12/13/13

Hot Yoga

One of my faithful readers asked what the benefits of Hot Yoga are, so I did a bit of research on the topic even though I had a pretty good idea about it.

I love yoga.  I have never sweated so much standing in one spot.  Yoga itself has tons of benefits ranging from relaxation to flexibility.  And these benefits will carry over to doing Yoga in a warmer environment.

Hot Yoga(or Bikram) is basically Yoga in a heated room(duh?).  The whole point is to get you sweating. Obviously, if you are sweating, you are getting rid of toxins.  This is really a benefit Hot Yoga and I agree with this totally.

Another claim for a benefit is that you are actually burning more calories, which I would say I'm skeptical about because you really aren't raising your heart rate and that is a true measure of burning more calories, in my opinion.  Sure you may lose weight from the beginning to the end of the yoga session but this will be completely water weight, which will come right back once you get hydrated(and if you plan on trying this yoga, be sure to drink lots of water during and after.)

Another claim for a benefit to Hot Yoga is that it increases your flexibility.  This to me makes perfect sense.  When your muscles are warm, they are more flexible.  This is why before working out you should always walk fast or run in order to warm up you muscles before you stretch them.

There probably are some more claims of health benefits, but these were the common ones I saw while doing some research.  If you would like to read some more about Hot Yoga, here are some links:


Huffington Post Article
Livestrong.com
Shape.com

Elizabeth, I hope this answered your question.
Cheers.