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“Hot” Yoga is admittedly a strange concept. Why would you subject yourself to an hour of rigorous activity in tropical temperatures? You’d get different answers from different people, but almost certainly all would report that Hot Yoga leaves an unmistakable feeling of wellbeing. Hot yoga has gained increasing popularity in recent years, most notably amongst people who aren’t typical yoga candidates. Often the individuals who walk in the most skeptical are the ones who end up the most devoted.

It started with Bikram – the famous “Hollywood” yoga consisting of 26 postures, suitable for both beginners and advanced students. Bikram is one of the preeminent teachers responsible for demystifying the yoga concept and bringing it to the Western mainstream. From there stemmed other yoga styles which, though different in approach, borrowed the heat concept and applied it to Vinyasa flow. Power Yoga (hot vinyasa yoga) boasts a healthy following throughout the world. Practiced in tandem, they enhance and reinforce each other.”  Hot Yoga clearly has mass appeal. What is it that pulls the people?

The benefits of Hot Yoga are many. Simply put, practicing yoga in the heat magnifies the attributes of normal yoga – you get more for your hour.

• Heat accelerates the heart rate, making physical activity more cardiovascular – a hot yoga class is a complete body workout from top to toe. The same sequence practiced at normal room temperature would not be nearly as challenging, nor work as deeply into the body.
• Practicing in the heat enhances flexibility, allowing practitioners to stretch further without risk of injury. This is especially beneficial for people who are not naturally flexible or have sat behind a desk for years, their muscles unaccustomed to stretching
• Hot yoga tones the muscles and encourages optimum body weight. Newcomers to Hot Yoga find that their bodies change rapidly, and overall health improves, as does body functioning.
• Because it’s such hard work, there’s a strong endorphin release after a hot yoga practice that instills a sense of peace and wellbeing.
• Each class is a major detox – sweating releases toxins, cleansing the body at a very deep level.
• Hot yoga sequences make yoga accessible to everyone. People who might ordinarily be intimidated by pretzel-postures are pleasantly surprised to find they’re capable of way more than they imagined.

Beyond the obvious attributes, there’s something less tangible and more spiritual that draws people to Hot Yoga. Much like the Native Americans used sweat lodges as a technique for healing, yoga practiced in the heat has the same effect (though not as extreme in temperature). Hot yoga supports practitioners in letting go of emotional baggage and connecting with spirit. The outer mirrors the inner. As you shed physically, so you shed emotionally.

By Kate Ball

Kate Ball is a yoga teacher and the studio manager at Yoga Zone, Cape Town. To contact Kate, email studio@yogazone.co.za or for more information on Yoga Zone, the teachers, schedules and fees please visit www.yogazone.co.za