Hot Yoga Tips

Happy Hump Day!  Guess what day it is?  October FIRST that means Sugar Free September is officially over, it’s 5am here so I’ll try not to down a piece of chocolate on the way to work, but I make no promises.  More on that fun little month long adventure later.  Right now I want to talk about one of my new favorite classes: Hot Yoga!

 

I’ve been going to Hot Yoga consistently for a little over a month now which is amazing because I have had a love hate, mostly hate, relationship with Yoga for the past couple of years. After at least a three year hiatus of taking yoga classes in person (I would force myself to do it online but did not enjoy it) I’m taking classes again every single week.  I love the way that my body responds to the heat because I don’t feel like I’m fighting my body to get through the postures.

According to Livestrong:

“…Doing yoga in a super-heated room is similar to sitting in a sauna. Heated environments increase your pulse rate and metabolism and allow your blood vessels to become more flexible. That makes circulation easier and increases blood flow to the limbs. Cold muscles become injured more easily than warmed-up ones, so the heat of a Bikram yoga class allows your body to move more freely. Although you will get hot, the act of sweating helps control your internal body temperature....”

I don’t know a ton about yoga but it’s worth while noting that Bikram Yoga is a certain style of Hot Yoga.  From what I understand Hot Yoga can be any type of yoga done in a heated environment.  In the studio I have been going to they offer Hatha Yoga Style of yoga in a 40-45%humidity environment heated to 101 degrees.

What to Wear

I see people wear literally all kinds of outfits to Hot Yoga.  Some people wear sports bra/tiny shorts but mostly I see capri’s/tightish fitting shirts.  My preferred outfit is a long tank top with tights.  I’m not sure why I like the pants combo so much, it seems crazy to wear PANTS to Hot Yoga, but it’s what I feel most comfortable in so I’m rolling with it.  I might just be loving wearing this outfit to everything, because I also feel most comfortable in it at Bodypump.

Hot Yoga Tips

1. I like to get to the studio at least 10 minutes early to let my body acclimate to the heat.  I found that if I just jump in, it’s not the best experience.
2. I try and make sure I drink as much water as possible, at least one liter of water, before going to class and another liter after class.  (I usually bring water to class, but hardly ever drink it because I’m plenty hydrated.)
3. I bought my yoga mat towel for $54 dollars at the studio, I saw nice ones at target for $20 bucks the other day.  Don’t make my mistake and get suckered into buying one at the studio.
4. Where you set up in the class may make a big difference.  At my studio they told me initially that one side of the room was cooler than the other.  I slowly worked my way over to the warmer side of the room each class period.  Last night, however, I set up on the hottest side in front of the heater, that was my threshold and I’ll be moving back towards a cooler area.
5. I use the block so I don’t overstretch.  I never used the block before going to Hot Yoga.  There is a fine line between decreased risk of injury do to the muscle relaxing effect of the heat and increased risk of injury do to not realizing your “point of safety.”
6. Many people spray their yoga mat towels with water before their practice.  I was told this was to prevent the towel from slipping and you from slipping across the towel.  I used water several times but eventually ditched it because I thought it made it more slippery.  Maybe I’m doing something wrong?

Note:  I am not a Yoga instructor nor do I have any formal training in Yoga.  All information in this post is based off of my own research or experience.  

Do you have one workout outfit you love to wear to everything?

What was one thing you bought that you found later much cheaper somewhere else?

Do you like Yoga or Hot Yoga?