Technically speaking Hot Yoga is any style of yoga done in a room that is heated. It has exploded in popularity due to its appeal to a broad range of people and its many health benefits.
Hot Yoga’s Roots
Hot Yoga’s roots are traced back to Bikram Choudhury. His guru sent him to teach yoga in Japan (from India) and he was cold so he brought heaters into the room, intending to replicate the hot, humid climate of India, where yoga originated. As he continued to travel the world to bring yoga to more people (at his guru’s request) he developed a specific sequence of poses that he felt addressed the majority of health issues he commonly saw and was accessible to beginners. This was “Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class” or the “Original Hot Yoga” a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises performed in a room heated to 40C and 40% humidity.
Bikram popularized his style of hot yoga in Los Angeles in the 1970s and gained a strong following. By the 2000s you could find a Bikram Yoga studio in about 40 countries worldwide.
While “Bikram Yoga” was the only style of Hot Yoga for many years, the practice has since diversified and evolved.
The Evolution of Hot Yoga
As instructors and entrepreneurs began to experience the benefits of performing asana in a heated room, they saw the opportunity to introduce different styles of yoga to the “hot room” new schools emerged that offered variations in class length, temperature, humidity, the sequence and poses. These variations cater to different preferences, appealing to a wider audience and resulting in the rapid growth of “hot yoga” worldwide.
In the current yoga landscape a “Hot Yoga” class will deliver a wide variety of temperatures, postures, teaching and yoga styles, so it’s important to ask questions or dive into a studio’s website in order to find out if it’s what you’re looking for. Different styles will offer different poses, intensity levels and benefits.
Benefits of Practicing in a Heated Room
Regardless of the type of Hot Yoga class you choose to attend, practicing yoga in a heated room can result in the following benefits:
-Enhanced Flexibility/Mobility:
The heat in a hot yoga class helps to warm up the body and muscles more quickly resulting in an increase of mobility, making it easier to move into poses. This is especially appealing to those with tight bodies, pain or injury.
-Enhanced cardiovascular benefits:
The heated room results in an increased heart rate, this offers additional cardiovascular benefits and makes the body work harder resulting in higher calorie burn/energy expenditure.
-Improved immune function:
increased body temp can kick your immune system into high gear, making it work more efficiently.
-Detoxification:
the heavy sweating induced by the hot room can help the body detox of heavy metals (especially if you are someone who has high exposure to heavy metals)
-Improved circulation and blood flow:
in the heated room vessels dilate (expand) and blood will move more freely, improving circulation, this increased blood flow brings increased nutrients to tissues that may aid in their healing. This is further increased by the yoga postures that will impact the speed and volume of blood moving through the body.
-Mental & emotional benefits:
Like other forms of yoga, “hot yoga” offers mental and emotional benefits such as stress relief, improved concentration, and self awareness. The challenge of the heated room can enhance these effects, as it requires a high level of focus, determination and mental endurance.
-Physical Challenge:
The hot room adds an extra layer of challenge that can be very satisfying to those looking for more intense exercise and those who like pushing their physical limits
-Community benefits:
According to psychological research, facing a “shared challenge” or “shared pain” increases a sense of solidarity in groups and can also boost group cooperation.
The challenge of the hot room helps to form stronger bonds between participants resulting in friendships and community (which enhances wellness)
Final Thoughts
Practicing yoga in a heated room can enhance the benefits of this already great practice. Before diving in, having clarity on what you’re looking to get out of your practice may help you in choosing a style or studio to practice at.
Always come hydrated, and enjoy the journey!
Meg