Hot Yoga: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Hot Yoga | The Benefits of Hot Yoga | True Hot Yoga North Scottsdale | True Hot Yoga Arrowhead Ranch
What is hot yoga?
The gist of it is that hot yoga is yoga in a heated environment. That’s it! That’s the secret sauce.
True Hot Yoga combines the best of traditional hot yoga and classical Vinyasa yoga practiced in a heated room. The elevated temperature usually stays around 102°F with 50-60% humidity. The heat paired with the humidity helps warm up the muscles, increase flexibility, promote detoxification through sweating, and assist in mindfulness. The heat is an added challenge, improving circulation and pushing you (but not too hard) to be your favorite and most determined self.
Due to the humidity, this is slightly different from just pulling out your mat in the Arizona heat. While that may be an excellent workout and way to practice yoga, it is not the same controlled environment that you would experience at True Hot Yoga.
After conducting research that you can read about in one of our prior blogs, there are a few added benefits to hot yoga in comparison to its unheated counterpart.
What are the benefits of hot yoga?
Yoga is great for the mind, body, and soul. And we’re not just saying that because we love True Hot Yoga. It is all backed by science.
All types of yoga offer different benefits. All types of yoga will aid in flexibility and mind/body connection.
Hot yoga has so many incredible and science-backed benefits. Students leave their hot yoga class feeling great for the rest of the day.
Let’s take a look at the research!
Hot yoga is not all about calories burned or physical appearance, we make that clear when you attend a class at True Hot Yoga. We are going to dive into this a little bit.
Research shows that hot yoga does burn more calories than classic, non-heated yoga. With that being said, it is not as many calories as you may think. A study of Bikram practitioners showed that men burned roughly 460 calories and women about 330 calories per 90-minute session. This is equivalent to about as much as someone would burn by going for a 90-minute walk.
Research shows that this is still roughly 50% more calories than what one might burn in a non-heated class. Some non-heated classes will be more vigorous than a very slow-paced heated class, therefore burning more calories. It really depends on the class that you take and what your preferences are.
In addition to calorie burn, practicing yoga helps muscles and joints heat up, increasing flexibility and overall stretch.
Hot yoga also aids in the process of detoxification (yes, our bodies need help with this). It has been proven to aid in healing depression and other mental health conditions.
3 tips to get the most out of hot yoga
Drink water before and after
Water is so, so important. We cannot stress this enough! Not only is staying hydrated with plenty of water crucial to flushing out toxins and feeling great but keeping up with your electrolytes is also important. Staying very mindful of your water intake the day before, the day of, and the day after class could be the difference between feeling wonderful and rejuvenated or feeling tired and nauseous after class.
2. Go at your own pace
Going at your own pace, especially when you are new to hot yoga, is going to be very important in maintaining your breath and comfort throughout class. Sometimes it will be nice to push yourself here or there but ultimately, if your teacher is not giving you the space to go at your own pace, you might be in the wrong place.
3. Listen to your body
Always, always, always listen to your body. Some cues to pay attention to include feeling faint, dehydrated, racing heart, and dizzy. While hot yoga comes with an array of benefits, all of them will go away if you don’t listen to your body.
Should you try hot yoga?
Hot yoga isn’t for everyone. It is challenging and is not right for people with certain health problems. But, with that being said, it’s absolutely worth a try!
How to Get Started with Hot Yoga
We have locations in both North Scottsdale and Arrowhead Ranch, and you can book with us on our website at www.truehotyoga.com or on our True Hot Yoga app.
If you are interested in trying a True Hot Yoga class, we offer a 3-for $33 special for new students! Book with us at www.truehotyoga.com or download our app.