I’m sure you have all heard of yoga. You know, the twisting and breathing most of us don’t take the time to do. And I’m sure you have all heard of yoga pants, whether you wear them to practice yoga or not. Well, a type of yoga that has seemed to grow in popularity recently is one to get those sweat glands running. No, not literal running, although this kind of yoga provides similar benefits. I’m talking about hot yoga, also known as Bikram yoga. This popular type of yoga began in the early 1970s by Bikram Choudhury and is based off traditional hatha yoga.
There are many benefits that you fine ladies can get from hot yoga that a treadmill or elliptical won’t. Break out those yoga pants for something other than class and put them to use in a hot yoga class.
It’s getting hot in here
- The hot yoga rooms are set at 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit making it easier for your muscles to loosen up. Have you ever had someone tell you to warm your body up before you start an intense workout? Well this is exactly what the hot rooms are doing. The heat allows your muscles to become more flexible enabling you to be able to stretch further.
Gettin’ swole
- Ladies, you don’t need weights to gain strength for your body. Yoga allows you to use your own body as its own personal gym. While practicing yoga you will use muscles that you never even knew you could use let alone that they even existed. It is also good to strengthen your spine which of course is important in your everyday life.
You make my heart beat
- One of the major benefits of hot yoga is it gets your heart beating fast and your metabolism revving. Practicing yoga in a heated room can even give your heart the same benefits as with running a mile. Your heart is beating that fast without moving from your mat. So you hate running? Drop the running shoes and grab a mat. The hour of balancing and working your muscles in different ways in the heated room can burn up to 1,000 calories. So back to all you ladies who hate running but still spend forever doing it, how long would you have to run to burn that many calories? I’ll let you guys figure that one out.
Sweat it out
- With practicing yoga in a room of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit you are bound to sweat. You could even sit there and sweat. But the stretches used in hot yoga work together to detoxify your body as well as the profuse sweating. The sweating itself flushes and cleanses the body as well as the high heat forcing the skin’s pores to open and get rid of toxins. The heat also works to thin the blood making it easier for the body to flush the circulatory system. You’ll step out of a hot yoga class drenched in sweat and feeling free of all those unwanted toxins.
Mind over matter
- As well as all the physical benefits hot yoga provides there are also mental health benefits. The endurance needed in hot yoga enhances discipline, focus and determination. Just like traditional yoga, hot yoga is an excellent form of relaxation and stress reduction. Those who regularly practice hot yoga also claim that they have better sleeping habits, higher energy and increases their mood overall. Hot yoga is an excellent way to unwind after that brain twisting biology test or a long day at work. Let your mind go and relax for an hour; your body will love you for it.
A quick fix
- With its main purpose being therapy, hot yoga is also a great way to stretch out that sore muscle that’s been bothering or work out those kinks in your back. It also helps prevent further injury and illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, depression and obesity.