Meditation or exercise? When it comes to Bikram yoga, the answer seems to be both. The practice of Bikram yoga entails a 90 minute yoga class within a room heated to a steamy 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Invented by Bikram Choudhury, a yoga guru and National India Yoga Championfor three consecutive years, Bikram yoga consists of 26 different postures interconnected with two different breathing exercises.

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The combination of physically strenuous poses and intensive breathing discipline aims to achieve internal detoxification and rejuvenation, when executed properly.

Conveniently located near Wake Forest, a Bikram yoga studio rightly named Bikram Yoga exists in the heart of downtown Winston-Salem.

This studio adheres to the strict qualifications of room temperature, size, decor and humidity levels that all Bikram studios must follow.

As for the classes, Bikram Yoga exclusively follows the routine of 26 postures, both seated and standing, which were invented by Choudhury to systematically move fresh, oxygenated blood to one hundred percent of your body, to each organ and fiber, restoring all systems to healthy working order, just as Nature intended (Bikrams Yoga College of India).

The warmth of the class and mirrored walls allow for maximum stretching of heated muscles and visual concentration on bodily alignment in the mirrors reflection.

I was lucky enough to chat with Grant Gilbert, a Bikram yoga regular and university senior, about what draws him into the Bikram yoga practice.

In true spirit, he paused and referenced the studios whiteboard that hangs adjacent to the front door.

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Bikram yoga helps to rejuvenate students