BY: Jill Alphonso

HE RUBS shoulders with Hollywood celebrities, refers to his yoga classes as "torture chambers", and pooh-poohs religious leaders who oppose the practice of yoga.

That's the charismatic and controversial Bikram Choudhury, founder of Bikram yoga, for you.

"Yoga has absolutely nothing to do with religion," said Los Angeles-based Choudhury, when asked about his opinion on the recent yoga ban in Malaysia.

Bikram Choudhury

"Saying that is pure ignorance. I say, go and practise yoga and find out what it's really about."

Calcutta-born Choudhury's yoga sequence has practitioners doing 26 Hatha yoga poses and two breathing exercises in a room heated to 42 deg C, for 90 minutes.

The 62-year-old was in town last weekend for the launch of a new studio, the Bikram Hot Yoga Centre run by True Group, at Pacific Plaza.

A former weightlifting champ, and a three-time National India Yoga Championship winner, he developed his yoga sequence under teacher Bishnu Ghosh, while trying to solve weightlifting-related knee injuries.

He has lived in the United States since 1971, and has taught the likes of former US president Richard Nixon, music impresario Quincy Jones and even Madonna.

There are over 1,700 Bikram yoga centres in the world. The first in Singapore, Bikram Yoga City Hall, opened in 2006 and is run by former marketing executive Diane Lee. To date, it has around 4,000 members.

The True-run Bikram centre held its soft launch last month, and has 200 sign-ups so far. To Choudhury, widely considered a pioneer in his field, the best thing about yoga is its body-mind connection that can
lead to self-realisation and thus, a better life.

When asked about what he wants his legacy to be, he answered: "I want to leave behind a better civilisation, better people."

He added: "To anyone who has a problem, I say, 'Do you want to solve it? Come to a class. Even when all else fails, let's see what I can do for you'."

Jill's Verdict

YOGA has changed my life. In the six years I have practised the discipline, it has helped remove mental and emotional obstacles every time I felt stuck in my life.

And three years ago, I was told that an operation might save my knees, which had a painful tendency to dislocate.

I chose Bikram yoga instead. My knees haven't dislocated in two years. No kidding.

Last Friday, at the Bikram Hot Yoga Centre at Pacific Plaza, the first thing Choudhury did was to ask if there were first-timers in the room.

Bikram yoga is built for beginners ? you always work at your own personal level. But beginners may experience nausea as they get used to the heat.

Thus, the second thing he said was: "Don't throw up on the carpet. It's new."

And so, 40 of us began his sequence of 26 postures, from Eagle to Triangle and Camel, each tailored to exercise specific organs. Each pose was done twice, held first for a minute, then for 30 seconds.

Choudhury was a joker. "Why are your legs spread?" he asked, as we move into the Locust pose. "Women should not spread their legs any time, anywhere! Only in emergencies."

He noticed some students struggling, and tossed them sweets to get their blood sugar levels up. He corrected our poses when necessary, told us when we were doing well, and gave tonguelashings in equal measure.

He is cruel, and he is kind. Sort of like life itself. You get the idea he wants you to be the best you can be.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," he said with a smile when I thanked him after class. "No hell, no heaven. You come back tomorrow."

Sweat it out here

Want to give Bikram yoga a try? Go well-hydrated and on an empty stomach.

• Bikram Hot Yoga Centre, 9, Scotts Road, Pacific Plaza, 11th floor (tel: 6735-9555).
  Call and mention this my paper story to get a free one-week pass (limited to 200 people).
  
  
• Bikram Yoga City Hall, 252, North Bridge Road, #02-14, Raffles City Shopping Centre (tel: 6339-6639).
  First-timers who mention this my paper story get a free trial class this month (8pm classes only). Call to reserve spots.

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