As someone who attempts to stay relatively active, I do my best to get in a good sweat as much as possible. I usually avoid group exercise classes though, since I basically turn into a wheezing duck whenever I engage in anything that gets my heart rate up. To avoid embarrassment, I usually just swear in pain to the yelled instructions of Jillian Michaels in the privacy of my room. I do like to try new things every once in awhile though, so I figured I would seek out a fitness trend that I’ve seen a lot about lately – hot yoga. The name is pretty self-explanatory; you do yoga in a hot room, releasing a bunch of toxins stored up in your body, and loosening up your muscles. As hesitant as I was, I dragged my reluctant boyfriend along with me, and we went to Goodlife Fitness to try out a session.
1) You will sweat, a lot.
This may seem like an obvious point to mention, but I still have to include it. Now I generally sweat pretty easily in even the mildest warm temperatures, but my body wasn’t prepared for the amount it was about to endure. Picture this: you’re exercising peacefully, but in an oven, inside the core of the sun. The temperature starts out hot, and rises steadily the entire session, so you’re like a turkey being basted for Thanksgiving dinner, and it feels like a demon is wrapping you in a hot embrace the entire time you’re expected to twist your body like a pretzel. My suffering champ of a boyfriend ended up looking like he took a quick swim by the time we were done. Pro tip: bring a towel to mop up the rainfall that your body will produce.
2) The cost is workable depending on where you go.
A downside to exercise classes is that they cost money. Money is something that many young adults (i.e. myself) lack. Luckily, many places take this into account and offer students a discount on yoga (e.g. Bikram Yoga, 15% off at Queen Street Yoga) and other forms of group exercise ($7 per class at Laurier). At Goodlife Fitness, your first hot yoga class is free. This is a very encouraging factor, since making something free (that’s also good for you) pretty much ensures that I’ll be there.
3) It made me feel relaxed (after the fact).
Even though it’s pretty brutal if you’re not used to yoga, an overly hot room, or a combination of the two, I gotta say my muscles and entire body felt pretty relaxed after we were all done. I’m basically an inflexible, creaky tin-man most of the time, so I can safely say that I felt like this actually did something to help me.
4) Hydration is key.
Because of the energy you’ll be exerting and the amount you’ll be sweating, it’s incredibly important that you stay hydrated before, during, and after. We took giant water bottles with us and made sure we chugged H2O the entire time. And trust me, you’ll want to.
5) Wearing the right clothes makes a huge difference.
Having the right gear to wear is always essential no matter what form of exercise you’re engaging in, but especially for an activity where you’ll be stretching and sweating. Wear something designed to be a bit more breathable, and avoid 100% cotton-based clothing since it’ll absorb your sweat and feel heavy. Ladies, go with a form-fitting crop top and sports bra to avoid a baggy shirt hanging over your head when you’re doing different poses. Long sleeves will make you want to claw your eyes out, so I wouldn’t recommend those either.
6) Also bring a yoga mat, like this one:
It doesn’t matter what kind of yoga mat you get, but it’s advisable that you invest in one of your own. Some places, like Goodlife, offer their own mats, but those ones are generally more…unpleasant. They tend to have a nose-wrinkling musty smell, are sticky, and are covered in the remnants of other people’s blood, sweat, and tears. You can nab yoga mats online or even at Walmart for a reasonable price, so you don’t have to break the bank to stretch out your muscles.
7) It isn’t as easy as it looks.
I consider this an unfair point, but most people that I’ve seen do yoga, make it look so damn effortless. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no sense of balance and struggle to touch my toes on a good day, so it takes a lot of effort and technique to be decent at yoga. Adding in the heat and the amount you’re sweating just ups the difficulty tenfold. It was hard to focus on anything but the temperature, and the moisture from my sweat made it harder to hold different positions. To the people who are already mastered yogis, you have all of my respect. It certainly isn’t easy. 8) At the end of it, I still felt encouraged to do it again.
As uncomfortable as the entire experience was at points, and despite the overwhelming desire I had to jump into an air conditioner, I’m still happy that we gave hot yoga a shot. It felt like I really was doing something genuinely good for my body, and feeling so relaxed after the fact was a nice perk.
Final thoughts:
Hot yoga is an experience like no other, and you’ll definitely feel like you’re doing your moves on top of a frying pan, but if you bring a buddy along with you to try it, you just might enjoy the challenge it brings. Take out the heat, and I think a daily yoga session is something I’d consider implementing into my own daily routine. So make those yoga pants that you wear to class live up to their name, and bring your fab little booty to one of the many yoga sessions offered around the city!