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Member Comments for the Article:
''I Tried Hot Yoga''
What to Expect in a Hot Yoga Class
93 Comments
SABRIELX
10/30/2012 8:02:15 PM
I wouldn't mind trying it, but since I feel light headed and just plain awful when I sit in a sauna for 10 minutes, I don't think this would be for me. I'll just stick to regular pleasant temperature yoga on my own time. Though as a warning for anyone new to yoga, if you start developing issues, STOP. I took a class in college and the instructor in my opinion shouldn't have been teaching. My back constantly ached after every class and through out the week, and I've never had a problem before in other yoga classes or following DVDs. So if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.
STEPHEN_LEE10
10/30/2012 5:24:19 PM
Hot Yoga is great, but like i say, doing anything in a hot environment will make you sweat. For me, any type of exercise will make you feel relaxed, but don't over heat your body. why not trying doing posh ups in the sauna for 15 minutes? probably pass out. never the less whatever makes you tick.
After reading an artilce from the New York Times, date January 2012, titled HOW YOGA CAN WRECK YOUR BODY....I would be very scared to ever practic this so called"exercise".
AHIMSAINLIFE
10/30/2012 12:16:11 PM
I used to have a regular (5-6 times/week) heated yoga practice and had to stop when my digestive and reproductive systems started acting up. I went to an acupuncturist who confirmed that I lean towards vitta (the warm dosha) and I was essentially over-heating myself. She said it is normal that warm people have affinities for warm/hot things -- i.e. spicy foods, hot yoga, vigorous exercise -- but that we are hyper-cooking ourselves. She sees hot yoga teachers all the time with longer or exacerbated menopause and lengthy lists of female reproductive problems. Essentially, we only have so much to heat before we start boiling out our limited resources. I was sorry to see the heated yoga go -- I really did like feeling so cleansed -- but I have felt better since returning to a regular-temp room. Just something for people to consider.
The articles information about hot yoga is not correct. While Bikram has his own style of hot yoga (26 poses, blah blah), Baptiste has his own style. Most studios that say they are a hot yoga studio are not doing anything like Bikram yoga -- they're doing a more classic vinyasa flow made popular by Baptiste.
Also, there's a wide variety of what hot means. It can be anywhere from 80 to 90 (Baptiste or hot yoga) to 106 (Bikram).
So wish the author had done some research on the subject before writing the article. Or limited the "information" to her experience.
Love the hot yoga, but not necessarily the Bikram type. They tend to be more militant as MOMOF2CHIS experienced. That's too bad. There's a chain of studios in TX that has 5 different levels of warm-hot yoga that I love going to. Fire, the hottest, is very similar to Bikram, but they make it much more enjoyable an don't lock people in/out. The best part is that during the course of the class, I the flexibility that comes is incredible. I always check before starting to see how far my fingers can reach past my feet from a sitting position, then by the end, I've stretched nearly 2-3 inches past that. The weightand inches have come off even over the course of about 6 weeks. It's improved flexibilty, sweat out a lot of calories, and has help improve my running. Go for it!
I tried hot yoga a few years ago. The yoga instructor locked the door so none of us could leave during the class and cause a 'disruption'. During the class, I got so nauseated and lightheaded I felt I was going to pass out. She refused to open the door so I lay there on the floor, dizzy and sick, until the class ended. I never went back.
article came just in time for me - going to my first class on Frdiay
REFERENCEGIRL73
10/30/2012 8:04:59 AM
And the risks are? There are actual physical risks in hot yoga including over stretching. Too bad the author didn't live up to her own title.
MENGLISH-
10/30/2012 5:35:42 AM
I take a hot yoga class weekly, and early on I, too, realized I needed a good-sized towel. My husband found one just for that purpose--it's the same size as my yoga mat and has non-slid rubber on one side. Ask for one for Christmas!
JRMYSGRL
10/30/2012 3:48:38 AM
Its the best thing that ever happened to me!!! There is no way that u can go back to any other kind of yoga!! If u r whining about the heat or the "rules" u arent serious about ur weightloss @ getting t together. U arent going to mamsy pamsy ur way to a new and better you! To those ppl who are haters, put ur big kids pants on & stop making excuses. If u arent sweating, u arent wking out! And with regards to Jillian Michaels, I cant imagine that she has somehow become wiser than 1000's of others re:hot yoga or Bilram Yoga. Shes a tv personality for gosh sakes. Not a health guru. DON'T KNOCK OT TIL U TRY IT!
I have another warning about hot yoga. I practiced Bikram yoga at least three times a week for about a year. Then I moved to a different city and started Power Vinyasa hot yoga, which I practiced at least three times a week for about a year and a half. I liked them both, a lot. Great workout, great moving meditation.
Here was the problem: I developed severe knee and back problems with both types of yoga. Both times, I consulted the instructors many times about pose modifications and followed their advice. However, I eventually was having to modify poses so much I felt I wasn't really participating is whole segments of the classes. I also saw orthopedic specialists in both instances.
Here what I've come to believe. Hot yoga is great if don't have chronic orthopedic issues.But if you do, beware.The heat and the poses in both Bikram and Vinyasa allow you to go deeper in poses, which can be good if you are healthy, but can exacerbate conditions if you are not healthy. I hear the stories of Bikram curing his broken knees using yoga, but I am highly skeptical about that. My advice is take it very slowly and gently. Don't try to be a show-off and go as deep as you can into poses. Just let it happen in your body's own time. If you feel pain, back off.
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