds can even build up in the tissues of vegans living in unspoiled nature. 

Once these toxins start exiting the body, it can lead to various health improvements. The body’s repair systems work better and immune system function improves, reducing the risk of serious illness. Evidence also suggests that cutting these byproducts out of the body can reduce obesity and the odds of developing chronic disease. 

Of course, while these factors play a role, most people use Bikram yoga because it makes them feel good. The effects on the nervous system can be profound and even last into the following days. 

“You see a lot of hot yoga practitioners who are happy people,” Emergo explains. “And that’s something that’s becoming increasingly rare in today’s society. Most people don’t feel happy or good about their circumstances, leading to cycles of procrastination. However, with Bikram yoga, people can restore balance in their lives.”

The reason hot yoga feels good is because it releases positive hormones. Practitioners get a buzz after a session, even if it only lasts 30 minutes. The exercises can be challenging (because of the heat and enormous number of calories burned), but they are also rewarding for many individuals, who feel a unique sense of relaxation once they can finally rest at the end of the session. 

Many of these body-produced compounds can have knock-on effects on well-being that lasts for a long time. Some individuals can experience waves of endorphins where the release of hormones occurs in stages throughout the day, starting with the period immediately after exercise.

There’s also evidence that hot yoga may increase the production of nitric oxide, a vital compound artery walls require to expand. The heat causes blood vessels to dilate, reducing blood pressure, which may have mood-enhancing effects for some people. 

Of course, hot yoga isn’t for everyone. The primary risk is the heat. Exercising in a hot environment can be dangerous for many individuals, which is why only the young and healthy tend to practice it. 

Recently, there have been a spate of stories in the media of people going out for jogs or hikes in the hot sun and collapsing with heat exhaustion. When the body temperature rises too high, it can’t cool itself down, leading to dangerous organ failure. 

Most Bikram studios reduce this risk by lowering the humidity to 40%. This lower level allows people to sweat in the heat, causing significant cooling action. But if the environment doesn’t have full climate control and humidities rise above 60%, that can become dangerous very quickly.

The amount of sweat produced is also something that many people don’t like. While conventional yoga is already sweaty work, Bikram takes that to the next level. 

“There are, of course, ways around sweating,” Emergo explains. “But it is just a question of finding them. Practitioners don’t want to stop sweat from every area of their bodies, just the parts they worry about smelling.”

Modern products are, of course, improving hygiene, but it remains a concern for people who want to enjoy hot yoga as a social activity. Body odor and making new friends don’t always go hand-in-hand. 

Overall, though, hot yoga is becoming the go-to activity for people interested in health and longevity. Many people are switching to it from other exercise routines, like high-intensity interval training. For many, the headspace rewards are worth the intense effort and the risk of overheating. People just feel so good after a 30 to 90-minute session that they want to keep going back for more. For many, it never feels boring and there is always a new challenge to be overcome.