List of Bikram Yoga Postures

Bikram yoga consists of 26 ordered postures designed to stretch muscles, ligaments and tendons. Developed by Bikram Choudhury in his native India, this style of yoga is also called "hot yoga," because it is performed in a heated room. The heat helps to intensity the stretches and opens up the circulatory system to improve blood flow.

  1. Standing Poses

    • The first 12 poses of Bikram yoga are standing poses. These include the Standing Deep Breathing, Half Moon, Awkward, Eagle, Standing Head to Knee, Standing Bow, Balancing Stick, Standing Separate Leg Stretching, Triangle, Standing Separate Leg to Knee, Tree and Toe Stand postures.

    Dead Body Pose

    • The Dead Body pose is performed after the standing series. This pose consists of lying flat on the floor for two minutes in complete relaxation. The pose is meant to restore the body for the next series of stretches.

    Floor Poses

    • Bikram poses 14 to 23 consist of floor postures. These include the Wind Removing, Sit Up, Cobra, Locust, Full Locust, Bow, Fixed Firm, Half Tortoise, Camel and Rabbit poses.

    Sitting Up Poses

    • Bikram yoga poses 24 and 25 are performed while sitting up. These consist of the Head to Knee and Spine Twisting poses. For the Spine Twisting pose, each side of the body is stretched.

    Blowing in Firm Pose

    • The final pose of Bikram yoga is the Blowing in Firm pose. This pose is a relaxation and breathing pose that consists of two 60-second quick breaths.