I walked into my first hot yoga class as a New Years resolution on January 1, 2000. It was a Y2K resolution, and I decided I was going to make a change in my life. My asked me to join her. My first class didn't come with a training manual, or a guide book, or even a what to expect brochure. I didn't know what to wear, and Lululemon didn't exist back then. I know Hot Yoga is always attracting new students, so I created this guide to help make it easier for you to join us and sweat safely. Hot yoga is certainly nothing new. This system of yoga is popular worldwide because it works! Purifying the Body I am not a doctor, but after having studied the body for the last 16 years, I have learned one thing: the human body was designed with a built in temperature gauge to torch bacteria and to help cells burn out disease. Sure, we get a fever for a reason, but what about the little things that are draining our precious energy? Not all invaders are strong enough to give us a full blown fever. Sri Pattabhi Jois taught that you must boil the blood to cook out disease. Just like the process of purifying dirty water so that it is safe to drink, one must boil the water within the body to be healthy. The great yogis have taught that one must heat the body through a yoga system that produces a great amount of sweat. Heating up the body for healing is nothing new. "Give me a
📷chance to create a fever and I will cure any disease,” said the great ancient physician Parmenides. The Science of Sweating Did you know that Hyperthermia can be used for healing? Sweating is induced by a process called Hyperthermia. Hyperthermia is when ones body temperature rises higher than normal. High body temperatures are often caused by illness. The use of heating a patient up to induce sweating has been used since the beginning of time. Heat Shock therapy has been discovered to be incredibly healing to the body. Watch this video to learn more here: So, you just got invited to a hot yoga class? Here are my tips to help you Sweat Safely Tip #1- WATER! Drink a lot of water! Pure water- not tea, soda or coffee, not flavored water or ice water, and not sparkling water. You need to drink pure, clean water before a class. I suggest drinking 32 oz. of room temperature water upon waking, and then another 32 oz. of water a 1/2 hour or more before your class. It’s best to use a water filter at home so you can be sure that you are getting pure, clean water without additives or plastic residue. Water to the Hot
📷Yoga practitioner becomes a part time job. The water you drink is not just to replace what you will lose during sweating, but will help improve circulation and assist in the detoxification process. It’s great for weight loss as well! Tip #2- Don't get Delhi Belly! Don’t eat before yoga class. If you take a morning class, wake up, drink your water, and perhaps eat a watery piece of fruit or juice. It’s not a good idea to drink a pot of coffee and have a bagel before your first yoga class. The coffee will raise your heart rate, only making the class more challenging. And that bagel will turn to glue in your stomach and may cause nausea during class. The reason you don’t want to eat before yoga classes is simple: thermoregulation coupled with your rising heart rate might trigger a fight or flight response during class. When the body is in fight or flight mode, our digestion goes on the back burner. This might cause indigestion. We suggest not eating 3-5 hours before class. If you feel hungry, an apple, protein shake, or a banana are wise choices before class. Tip #3- No Bikinis Please! Dress appropriately. We don’t suggest yoga pants for our yoga classes. Yoga pants are the new sweat pants but you might not want to wear them to actually sweat in! There
are some awesome new products on the market made out of
bathing suit material. They are tight and don’t hold the
sweat. For this reason, we don’t suggest wearing cotton and
don’t definitely don't wear a baggy t-shirts. A tank top and
leggings will do. Men do well with swim trunks. But
please, no Speedos. And ladies, please don’t show up in
your bikini. Skimpy clothing might make for a slippery
class. You might be too slippery to hold poses.
Tip #4-
SWEAT Responsibly
Bring a towel. I say this to everyone, and very often, people
brand new to hot yoga show up with a facecloth. Bring a
large beach towel. The towel should cover most of your
mat when you lie down for floor poses. Perhaps bring two
towels. At my studio, we rate our classes on how many
towels are needed to soak up the sweat. Like "two towel Tuesday's". Tip #5- You WILL GET DIZZY Expect to be nauseous, dizzy, or maybe hallucinate. Seems kind of funny, but everyone experiences nausea, stomach upsets, and may even see stars in a hot yoga class. In some ways it’s our fear of feeling this that makes it worse. I try to think that I’m dizzy because the yoga is working. The practice is constantly squeezing the body, and
pushing the blood up to the head. The super high oxygen
levels also can make one feel dizzy. It’s your
choice whether you decide this is a good or a bad
sensation. It’s only a temporary feeling, and the more you
control your breathing, and the stronger your mind, and the
fitter your body gets, the less dizzy you will feel. The
healthier you get from the practice, the more these
symptoms seem to subside. You master your body! Yay
learn more in class!
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