Bikram Yoga clothing: Tips for men and women

In a recent comment, a reader asked for tips on where to buy clothes for Bikram Yoga. In this post, I want to give you some pointers for that, as well as tips on what to wear in a Bikram Yoga class. 

General advice:

• wear as little as you feel comfortable with (but minimum for women: short shorts and sports bra top, minimum for men: short shorts)
• clothing is NOT optional  in Bikram Yoga (despite what some rumors say!)
• go for sports wear quality, moisture-wicking materials (cotton will feel heavy, lose it's shape, and start sagging when wet from sweat)
• shorts should cover the first inch of your thighs and fit snugly around the thighs!! Can't stress this enough! If you don't follow this, the person behind you will see your underwear or more in Balancing Stick and Standing Bow, EEEEEEEEK!

WOMEN's wear:
For bottoms, most women wear short shorts, but if you're uncomfortable in that, wear shorts or capris. Make sure they are form-fitting, so the teacher can see your legs/knees and give you corrections if needed.

My favorite: Side String Short by Shakti

Lululemon short shorts

For a top, you can either wear a sports bra type top like this:

 Lululemon bra

or a supported sports top like this:

Target top with integrated chest support

I don't recommend wearing anything with sleeves and personally, I prefer not wearing a sports bra AND a top, so that is why I recommend sports tops which include chest support.


MEN's wear:
For obvious reasons - I'm a girl - , I'm not a pro when it comes to men's wear. But I know that my favorites, Shakti and Lululemon, both usually offer yoga shorts for men as well.

Men's shorts by Shakti

If you wear loose-fitting shorts, you MUST make sure you wear tight-fitting underwear or the person behind you will see your boy parts! Generally, you want to make sure that pubic hair is always covered by tight-fitting clothes!

A shirt for guys is definitely optional. Many men go bare-chested. If you're uncomfortable with that, you can practice in a shirt and possibly take it off during class. If you go with a shirt, I would suggest you pick one without sleeves.

Sleeveless athletic shirt from Target

General shopping tips:
If you choose to get your yoga practice clothes from the stores/brands that specialize in yoga clothing, prepare to spend around 40-50$ per piece. The clothes are usually high quality and nicely designed with yoga practice in mind.
Examples for stores (US based and/or mail order): Lululemon, Shakti, Mika, Lucy, ...

You can certainly find cheaper alternatives in stores that carry general sportswear. Even the pieces priced as low as 10-15$ are usually good quality, but mostly not designed with yoga in mind. Shorts might not be tight-fitting enough, bras might be to tight/bulky because they are designed for high impact sports. I find that to be the trade-off when buying these cheaper alternatives.
Examples for stores (US based): the usual suspects... Target, Old Navy, Dick's, Sports Authority, T. J. Maxx, ...


If you have any questions or additional tips for readers, please leave a comment! (If the comments section gives you trouble with Firefox or other browsers, please try using Internet Explorer.)

Namaste.