Yoga is an ancient Indian tradition of meditation and exercising that has evolved a lot of interest in the west. To make it palatable for the westerners, yoga was presented to west in a secular form totally detached from Hindu religion. There have been a number of styles of yoga popularized in the west, out of which, Bikram yoga and Moksha yoga have been much appreciated. Both belong to a distinct category of hot yoga, which confuses many. However, there are differences between the two styles that will be highlighted in this article.
What is Bikram Yoga?
Bikram yoga is a form of hot yoga so called because of its founder Bikram Choudhary who is a living master having settled in US. He hails from Calcutta, India and has developed Bikram yoga in association with his wife who happens to be a yoga teacher herself. His set of exercises and breathing exercises are conducted in a heated room with temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and the duration of the class being 90 minutes. Bikram yoga has been evolved from hatha yoga practiced by monks in India. There are 26 poses that a student has to make along with 2 breathing exercises, all of which are completed in the same 90 minutes.
Bikram yoga is the most popular form of hot yoga in the country with a fan following that includes prominent names like Ashton Kutcher, Lady Gaga, David Beckham, Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
What is Moksha Yoga?
Though hot yoga is mostly associated with Bikram yoga, it is not limited to Bikram yoga alone as there are many styles being followed under hot yoga. Moksha yoga is one such style developed by Ted Grant and Jessica Robertson in Canada in 2004. Within a short time, Moksha yoga has become very popular across US with 30 studios teaching this form of yoga to students. This form of yoga consists of 40 exercises performed in a heated room, which has been designed to be environmentally friendly. These are low cost classes and have been lapped up by a large section of population for their overall health and fitness.
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What is the difference between Moksha and Bikram Yoga? • Bikram yoga is older than Moksha yoga with its founder Bikram Choudhary establishing it in late 70’s. Moksha yoga was introduced by Ted Grand of Canada in 2004. • Though both are forms of hot yoga, there are fixed 26 exercises or Asanas in Bikram yoga while there is flexibility in Moksha yoga as there are 40 poses out of which instructor and students choose poses that they find easy and efficient. • Moksha yoga classes are environment friendly with especially designed studios. • The classes in Bikram yoga are hotter at 110 degrees while the classes in Moksha yoga are at 104 degrees. • Moksha yoga studios are dimly lit but cleaner than the rooms designed for Bikram yoga where spongy mats are used for students. • Bikram yoga classes are always 90 minutes while Moksha classes are either 90 or 60 minutes.
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