Anyone tried hot yoga? Like it?

[MaliceInWanderland]

I'm debating a class this evening as it does appeal to me. Just wondered if anyone else does it and if you recommend it?

Thanks

I tried it and failed miserably. I was pretty good at yoga at the time, ate well, was well hydrated etc but I felt so awful afterwards I had to quit. I struggled through and completed maybe 3-4 classes? I changed to fitness yoga and got on so much better with that. Plus I could breathe and my water stayed cold.

Some people there went loads (e.g 30 day challenges) and had no issues so I think it's quite person dependent. I hate too hot summers etc so clearly it's not for me. Give it a go and see how you get on?

I also got told off for sitting down for some water mid way through when I felt a bit giddy. I can't live by those kind of rules lol. Maybe my class was a bit more militant than others though.

Not for the faint hearted and you really do need to ensure that you prepare adequately with electrolytes. I used to do 2/3 classes a week in 40 degree heat. The first few are brutal (don’t be surprised if you can’t make it through the full thing or become light headed) but after that you begin to acclimatise.

I found the heat helpful with chronic pain but no longer practise as I don’t believe that it’s as beneficial as it’s sold to be. A regular yoga class is fine for mindfulness and I do Pilates for exercise/toning up nowadays. Nobody needs to sweat out their ‘toxins’ or get borderline heat stroke to help with their mental health, looking back I think it’s all a bit ridiculous now

Very easy to over stretch and hurt yourself in an artificially hot room. I wouldn’t recommend it at all.

I think it’s very instructor dependent too - it does seem to attract the militant types on a whole (hell would freeze over before someone tells me off for sitting down!) but equally there are also some more relaxed ones out there. You do really need to do your research OP

My yoga teacher friend says exactly the same, that it’s a potentially dangerous short cut to poses people aren’t ready for. She’s quite evangelical about it. I do know two people who do hot yoga regularly, too, and both claim it’s profoundly unpleasant as experiences go— one does it because of chronic pain issues he feels it helps him with, the other has a fairly pronounced eating disorder, and I feel it’s something to do with the self-punishing element of that.

Both these friends have met through me, and attend the same hot yoga class, and both have said to me separately that they’ve never noticed one another because they’re putting themselves under so much strain in the class. One says she spends it trying not to be sick.

Tried it once years ago as part of a GroupOn type thing. It was a lot more expensive than a regular yoga class and I did not feel the extra cost was justified personally. I also wasn’t keen on the communal showers after, although that was probably just the specific venue I went to!

I love it. You need to be hydrated and feeling well to start with. You will sweat buckets so bring a towel and a bottle of water. Most women wear a sports bra and leggings; flapoy clothes will be annoying. A proper teacher won't mind if you need to take rests. It can be a bit of a similar nuisance to going swimming in that afterwards you have a bag of damp things to wash otherwise they'll smell, and ruined hair etc. I feel amazing afterwards- all endorphins- and it is really nice for skin health too.

Tried it a few times. Never acclimatised, felt pretty ill at the end of every session, so that's hardly incentive to exercise when it's hard enough already.

Also there was a very thin and exhibitionist man who made sure he took up central position in the front row. That's fine, but his very short shorts were not. Especially when one has to sit down or pass out while they're bending over in front of you. 🤢

I go once or twice a week and I love it! Plenty of water and a towel and take a break if you need to.

It’s awful for skin health and is the first thing that DD’s dermatologist told her to stop doing when she developed body acne. Too much salt and warm bacteria lying on your skin for an hour = problems. The nice glow you get is simply because you’ve been sat in extreme heat for an hour

I love it. If you try it, I’d suggest making sure you rest before you start feeling wobbly. Sip water when you want (some instructors discourage this, weirdly, but when you are starting out it helps). Try to stay calm about the heat and remind yourself that you are there in a hot room because it’s hot- it’s not a bug- so you can relax into it.

Wear as little as possible. I feel too hot in anything with sleeves or that covers my upper chest- a vest or crop top is the way to go. Nothing baggy or flappy as it will get sweaty and irritating.

Take a towel for your mat. The grippy yoga ones are great but not worth shelling out until you know whether you like it.

I tried it and saw someone pretty badly injured during the session, which was over crowded and poorly supervised (no way that one yoga instructor could ensure everyone’s poses were correct when there were so many in the room). I didn’t go back.

It depends on how hot you mean. Doing yoga in about 30 is really ok. You'll need an insulated flask to keep your water cold. You'll also need to make sure you're comfortable enough in what you're wearing as long sleeves and trouser legs may be too hot to keep on. You might also want some liquid chalk for grip.

Doing yoga over 40, particularly if it's Bikram or Bikram style, I wouldn't recommend. Yes, it's very exhilarating. But as PP have said, you could easily end up injuring yourself. I pulled a hamstring in there myself - which is not an insignificant annoyance.

This is the downside for me- most men are there to do the class and then get on with their lives, however some men will think it's manly to come in stinking, some men are annoying grunting exhibitionists in short shorts, and the odd one is there to peer at women in their sports bras. I just don't sit near any of them now.

I tried it on Sunday and found it very challenging, I also met friends for a drink afterwards and got absolutely shitfaced off half a pint of cider 😂

A few years ago I watched a Netflix documentary about hot yoga. From what I can remember the man who started it all off was a self-appointed guru/con man type who was sexually exploiting women in his classes.
I have been practicing yoga regularly for about 40 years but I've never tried hot yoga so obviously I can't speak from experience.
My feeling about it is that you get a buzz because the heat causes physiological stress which triggers your endorphins etc and makes you feel as if you've had a hard exercise section. But it's the heat which is hard on your body and not the physical exertion in and of itself.

Your feeling is correct - that’s the exact science behind it

I do a class once a week. It does not sound like most of the above. She always tells us to take things at our own pace and will not let us do poses that we are not capable of. Although she does push us to try and improve. So she has a beginners class before you move to a flow class and she will not let you do full chataranga if she thinks you are not ready. I'm still not ready!
I have a drink when I need and rest out in childs pose when I need.
She also reduces the heat at the front of the room for those of us that can't take it too warm. It may be because she is also a woman of a certain age 😁
I love my class.

Thank you 🤗
My other feeling about yoga is that people who are extremely good at it perhaps shouldn't do too much of it. What I mean is that 'naturally very flexible' = hypermobile = at risk of joint instability.

Horrible. Tried it once. Never again. A smelly sweaty room full of men, infinitely pleased with themselves, and anorexic women thrilled to be sweating off another imaginary pound.

I've booked a spin class this evening instead 😀

At least you'll be sweating because of physical exertion and not just because it's a hot room 🤠

@beergiggles ha true!

The hot yoga class is 90 minutes long and reading some of these comments - I don't fancy dying this evening if I can avoid it