Saturday: hot yoga @the studio
So, on Saturday instead of returning home after my usual 11:am Ashtanga class, I decided to kill an hour and a few minutes to try the 2:pm hot yoga class I’d been thinking of trying for like two, or three weeks now. (This was a big deal for me, as a result of my first exposure to hot yoga.)
Rewind: About two years ago or something I tried a Bikram hot yoga class. I went with a friend who downplayed the difficulty we were going to face, and also I should have opted for lighter clothing. In any case about 45 min. into that first class I thought I was going to barf. I looked at my friend in an effort to silently communicate that I needed to stop. She looked back at me, and what I heard her say was ‘you can do this’. And after that, somehow, I found it inside myself to stay and finish the class. (What she actually said was, ‘I can’t do this’, but my reaction to what I thought I heard her say, also enabled her to dig deep and find the inner strength to stay.) After that initial class we attended for a few more weeks, on average about 2 or 3 classes per week. And then, one day, someone fainted. It was a Tuesday, about half way through the class, when, from a few mats over there was an audible sigh, and shortly thereafter a girl on the floor. The yoga teacher carried her out and stayed with her until she was revived. At the end of the class the yoga instructor advised us that he was going to institute a new rule. Believing that menstruation was responsible for the faint, the instructor stated that he would like all of the female students to refrain from coming if they are menstruating. His advisement was that the compromised state that menstruation can leave a female body in, renders her, and all of us females more likely to sustain an injury, or faint because of the fluxuation the body undergoes during the menses. After that class the changeroom was quiet. I don’t recall much being said that day, about the fainter, or the menstruation rule. The following class though, when most of us from the previous week had returned, the yoga teacher publically polled the room to see if any of the women present were menstruating. (Naturally) everyone said no. (In fact, I doubt that anyone would have said yes. I am even more certain though, that in that class of almost thirty people, at least one woman must have been at that point in her monthly cycle.) After the class, I recall there being several heated opinions being shared in the changeroom, and some had even made complaints to the front desk. My friend and I decided that it was time to stop seeing this instructor, and neither of us have ever been back to the studio where he primarily teaches.
Ok, back in the present: The studio where I regularly practice, (YogaPlus) has recently undergone renovations to be able to accommodate/ offer hot yoga classes.
I had no interest in hot yoga, or its arrival to the studio, until the posting for this Saturday class. The (truth is, the) fact that the class is led by Scott, is what made me decide hot yoga was worth another shot. (That and I had done some reading on the whole radiant ceiling panel craze, and wanted to see how different than Bikram it was.)
This time instead of feeling like I was standing in front of a heater blowing dry air around me, I found our hot yoga room to feel more like being bathed in heat energy from the sun. Afterward I likened it to being outside in the summertime, except there is no outdoors. The warm air wasn’t drying or difficult to breathe, and the class was really intimate. (I have also been told that Bikram has similar methods for heating their rooms, but I can tell you, the two experiences felt very different . Also, the temperature in the hot room at YogaPlus does not (need to) go up to 105°.
Scott’s classes are always incredible, so really, seeing his name next to a hot yoga offering, was all the impetus I needed to not only brave the heat, but also, kill an hour and change between classes.
It turned out, in the end, that the experience was awesome. We were offered cold towels at the end of our 1hr & 15min spell, and though it was a shock to return back into the outside world after bathing in heat, and dripping with sweat, I can’t wait till next Saturday. I am already thinking about the head space I want to be in when we once more convene in the dimly lit, mirrored studio. I plan on facing myself more, and closing my eyes less.
Hot yoga is not for everyone, and technically, I haven’t done it enough to really be in a position to recommend it, but I am saying that I thought it was pretty damn great.
…there is a fairly decent (quick read) article about the benefits of hot yoga. I’m including it here because it also includes some very good cautionary points as well. http://www.besthealthmag.ca/get-healthy/fitness/the-benefits-of-hot-yoga
Hot Yoga Benefits:
Weight loss and rapid body toning
Muscle toning and strengthening
Increased flexibility and balance
Better sleep and regulating of sleep cycle
Stress reduction / relaxation
Energy and vitality improvement
Slowing of aging process
Appetite control
Helps to curbs anxiety/depression
Helps to improves posture
Aids in proper digestion
Decreases headaches ...and more!
Bikram FAQ: http://www.bikramtoronto.com/faq.htm
(more) hot yoga tips: http://fitness.suite101.com/article.cfm/beginners_guide_to_hot_yoga
not that I want you all filling up my yoga class(es) or anything, but:
http://www.yogaplustoronto.com/
http://www.yogaplustoronto.com/classes.html
http://www.yogaplustoronto.com/RichmondHill/classes.html