Hey, I was just looking over Bikram’s 26 poses and I noticed that there are NO shoulderstands. I thought shoulderstands were very important in hatha yoga. I wonder why Bikram omitted them.
I found this explanation online:
[I]Why are no shoulder stands or headstands in Bikram yoga?
Bikram has presented us with an intelligently sequenced group of postures that carefully and mindfully open up your body, with each posture preparing you for the next. This unique sequence is designed to be maximally accessible to any new student, regardless of age and physical condition. Certainly there are benefits from the practice of traditional inversion (heart above the head) poses, but in our practice we use Half Tortise Pose to allow the beginning student to immediately bring the head below the heart in their very first class.[/I]
I guess he thinks his students are just not ready for it.
Interesting perspective and rationale.
All else aside, I personally don’t perceive Dandayamana Janushirasana, Tuladandasana, Supta Vajrasana, Dhanurasana, or Ustrasana to be “maximally accessible” to beginning students of yoga.[B][/B]
Did you check more advanced series? I have a friend who does bikram and he told me there are more advanced ones with all crazy asanas you want.