Bikram Yoga Capital Area (BYCA) – the Original Hot Yoga
Bikram Yoga will change your life! The traditional practice is a 90-minute refuge from stress and cell phones, a 90-minute healing sanctuary, a 90-minute reality check. Bikram Yoga – when practiced and taught with integrity – is an art and science of healing – a form of “medicine” in the original sense of the term.
Bikram Yoga Capital Area is the only school within 60 miles that offers this traditional healing method. Although Bikram Yoga is the original hot yoga, it is completely different from other “hot yoga” offered locally and nationally.
Our yoga school is 100% locally- and independently-owned (not a franchise). We are community-supported, collectively-run, and volunteer-based.
We primarily teach and practice the original Bikram Yoga method, a 50-year-old therapeutic hatha yoga system in the Ghosh lineage of Calcutta, India.
Bikram Yoga relieves the causes and symptoms of many chronic diseases, boosts immunity, relieves chronic pain, improves cardiovascular & respiratory health, and restores mobility, flexibility, circulation, strength, and energy. It improves respiratory function and improves athletic performance. When practiced regularly, Bikram Yoga reduces most people’s depression and anxiety and often eliminates chronic mental and emotional distress. A consistent practice also leads to sustainable and permanent weight & appetite regulation, as well as balanced blood sugar.
Bikram Yoga in the Hot Room
Join others of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages for a life-changing, health-resetting experience!
Bikram Yoga Online
We know how fundamental and necessary Bikram Yoga is for your health! We are committed to maintaining this tradition for years to come.
We also believe in the best possible instruction and transmission of the practice. Our international community of online practitioners is strong, dedicated, disciplined, curious, and committed to learning.
You will receive detailed and personal instruction and “corrections” from Ann!
The Bikram Method is for the Willing
Bikram Yoga is an amazing technology used to explore and expand human potential, and to facilitate optimum physical, mental, and interpersonal wellness.
It is a 50-year-old method specifically designed for the unfit and the fit.
At Bikram Yoga Capital Area, we have regular students of all ages, from 6-80+. We have students who have gone from the couch directly to Bikram Yoga, and professional athletes who incorporate Bikram Yoga as their cross-training program of choice. Bikram Yoga is also especially accessible to and effective for bigger bodies, with all modifications suggested as necessary for each individual.
At BYCA, you will be encouraged, challenged, and supported. And you will heal things you never imagined possible!
Benefits of the Bikram Method
When attempted with precision, consistency, frequency, and focus, the 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises of Bikram Yoga use the tourniquet effect to move fresh, oxygenated blood throughout every tissue in the body. Typical results include:
- Proper weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol
- Reduction of back pain, joint pain, and pain from injuries
- Improved ability to concentrate and focus
- Reduction of stress, depression, panic attacks, and anxiety
- An increased overall sense of well-being, joy, and ease
- Balanced energy, better sleep
- Improved respiratory function; reduction in asthma
- And so much more!
What about the heat?
Bikram Yoga is the Original Hot Yoga! The heat is your friend, and it helps make this unique method of yoga the most effective in the world.
We find that those with heat intolerance and even menopausal symptoms adjust with regular practice (at least 3 classes per week for one month). Students are invited to acclimate by attending our warm classes or sitting still in the room for a few classes before trying the postures. It is extremely important that you do not try to do everything in your first few classes and then blame the heat for the difficulty! You may miss out on the most important and transformative experiences of your life.
Extra hydration prior to class – and an empty stomach – are important. Click here to read about how to prepare for class.
Bikram Yoga has been found to be most beneficial when practiced at a room temperature slightly above body temperature (105ºF), 40-45% relative humidity, and well-regulated oxygen/CO2 ratios. We keep our yoga room environment at this ideal range, with constant monitoring by instructors and computer sensors.
Owner and Lead Yoga Instructor
Ann R. Chrapkiewicz
I would like to personally welcome you to the school and community at Bikram Yoga Capital Area. Since 2003, I have used this yoga system to heal from broken vertebrae, seasonal depression, imbalanced blood sugar, sciatic pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, an eating disorder, joint pain in pregnancy, and many other issues.
In over two decades of searching for ways to feel better, I have not experienced any other yoga, medical, or movement modality that addresses so many health issues at once, and which is accessible and effective during times of injury, pain, and immobility. This yoga has healed my mind, helped me re-connect with my body and the earth, and brought feelings of complete well-being and lightness (and groundedness, at the same time) that I craved for many years.
I know that this is possible for you, too!
I know all students here by name and work with each one personally to guide you to your optimum state of health and wellness. I look forward to working with you!
You may click here (and scroll to the bottom of the page) to find out more about my training and background.
