Bikram’s beginning class of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises is a great class. There are lots of teachers and students of this method. Its one-size-fits-all style is at once its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.
Lots of students struggle due to injuries, lack of strength or mobility, and it can be extremely useful for teachers to have a tool-box full of small modifications to the postures to serve this population.
The new book will include discussions of each of the 26 postures, including the fundamental purpose and other secondary purposes. This helps to clarify our intention as teachers and inform our interactions with students. It will include several modifications for each posture, directly addressing the primary function of each exercise.
A lot of the exercises and modifications are drawn from therapeutic exercises in the Ghosh yoga lineage, which ideally treats every student individually and uniquely.
All of the postures and modifications in this book are intended to function within the context of a dialogue-driven class of the 26+2. They are simple and focused, so that the teacher can help specific students while keeping the rest of the class on track.
26+2: Modifications will be available February 1, 2018. All of the attendees of the week-long immersion “Teaching 26+2” will receive a copy with their admission.
