If you've been hanging around the Bikram community for any length of time you probably have heard that you should not wear green when taking class from Bikram himself. Do not have green shorts or top on. Do not bring a green mat. Do not have a green towel, hand towel, washcloth, water bottle, hair tie. In fact, if you have green eyes, close 'em! (just kidding about the eyes)
Bikram considers green bad luck. If you are considering going to teacher training don't pack any green. In fact, don't wear blue shorts and a yellow top because blue + yellow = green. If you have something you are unsure of (hmmm, is this aqua, or green??) then don't bring it. If you have to question it, it's going to look like green to Bikram.
Why does he consider green bad luck? I asked long time beloved teacher John Salvatore this question via facebook yesterday and received this reply:
Here is the story:
As you may know, Bikram's guru was Bishnu Ghosh. Bishnu's eldest son died in a fire trying to save his friend, that unbeknownst to him, had already gotten out. He was wearing a green shirt that Bishnu told him not to wear because it was considered bad luck.
As you may know, Bikram's guru was Bishnu Ghosh. Bishnu's eldest son died in a fire trying to save his friend, that unbeknownst to him, had already gotten out. He was wearing a green shirt that Bishnu told him not to wear because it was considered bad luck.
So there you have it. Happy St. Patty's day everybody!
John Salvatore hails from NYC and is currently teaching in Las Vegas. He performs for the show "The Jersey Boys" on the strip. He doesn't teach very many classes per week, but the ones he does teach draw a large crowd. You can expect an awesome class full of humor, compassion and heat! John likes it hot and humid and you will come out of his class a whole new yogi!
2 comments:
Happy St. Patty's day :-) I should drink something green, hmm... what's a good alcohol substitute?
One day, I will tour the world and see different yoga studios. Now THAT would be something!
Thanks for sharing the history behind Bikram and the colour green. I was inquiring about this tonight at my yoga studio, and the teachers told me I'd have to wait to hear the story from Bikram firsthand.
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