Bikram yoga no more effective than any other yoga: study

Bikram yoga - a popular yoga style performed in a room heated to 40 degrees Celsius - may be no better at improving cardiovascular health than the same postures executed at room temperature, a study claims.
Despite its popularity, little is known about the health benefits associated with it and even less is known about the stipulation that it is carried out in a hot environment.
The study, published in the journal Experimental Physiology, found that the heated environment did not play a role in causing improvements in vascular health.
According to researchers at Texas State University in the US, Bikram yoga can reduce changes in the lining of blood vessels that are involved in the development and progression of heart disease.

It also found that it can possibly delay the progression of atherosclerosis, which is a disease in which plaque builds up inside arteries and can cause heart attack or stroke.
However, crucially, it found that it is not necessary for the yoga to be performed at a hot temperature with the effects also being seen at room temperature.

As many as 80 participants were enrolled and randomised to one of the three study groups after preliminary screening.
In addition to the heated and room temperature yoga groups, a control group was also included to account for the effect of time on our primary results.

The intervention lasted for 12 weeks and participants were asked to attend three Bikram yoga classes per week.
"The new finding from this investigation was that the heated practice environment did not seem to play a role in eliciting improvements in vascular health with Bikram yoga," said Stacy D Hunter, from Texas State University.