Today I took my first Bikram Yoga class in more than a year, at the Bikram Yoga Montreal studio at 721 Walker Avenue.

This is a very popular yoga system. Why? Perhaps because it is not subtle: its effects are obvious; it is physically demanding like no other yoga; and teachers are pushing constantly for greater performance.

In the Bikram system, you practice in a room heated to over 100 degrees F. The same 26 postures are repeated in each practice, and teachers are required to learn and use the same dialogue to present the class. This means the Bikram experience is homogeneous: in every one of hundreds of Bikram studios, around the world, you will get exactly the same class. This also provides a degree of quality control.

It is yoga, stripped down and sweaty. For stretching, strengthening, breathing, and detoxifying, the tapas of fierce practice... if you can stand the heat!