Speaking Bikram in All Languages (A Guest Post from a Bikram Yogini)

Photo courtesy of Noa.

Bikram Yoga knows no borders. It's a style that can be found across the globe, whether the dialogue is being spoken in English or another language, or not at all.

Have you ever taken a Bikram class in another country? Or tried a silent class?

Today I bring you the story of one culturally-savvy yogini and her reflections on the Bikram dialogue, language barriers, and the beauty of silence. I especially love her videos at the end, too. Enjoy!

Y-Lingual

by Noa Glow

I’m one lucky yogi. The roster at my home studio – Bikram Yoga Vancouver – includes instructors from far beyond Canada’s borders: Spain, Germany, South Africa, the U.S. … the list goes on and on.

Last night, Jerome “from Pareee” led the class. When it came time for salabhasana (locust pose), he counted us down in English on the right side and “en Français” on the left.

“Very good,” he said as we lowered our left legs down. “Much better in French.” I started thinking about the Bikram Yoga language barrier – or lack thereof.

I never did take a Bikram Yoga class when I traveled throughout Spain several summers ago; my guess is it would have been taught in Spanish. I’m almost certain this would not have been a problem. 

Once you know the series by heart you don’t necessarily need an instructor’s words to guide you. But wouldn’t something be lost across the language barrier? Isn’t the reason I keep attending class each day because I learn something new every time I go – no matter how many times I hear the dialogue?

I recently had the privilege of attending a near-silent class. Instead of constant direction, the teacher gave only a few instructions (particularly the all-important "change!" to signal the end of each posture).

For the better part of the session the room was eerily quiet; the only sound was the gurgling of the humidifier. It was brilliant. I love hearing the dialogue, but being able to work it out myself (for the most part) was refreshing – more time observe my own thoughts and associations during the Bikram series.

Class literally flew by that day, and the silence made me realize the true meditative value of yoga. Forcing my focus on my practice and my breath helped me push beyond my limits and experience something new. I'd recommend a silent class to anyone who has the opportunity to try. It never hurts to get out of your comfort zone once in a while; you can only grow from it.

Check out this video on how to say “Lock the knee” in many different languages. It sends shivers up and down my spine for the sheer fact that it demonstrates the true universality of Bikram Yoga, which really does make for common ground between us all. If you are human, you lock your knee!

Thanks, Noa, for your awesome post. Also, Bikram fanatics: be sure to check out Noa's incredible practice in this video. She's a rockstar for sure!