A relative newcomer to the world of yoga, Bikram is also becoming increasingly popular.

Students fold into garurasana, the eagle pose, impossibly curling right legs around the balancing left while arms twist at the chest. Mirrors cover two walls in the yellow-orange room, allowing students to watch sweat roll off their bodies as the instructor coaxes them to stay stable, spines straight.

This is Lake Tahoe's most popular form of yoga.

Bikram is a 90-minute series of 26 asanas (or postures) and two breathing exercises developed by master yogi Bikram Choudhury and performed in a heated room, ideally 105 degrees Fahrenheit and about 40 percent humidity. Rather than demonstrate poses from the front of the room, Bikram teachers stroll the studio, talking students through the various body positions and offering corrections as necessary.

Beginners may find the intense routine awkward, however the postures are designed to be sequential.

The benefits of Bikram are extensive—the body releases toxins, asanas cause a tourniquet effect that improves circulation and the heat increases weight loss, among them. "The body is able to purify by sweating, and it's a more cardiovascular workout, which makes the heart rate increase," says Tanya Rose Paul, owner of Bikram Yoga, with studios in Truckee and Reno. "But flexibility is the main benefit. It's like relating muscle to steel: It's impossible to bend when it's cold, but when you heat it, you can bend and stretch it."

In addition to making its clients feel good physically, Paul's studios offer weekly "karma classes," where Bikram sessions are a minimum of a $8 donation. At the end of each month, the collected total from all the studios' karma classes go to a local charity or nonprofit.

For information, visit www.bikramyogasierras. Hot yoga classes are also available at Mountain Lotus Yoga in Tahoe City, www.bikramyogatahoe.com.

-by Alison Bender