Hot Yoga, Is It For You?

Hot yoga. These two words mean different things for different people. Normally, it goes one of two ways. People either love hot yoga or they hate it. It’s hard to be on the fence with this one because hot yoga is very unique and challenging.

Whether you love it or hate it, sometimes we are left wondering, is it for me?

In this article we will explore the benefits, contraindications, and answer the questions you want to know about hot yoga, but remember, nothing is worth doing if it just doesn’t work for you.

"Always listen to your body. Things come in and out of trend, and fashion, but only you stay with yourself and your body forever."

Trust your gut. If your workout or your yoga class doesn’t make you feel fantastic, energised, challenged, and empowered, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.

Everyone and each and every body is different. Honour that.

A brief history

Hot yoga; as far as we know, the first record of yoga being practiced in the heat can be traced back to Japan in the 1970s. Bikram Choudhury (the creator of Bikram yoga) was teaching in Japan at the time and began to experiment with increased heat in the yoga room.

Bikram’s early classes were heated to 28 degrees Celsius (or about 82 degrees Fahrenheit) to mimic the temperatures found in his home town Calcutta, India. He slowly started to increase the heat to 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Fahrenheit (which is the temperature Bikram yoga studios use today) as his students seemed to exert more energy in the increased heat.

This was, later associated with a better and of course, a sweatier workout.

Yogic history can be difficult to trace back to exact dates, and while we do not possess evidence of yoga being practiced in heated rooms before Bikram “invented” this type of practice, there are many examples of people using heat in Ayurveda and cleansing practices and evidence of using heat to heal the body.

Nonetheless, the thought of making yoga, a profound and challenging practice, even more challenging by turning up the heat may appeal to you or it might not. Despite potential appeal, depending on your goals, or health concerns, hot yoga might not be for you.

Historically yogis practiced disciplines that were torturous to the body in order to build resilience, will power, strength of mind, and to learn to separate the true self, our highest self, from its container that is the physical body.

Historically yoga was neither popular, nor easy. Western practitioners associate yoga with feeling good, however, yoga’s past was never rooted in feel good practices.

So what can we learn from yoga’s history as we practice yoga today? Yoga is not a workout and should not be viewed solely as a physical practice. It is important to consider what else yoga can offer you. Don’t take a hot yoga class just because its trendy right now or because you heard that it burns more calories than regular non heated practices, and steer clear of hot yoga if you have a heart condition.

Before we dive into the benefits of hot yoga, a general warning: the main concern regarding hot yoga is potential heat exhaustion. While creating heat in the body internally though energy exertion and from the external heat of the yoga room, you can and may experience dizziness, nausea, lightheadedness or in extreme cases, fainting. Pregnant women should also consult a doctor before participating in a hot yoga class as it can worsen symptoms and may not be safe in later stages of pregnancy.

Tips and information

Hot yoga teachers need to be just as aware of the complications and dangers of practicing in a heated room as they are informed about the benefits of hot yoga. Teachers need to provide a safe space in which the heat can be turned down, or students can be free to leave the room for some time if needed to avoid heat exhaustion or other potential problems.

Other issues to be aware of when practicing in a hot room; avoid over- stretching. A teacher needs to create a safe yoga sequence for the increased heat and will guide you from beginning to end, but be aware that you may need to ease into things a little more. Over stretching, especially the hamstrings is a common, hot yoga related injury. Push yourself, but listen and be kind to your body.

"Yoga is not a race, don’t let the heat fool you into thinking you have no limits."

Invest in the right mat and yoga gear. Hot yoga gets well, you guessed it, VERY wet and sweaty. If you are worried about slipping, falling or hurting yourself, you won’t be able to enjoy your class and ensure your safety.

Lululemon mats are the only mats that I feel safe and secure practicing hot yoga on. They are super grippy and they don’t collect sweat and get slippery like other mats. They are a bit pricier than some other brands, but you cannot put a price on safety. I have seen some bad falls and that can really destroy the experience, not to mention the risk of injury.

What to wear tip: Lululemon leggings are also my favourite. They feel like butter on your body and are great at absorbing sweat and preventing you from slipping. The material also doesn’t smell bad when practicing and doesn't retain that “sweat smell” that you get when wearing Nike or Adidas. Not to mentioned the brand ethics, Lululemon remains an important pillar in the modern day yoga community.

Lululemon: https://www.eu.lululemon.com/en-lu/home

Available in stores across Europe, Canada, and America, ships worldwide.

Benefits of Hot Yoga

Now that we know about the darker side of yoga and any potential risks, don’t let that scare you away! There are many wonderful reasons to practice hot yoga. If you are looking to intensify your experience while practicing yoga, taking your practice into the heat will challenge your body and your mind.

Some of the great benefits we can get from practicing in the heat include; a cardiovascular workout (your heart will have to work harder in the heat), increased range of movement, reduced joint and muscle pain and stiffness, the heat helps you to sweat and detoxify the body as breath and asana will stimulate the digestive system and pump the lymphatic system.

Anyone who practices yoga or any other holistic health discipline knows that the body is a fantastic and powerful machine. The body is designed to self-heal, but it’s important that we work to create the right environment to allow the body to do the work it’s designed to do.

Our body keeps us healthy by eliminating waste and chemicals that we do not need, the body does this through our five major organs that are responsible for this cycle.

We call these our detox pathways. Hot yoga is a great way to wake up our detox pathways, especially if they are sluggish. “Detox” is a popular and trending word, but the body does perform detoxes everyday, on its own.

Let’s see how hot yoga can benefit our bodies and stimulate our detox pathways which are: our skin, lungs, kidneys, colon, and liver.

1. The benefits of sweating and our skin

Our skin is the largest organ in the body, giving it a big job to do. Our skin excretes toxins that are found in the body, which is often why we break out or experience skin conditions or flare ups when the body is in the process of detox.

Health really starts from the inside out. Therefore, sweating is crucial for optimal function of the body and allowing the process of detoxification to happen through the skin. Hot yoga helps with water retention, those who struggle to sweat even when doing cardio, and getting your sweat on will give you a mood boost that can be seen in the skin. This is often nicknamed the “yoga after glow”.

2. Our lungs and toxin elimination

Toxins are found everywhere, in cleaning products, in make up, and in the air, so if you are breathing in a lot of toxins everyday due to your environment or your job, it is important to keep the lungs healthy to be able to eliminate those toxins.

Start my replacing your toxic household and beauty products with natural ones as much as possible and consider changing your lifestyle, especially if you smoke. (Quit that stuff)

Our lungs are responsible for filtering out carbon dioxide, fumes, mould, and airborne toxins, therefore exercising is great for optimising the lungs. Hot yoga helps to strengthen the lungs as deeper longer breaths are needed to survive and thrive in a hot environment.

Yoga teachings and breathing techniques, the conscious manipulation of breath known as Pranayama, proves to be excellent for lung health and detoxification, and these practices are encouraged to be performed daily. Even outside of the yoga studio, breath work is important for the lungs, stress reduction, digestion, and overall health.

3. Water consumption and our kidneys

The kidneys are responsible for filtering our blood and they help to release toxins from the body through the urine (peeing). This flushing of the kidneys is crucial and we must make sure that we are consuming enough water (filtered water) in order to aid this detoxification process.

Taking hot yoga classes will make you sweat so it’s important to replenish the body by drinking lots of water. Replacing electrolytes is important too and coconut water is the way to go. Raw coconut water is great, get one with no added sugar and make sure to read the label. Don’t drink gatorade or any sugary “health” drinks after your hot yoga class or any class for that matter. Stick to filtered water, water with lemon or coconut water.

4. Yoga for digestive health and the colon

The digestive system and the colon, also commonly known as the gut or the gastrointestinal tract, is hugely responsible for our overall health and wellbeing. A sluggish digestion system, and constipation affects many individuals, poor diet and lifestyle choices are usually but not always the culprits.

However, if you are experiencing chronic constipation, you should seek professional help. Find yourself a holistic partitioner who will find a root cause of the issue and not just hand you a laxative and have you on your way.

Ways to improve digestion, bowel movements, and overall colon function: get moving, sweat, twisting asanas in yoga are excellent for digestion stimulation, breath work, and stress reduction. All of these benefits can be accessible for you if you practice hot yoga. If hot yoga is too much for you, all of the same benefits can be found in a non heated yoga class.

5. Yoga and the all important liver

The liver is arguably the most important of all of the organs as a detoxification pathway. The liver is responsible for filtering blood from the digestive tract before it allows the blood to move through the rest of the body.

The liver allows the body to metabolise nutrients, breakdown fats and cholesterol, filters the blood, eliminates chemicals and heavy metals, and more. The liver can get stressed out and become overworked and this can impair liver function.

There are many yoga postures that directly work to stimulate the liver such as; Locust, Frog, Downward facing dog, and Garland pose, but those are just a few. The Pranayama or Kyria (cleansing practice) called Kapalbhati will also work to improve liver function.

The Bottom Line:

After breaking down the risks, benefits and a bit of the history surrounding hot yoga, if you take anything away from this article it should be this: know your body, listen to it, treat it right and do what makes you feel great!

You know your body better than anyone, that means also better than your doctor or the internet. You cannot trust everything you read. The best way will always be to listen to your personal experience.

Remember that there will always be many schools of thought on any given topic, you should be the one to decide what to do with you body.

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Jasmine Melrose

Director & Founder of DECO the Blog

Jasmine Melrose is a Toronto native living in Amsterdam. Once a professional dancer, her passions include movement, fitness, yoga, healing, and all things vegan. Jasmine is a 500-hour trained yoga teacher, who loves to get you deeper into your practice. She is also a certified barre teacher who loves making raw vegan, guilt-free and good-for-you treats. Check out her recipes and articles on everything from fitness to yoga, to notes on a journey towards healing.

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