Count on breaking a sweat when practicing Bikram Yoga. The 26-posture series developed by Bikram Choudhury is taught at a piping 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) and 40% humidity. Choudhury affectionately calls his own studio "Bikram’s Torture Chamber." Still, the heat actually helps loosen muscles for intense stretching and protects against injury.

The series evolved from Choudhury’s own experience with a weight-lifting injury. Doctors said he wouldn’t walk again, but he refused to hear it. Instead he returned to his childhood teacher, Shree Bishnu Charan Ghosh, for six months of yoga therapy. When Choudhury completely recovered, Ghosh encouraged him to open yoga schools of his own.

Choudhury designed his signature series to sequentially stretch and contract the total body in 90 minutes. The practice, taught in Bikram Yoga studios worldwide, makes the physical and spiritual benefits of hatha yoga accessible to beginners, but also promises to challenge more advanced students.

Bikram Yoga exploits the "tourniquet effect." After an opening pranayama breathing exercise, the sequence unfolds into 24 poses handpicked for stretching, balancing, and creating pressure. Each posture specifically stretches the body to prepare it for the next one. The series closes with a detoxifying breathing exercise.

The patented Bikram Yoga routine is rooted in Patanjali’s tradition of the Yoga Sutras. Choudhury does not claim these classical poses are his inventions. Instead he emphasizes the order in which the postures are strung together as his method’s distinguishing feature.

Rather than demonstrating each asana, Bikram Yoga teachers guide their students with their words. Verbal instructions and adjustments help each student find her pose. Studios offer mirrored walls to encourage physical and spiritual awareness of one’s practice.

Though new students may find sauna temperatures stifling, drinking more water throughout the day can help these feelings fade. Concentrating on normal breathing even while fighting through a posture alleviates nausea. It is not unusual to feel exhausted after the first few classes, but regular practice awakens reserves of energy.

It’s common to inadvertently memorize the basic series, but there’s still much to learn from repetition. Micro-adjustments can further improve familiar poses. Rather than jump ahead in anticipation, the trick is to synchronize movements with the teacher’s instructions. Every posture becomes an opportunity to engage with a beginner’s mind.

Practice draws the student into their inner life and fosters mental calmness. Choudhury breaks it down into the five aspects of mind: Faith, Self-control, Determination, Concentration, and Patience. A dedicated physical practice helps the student build self-esteem and cultivate strength of mind in turn.

Bikram Yoga both energizes and calms the mind-body. After powering through a killer back bend, you cherish every second in the resting pose that follows, even if it only lasts for a breath and a half. Other times you may teeter out of a balancing pose into an unsuspecting neighbor. If you can laugh it off, the rejuvenating benefits of this cleansing practice will keep you coming back to take the heat.