Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class: Revised and Updated

I have just started a Bikram yoga class. I love this book because it shows you all the poses as they are ideally done plus what a beginner can expect to be able to do. Plus it has notes from people who go to classes, and clearly explains the benefits of each pose. Lighthearted too. Only criticism is that some of the photos are a bit strange, and of poor quality.

This book is very well written & encourages the new comers to Bikram to not give up once you start Bikram. Easy & pleasant read, useful to have to understand the postures better. Very useful . Would recommend it as an aid to read after having attended your first Bikram session . It helped me understand that I wasn't doing the poses the right way & How to improve.

This book is great but I am not sure I would class this as a beginners book. I think it's worth going to a few classes first to really understand what the poses should look/feel like, but this book is certainly a good guide and serves as a reminder of what the human body can do. There are some excellent before and after shots of people who've practiced yoga and gotten better at the Bikram poses.

I'd say this is a useful as a supplement to regularly going to Bikram Yoga classes. Some of my classes are taught by the woman who was the first UK teacher to qualify and there is another very experienced teacher there and there are differences in the way that they, as well as the newer teachers, teach some of the postures, important differences apparently. The fact that people who have only recently finished their training are telling you things that are different from the book shows that Bikram has made subtle changes to the training over the years. I think this book was published over ten years ago, the original version even longer ago. If you have no chance of getting to a Bikram class because you don't have a studio near you then this book is still a lot better than nothing (you can also watch videos on Youtube) and you can get a CD with the dialogue talking you through it as well. There is interesting information in here that you don't usually hear in a class. The instructors just don't have the time to say much apart from the dialogue. A revised edition is needed. Some people seem to complain about the black and white photos but it's not important to me. As for the "conversatons", well yes they are made up (presumably) and might seem corny but it is a way of imparting information and it does this in a light hearted way without making it too dreary or intense. It's not expensive so I'd recommend it to anyone practicing or interested in Bikram Yoga.

LOVE this book. Clear instruction illustrated with pictures. What I find especially helpful is the comparison between the ideal of what the pose is supposed to be, and the 'real' - which is where ordinary non-athletic people like me usually are! Since I don't live near a Bikram Center I'm doing this at home, and find the book especially clear and helpful for self-learning.

for all yogis doing Bikram yoga, this is a great book to fully explain the postures and what you can expect from said postures, where as beginners we go wrong and where with little repostioning we can be better, a book you can keep going back to no matter how long you have been practicing

A very informal style of presenting the material, almost like a script with actors. There are lots of pictures to show the postures. I would recommend this book if you are participating in or thinking about joining a hot yoga class.

I bought this when I first got back into bikram yoga as I wanted to understand each of the postures better and pick up some tips on technique. I thought "what could be better than a book by Bikram himself?". It's written as a script for a class and it is amusing in areas and there are some useful insights. The postures are supposedly split into "ideal" and "reality", though I find there is not a huge difference between them. I have since bought Gabrielle Raiz's "Hot Yoga Masterclass" which is I find much better structured and more useful.

Ayant pratiqué pendant des années le Bikram Yoga, je suis adepte de ce type de yoga. Je trouve le livre très bien fait. Je déteste le bonhomme mais la méthode et ce yoga n'en reste pas moins extraordinaire.

Das Buch ist sehr informativ und gibt einem einen guten Überblick über Bikrum Yoga mit entsprechenden Hintergründen etc. Das Buch ist eine sehr gute Ergänzung für einen Bikrum Yoga Kurs. Kaufempfehlung!

Bikram is awesome. If you coud find the time to do his program eveyr day - and I try - your health would improve exponentially. It's very difficult, somewhat different from other yoga practices, but the best I've found.

I am a beginner with only three months under my belt (or on the mat so to speak). What I like about this book is the two track explaination, i.e., instructions for someone that has been doing yoga for some time and a track for those that have, quite honestly, a ways to go. Many yoga books show beautiful people in beautiful postures and I think...ok, what about me, I'm not even close. This book gives specific instructions and pictures of those beginners that have less than perfect form - and what your issues are to improve. I also like the funny comments that are given in the text - it makes the book a good read and not just an instructional manual...sort of a "Yoga for Dummies". There is also a lot of truth in this book. When it talks about going back to yoga when you are injuried - not as most people think of resting and letting things heal - it is good advice. I strained a muscle when I first started and without this book I would have given up going to yoga and taken the rest, drugs, approach to healing. Instead, I went back to class (with a healing intention)and felt 100% better for it. Why this works is one of the best ways to heal our bodies is to get oxygenated blood flowing into the injuried areas and HOT yoga cannot help but do that! I'm an avid surfer and in just three months of yoga practice I am amazed at how much stronger and flexible I am...can't wait for the water to warm up!

gud