I love taking classes from different Bikram Yoga teachers. Each is unique in his or her own way, and each brings a special dimension to my practice. I have experienced four basic styles of Bikram yoga teachers: By the Book, Spiritual, Let’s Get Physical, and The Drill Sergeant. Of course, some teachers combine several of these aspects. I enjoy learning from them all.

1) By the Book: These teachers rarely deviate from the dialogue and hold the postures for exactly the proper amount of time. They rarely give personal corrections or demonstrations. Typically, newer teachers are like this, as they work on developing their own voice within the dialogue. I enjoy the simplicity of these classes and try to focus very specifically on the dialogue to see if I can pick up anything I have missed in previous classes. I often find some new detail.

2) Spiritual: These teachers emphasize the meditation aspects of the class. They will sometimes share inspirational quotes during savasna or anecdotal examples of how the yoga can benefit your state of mind. These teachers are very warm and encouraging, and remember not only your name, but where you are in each of your postures. I always leave class feeling soothed and peaceful — like I got a 90-minute hug.

3) Let’s Get Physical: Here, the focus is on the physical execution of each asana — making sure the alignments are correct and that each step of the set-up is done properly and in the right order. These teachers run vigorous classes and will provide personal corrections frequently. I almost always learn something new in each class.

4) The Drill Sergeant: These teachers mean business. They move between postures at a rapid pace and may even hold some postures a little bit longer than is typical. These are tough classes — my heart is always pounding and I feel like I am being pushed to my very edge, but afterwards I feel like a champ.

During each week, I try to take classes from teachers with a variety of styles. That way I am able to work on my alignment, my mind/body connection and get a great workout. Thank you to all the Bikram Yoga teachers for sharing a part of themselves with us in each class.

Fellow yogis, do you like to take class from different types of teachers?

Today I was chilly in Bikram class. This never happens, right? Usually I am hot, or boiling or somewhere in between, but chilly, hardly ever. I hadn’t even worked up a sweat until the very end of the standing series. My mat was practically dry when I laid down on it for the floor series, and I drank hardly any water. I missed the heat. I wanted to sweat. So I worked harder, but still, a less than satisfying situation.

So what happened? I think it was a combination of the cold weather, the door to the studio being a little loose (which was letting in more air than usual), and the fact that the teacher forgot to put on the overhead heat until halfway through standing! That last one was the kiss of death.

At my studio there are a group of yogis who often complain about the room being cold. You know the type — they wear long sleeve shirts and fleeces over their bra tops and always move the humidifier so it blows only on them. They often confer with each other about the temperature before class starts and complain to the teacher during class that the room is too cold, even when it is not. I am NOT one of those yogis.

I don’t like when people complain about the temperature in the room — either too cold or too hot — because 1) someone’s “cold” is often someone else’s “I am going to pass out and die,” 2) it shouldn’t be about the temperature, it should be about the postures, and 3) I think we all need to toughen up a little bit — if you are cold, work your muscles harder and if you are hot, sit down and take a break.

It also never goes well. The teacher gets annoyed, makes a speech about him or her being in charge of the temperature and you being in charge of your meditation. And the teacher is probably right on that.

So, for all these reasons, I didn’t say anything when I noticed that the overhead heat was off. I tried to work harder to build up my own internal heat. I focused on what I could control rather than on what I couldn’t. But I have to admit, I was pretty happy when the teacher remembered and turned on the overhead heaters…

Fellow yogis, how do you handle temperature swings in the hot room?