So the other day I thought I’d try out my own little version of hot yoga. This type of yoga is performed in a room heated to about 105 degrees. Thing is, all I had to do to get my house about that hot was to turn off the air conditioner and the fan. It heated up right quick. Don’t you just love summer? 
So I went through a long power yoga flow — it was about an hour and a half. The results really surprised me.
For one thing, my heart rate was high but I wasn’t panting. I was getting an excellent workout.
Second, I obviously sweated up a storm. The results of this was that I felt pretty detoxed.
Third, afterward I felt very energetic, in ways that I don’t feel after a hard cardio or martial arts workout. I felt rejuvenated. It was great.
Finally, and this one really surprised me, I felt like my joints had just gotten a lube job. I have no idea why I felt that way. Did the heat have something to do with it? It must have since doing my yoga flows with some air and the fan on don’t produce the same feeling for me.
So it sounds great, except for one problem: I now understand what the rug is for in Ashtanga practice. You see, I did an inversion (that’s where you stand on your hands) and I was really surprised when I could do it. But I was even more surprised when my sweaty palm slipped out from under me. Yikes! Thankfully I managed to catch myself before I did a face plant. The rug/sticky mat combo is designed to catch all that sweat and provide a stable foundation for the yoga. I learned the hard way.
So now I have a (hopefully) non-slip sticky yoga mat on order. Never do yoga in the summer without it!
5 responses so far ↓
1 wujimon // Jul 13, 2007 at 8:40 pm
You nuts, man! I dig that Ashtanga Vinyasa stuff, but don’t know about the whole heated Bikram thing… However, I do like your low-cost version of Bikram!
As for the yoga mats, in addition to slip protection, I like the soft squishy surface
2 chessman71 // Jul 13, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Wuji,
Yeah, that stuff is crazy expensive, isn’t it? I don’t get it. Why would people pay so much to do what I did in my living room?
3 Robert // Jul 14, 2007 at 6:21 am
Did a little Bikram stuff a while back. I like to sweat so it fine by me. I noticed that the asanas we did involved the “Chair Posture” alot which also got my legs and knees even more fired up. Good thing I was doing the basic three-level pause horse stance from my Zhaobao/Hulei Jibengong… Nice how Yogacara and Taiji neigong complement each other… Anyhow, hot yoga is a good thing by me. I got tight hams so the heat helps loosen everything up more.
4 james // Jul 14, 2007 at 7:34 am
Well I tried Bikram. I only did it once. Hated it. But yes, yoga is a heat practice and not just about gentle stretching.
5 mozart // Jul 16, 2007 at 1:47 pm
hey dave,
i’m glad you enjoyed your yoga practice. i’m with james, i don’t like bikram/hot yoga, but if you had a good experience then keep at it.
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