Bikram Yoga: What Happens If You DON’T Practice

What Happens When You DON'T Do Bikram Yoga

by Ann Chrapkiewicz

For almost 20 years now, I have been sharing a certain topic with anyone and everyone who might want to listen.

Just a few minutes on this website will tell you what that topic has been.
An hour spent with our book on Bikram Yoga and Autoimmune Disease will also give you a clue.

Any guesses?


Answer: “What happens to humans when they do Bikram Yoga.”

Yep, that’s it. 

Is Bikram Yoga Only Focused on the Physical?

bikram yoga toe stand pose asana original hot yoga sedona arizona cathedral rock

by Ann Chrapkiewicz

Question: Is Bikram Yoga too focused on the Physical?  Is it a dominantly physical practice?


Answer: Well….some people do say, “Yes.”

I have heard it over and over.  Things like: “They are so focused on their bodies.”   Or: “those mirrors – they are so vain.”  “Competitive”.  Or: “You can’t possibly go within when you have all of that heat and sweat and light.”

My response to these answers is that 1) they are coming from the outside looking in, making a judgment without experience. 

This Body is the Earth | Bikram Yoga as a Tool for Reconnection | Happy Earth Day!

Pranayama Deep Breathing Bikram Yoga Red Rock Crossing Sedona Arizona

by Ann Chrapkiewicz


For those of us who have been raised in civilizations of extractive capitalism, tools for healing and reconnection are needed.   Badly.  By all of us.

Disconnection, alienation, and estrangement from the earth (including our living, breathing bodies) is pretty much par for the course.

So on this Earth Day 2021 and all going forward, I want to include our human bodies as part of the earth that we celebrate, connect with, protect, love, and heal.

“Required” Reading! | First BYCA Book Club Meeting | Breath by James Nestor

breath the new science of a lost art, book by james nestor

How to Breathe: Announcing our first BYCA Book Club Meeting!

You are invited!!

I have recommended and shared with you many book suggestions over the years.  But never have I felt that a book should be required reading for anyone involved in a traditional yoga practice.

This one is SO good, so relevant, and so immediately practical for your daily life!

side note: I actually think it should be required for all physicians, teachers, and health practitioners of any kind. 

Flattery and Criticism: An Introduction

by Ann Chrapkiewicz


Over a decade ago, one of my most influential yoga teachers at the time presented me with a quote:

“To the Yogi, criticism and flattery are no different.”

It made sense to me on some levels, and I thought I could relate to not caring about the status quo.  I had a history of peacefully withdrawing from certain social circles and finding my own way.

There is No Such Thing as Monday

Toe Stand - Original Hot Yoga - Bikram Yoga

by Ann Chrapkiewicz


A few Sunday mornings ago, I was teaching* class.

It was one of those lovely classes where everyone spaced themselves so beautifully in the three rows of our practice room; people hardly took their eyes off of their focus points for the entire warm-up portion of class.

We were finishing up the standing series, on the second side of Toe Stand, when one of the great yoga lessons emerged.

No, YOU! YOU are ready for yoga!

all ages full locust bikram yoga
by Ann Chrapkiewicz

Are you ready for yoga?

As inclusive as North American yoga wants to be, yoga in its deeper dimensions demands certain qualities.

Are you ready for yoga?

Well, I have a yoga mat and I hydrated well.  So yes, I think so.

But the question again: are you ready for yoga?

The yoga clothing companies would like you to think you are.  

26 Impossible Things Before Lunch

Alice and the White Queen Impossible Things
by Ann Chrapkiewicz

The weekday morning classes here are indescribably special.  I love every single class I teach and practice – evenings and weekends included – but the 9:30 am classes have this special energy that dedicated, regular, curious students create.  The average age is probably 55, with many of my 70+ students attending regularly at that time.

9:30 am Class Bow Pose

This past Tuesday’s “warm” 9:30 class – practiced about 10 degrees cooler than the usual 105F – was an all-front-row class with the kind of calm, deep focus that leaves you floating the rest of the day.