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Why "HOT" Yoga?
Yoga has been an up-and-coming trend in exercise for the past decade, but a new trend is becoming ever-more present—hot yoga. “Hot” yoga, also commonly known as Bikram Yoga, is the practice of yoga poses drawn from Hatha, Vinyasa and other yoga styles, in a heated room (generally 30- 43 degrees C).
Why is this style of yoga becoming such a “hot” trend?
It is generally recognized by exercise experts that peak physical performance occurs when your body is warmed up and radiates heat out and into your muscles. In terms of yoga, this facilitates deeper poses and stretches and induces perspiration, making this approach to yoga a greater cardio-pumping, fat-burning form of exercise. The heat speeds up your metabolism, and sweating promotes the release of toxins through enlarged pores in your skin. This may be the perfect remedy for ridding your body of toxins following a night of heavy drinking!
Beyond these physical benefits, practicing yoga in a heated room can also intensify the mental and emotional aspects of the experience. The heat can be viewed as something to overcome. An instructor at Moksha Yoga (Blvd. St-Laurent), suggests that you use the heat as a tool to focus your mind on the practice, as a means to free your head of extraneous thoughts and stresses.
Hence, hot yoga provides a more diversified and more effective experience. If this is something you have never tried before—brace yourself. The increased heat makes the exercise more challenging, but equally more gratifying. Make sure you hydrate sufficiently before and after, and it is not recommended to arrive with a full stomach.