Bikram, extreme hot yoga, has a host of celebrity fans – from George Clooney to Lady Gaga and Beyonce to Ashton Kutcher.
And Liverpool can't get enough of Bikram yoga.
It was invented by Bikram Choudhury, born in India but now a multi-millionaire based in Los Angeles, and it was there that mum of two Estelle Cartlidge tracked him down and begged him to teach her his skills.
“I first got interested in yoga when I was pregnant with my first child,” says Estelle, 31, from Crosby.
“I found it helped me to relax and focus in a way that nothing else could. I started to get more and more into it. I thought about becoming a teacher but I wasn’t sure where to start. I heard about Bikram yoga and went to Manchester to try it.”
Bikram involves working through 26 postures designed to use every part of the body in a room heated to 40 degrees centigrade (104 degrees fahrenheit). The conditions are designed to flush out toxins in the body through sweating and to help prevent injuries. Every session is 90 minutes and can burn up to 1,250 calories.
“Bikram studios are few and far between because Bikram himself has to approve them,” says Estelle. “It’s not a case of writing off and being approved. He has to personally teach you an intense course in LA and you have to put a case forward as to why you would want to open a studio and how you would run it.”
After one class Estelle knew she wanted to take Bikram further.
“After the session everyone else was complaining about how hard it was, but I absolutely loved it. I waited for the teacher and asked her how I could train. She explained the bit about going to LA to learn.
“It seemed completely out of reach. I had two young kids, my partner Michael is a heating engineer. I couldn’t see how it would ever happen.”
But after doing some research she found out there was a course scheduled to start.
“I told Michael and he said ‘right let’s do it’. It was the maddest thing I’ve ever done but the two of us, my mum and the kids, all moved to LA while I trained. I still can’t believe it now.
“It was like living in a film,” laughs Estelle. “I was studying with Bikram himself, doing sessions all day every day. He’d pop out and go and teach these Hollywood stars – one day Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were there. It was surreal.
“I’d be locked away every day studying and the rest of the family would go to Disneyland or to the beach. It was a tough 10 weeks. Every day was so intense, but I loved it.”
When Estelle returned home to Merseyside with Bikram’s blessing she started looking for a possible site, but she also had to continue her training.
“We moved down south for more than a year where I taught at Bikram Yoga Brighton and in a number of London studios,” she says.
Estelle was finally able to open her own studio – Bikram Yoga Liverpool – in the Focus Building on Great Crosshall Street last September.
“It took a long time to get it perfect,” she says. “We had to get the temperature controls just right, and to extract the dirty air and bring in clean air so no-one gets ill. I am so lucky – Michael’s background as a heating engineer meant he could do it all for me. If I say so myself, it’s amazing.”
The studio has been growing in popularity, with people from all walks of life embracing Bikram.
“We have a huge age range and all shapes and sizes, men, women, everyone comes through the doors,” smiles Estelle. “It’s not about what you look like. We’ve had big bodybuilders who have to stop because they feel faint and we have lots of retired people who do it with no trouble at all.
“It’s not about being the most flexible or the best at everything, it’s about doing what you can do. If that’s just raising your arms then that’s enough. It’s something that anyone can do.”
The heat is very intense. Does anyone ever faint?
“We’ve only had one, since September. Mostly, if people feel lightheaded they just focus on their breathing and they can get straight back into it.”
At 90 minutes it’s a long session.
“Other types of hot yoga have begun that aren’t so strict,” says Estelle. “But for me I think the purity of Bikram’s teaching is important. It isn’t just about the heat or the stretching, it’s everything else that Bikram offers.
“Taking 90 minutes out of your day to focus on yourself and clear your mind is so good for our physical and mental health. Even just doing it once a week makes all the difference.”
Find out more at www.bikramyogaliverpool.com or call 0151 236 1375.
