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July/August
2004
Volume 3/Number 4 Bikram
Tackles Martial Artists Without the
fanfare of a 500 gun salutes that he would likely relish, Bikram greeted a
small group of martial artists on Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend
at The Paradise Warrior Retreat in
Because, he
said, it's a beautiful day, and I have something to
say. And say it he
did. And he was terrific. And the little group who had been an hour
earlier grappling on the floor, kicking, flipping and throwing one another
on a mat, sat transfixed as this fashionable, mysterious stranger in white
expounded for well over an hour on the history, the beauty and the power
of yoga - to heal the body, to change the
world. Known to most
of the world for the franchising of Bikram Yoga, the hatha yoga system he
founded and owns, and his oft-reported subsequent legal machinations, I
had never before heard him talk about much more than asana and his own
accomplishments. But there is heart and yoga intelligence behind the
bravado and a message most of his thousands of students may never before
have heard. He doesn't
preach spirituality, said Bikram, because he doesn't think most westerners
are ready for the ancient teachings of Vedanta (the foundation of yoga,
transmitted through the ether to rishis), which he grew
up with in He used
analogies from cars to swimming pools to talk about power, strength and
potential. As humans, he said, we have body, soul and mind. The mind
is the link between the body and soul. It should be our friend, like
gas is to a car. But really the ultimate goal is self-realization.
To get to self-realization, we need strength. Vendanta for
yogis, he said, is mainly expressed in the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali and he
outlined the main branches: karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, hatha
yoga, raja, nada. Then there are the eight limbs known as Ashtanga yoga,
all of which he clicked off with complete confidence of his understanding
including childhood anecdotes to prove it. He explained that Bikram
Yoga is a derivation of hatha yoga, one he has tailored to be most helpful
for the mind and the body of the westerner, to help maintain, improve and
regain health. This verbal
demonstration sans notes of his mastery of the material and his belief in
what he teaches was followed by a non-stop demonstration of the Bikram
yoga method of 26 postures, with the Master himself adjusting his students
as he explained the health benefits of each posture and related personal
experiences such as his own ability to take each posture to new heights,
lengths and depths. Behind the bravado, Bikram has much to say. By tuning
out the bravado I was able to hear and appreciate
him. It was a
non-stop, almost stunning virtuoso performance for the twenty or so
attending. And in the 100+ degree room, he barely broke a sweat.
Bikram is in
the lineage of Bishnu Charan Ghosh, brother of Paramahansa Yogananda,
founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship.
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