Originating from the ancient Indian culture, yoga stepped its way through millennia to the Western world. Currently, yoga practice is booming making an integral part of a healthy and balanced living concept.
While still focused on body-to-mind harmony, modern yoga has transformed to match the physical and spiritual needs of people living in a fast-paced tech world. A multi-faceted and complex practice, it embraces many styles and techniques. Some of them are more popular than others, and some combine to offer new approaches for different categories of practitioners. Hot power yoga is one such fusion style that kicks into gear.
Hot Power Yoga Explained
Yoga styles largely fall into two broad groups. The first group relies on more relaxed, gentle, and static techniques while the second involves high-intensity, rigorous, and active exercises. Hot power yoga is a combo of two fitness-focused styles:
- Hot Yoga: As the name suggests, it is practiced in an artificially heated environment. You might also come across the term Bikram yoga, yet, they are not interchangeable. Birkman kind is a serious and deep practice done at 105°F (41°C) and 40% humidity. A 90-minute session is built around 26 poses and 2 breathing patterns strictly sequenced in the same order each time. Hot yoga classes, on the other hand, are more dynamic and interactive. Held at lower temperatures from 80 to 100°F (27-38°C), they use a variety of poses and stances;
- Power Yoga: The term “power yoga” emerged in the late 1980s. It was invented and widely promoted by Beryl Bender Birch and Bryan Kest. The style appeared as a stretching technique for athletes, hence the name. A modification of Ashtanga, it was an active workout engaging postures that require a lot of flexibility to be done.
Obviously enough, hot power yoga mixes the principle of both styles into an intense physical workout. Initially meant to build strength and achieve the highest level of energy and stamina, this style uses the elements of Vynasa and Ashtanga with a touch of Iyengar and Raja.
The classes take place in a heated room with an elevated humidity level. Temperatures might vary from studio to studio. Normally, it’s around 89°F (32°C) to warm up the muscles to increase their elasticity and increase overall flexibility and induce sweating to filter toxins away.
Advantages of Hot Power Yoga
Training in sauna-like conditions is a challenge. Yet, it offers a whole number of benefits both to your body and to your mind. So, it’s well worth the strain and is satisfying in the end. Subject to following the right techniques and listening to your body, you can reap the following benefits with hot power yoga:
- Better flexibility: In a hot environment, muscles warm up quicker and tissues become stretchier, making postures easier to do and allowing you to achieve a wide range of motion without injuries;
- Calorie burnout: Intensive training coupled with sweating and heating burns nearly two times more calories per hot power yoga session as compared to conventional one. It boosts metabolism and drives weight loss, especially when combined with a healthy diet;
- Increased endurance: Hot power yoga is based on strengthening exercises and postures that not only help build muscles but also train endurance when done in a challenging environment;
- Improved circulation: Doing poses in an intensive mode and in high heat boost cardiovascular systems and speeds up circulation, thus, bringing more oxygen to all organs and giving your heart, lungs, and muscles an active workout;
- Leveraging metabolism: Any type of physical training burns energy, thus, fueling metabolism. Thanks to a combo of active movement and heat, hot power yoga is especially efficient in driving metabolism, activating the lymphatic system, and decreasing blood glucose levels, which is of great help for people at risk of Type 2 diabetes;
- Nourished skin: Heat opens the pores, sweating removes toxins and cleans the pores, and improved circulation nourishes the skin. All of this makes skin more elastic, toned up, fresher, and smoother;
- Stress and depression prevention: Active workouts tone up and strengthen your body, improve your mood, and relax your mind. Hot power yoga efficiently reduces stress and increases self-control and confidence, thus, inhibiting anxiety and depressive states.
Who Is Hot Power Yoga Good For?
Initially meant rather for athletes, today, hot power yoga is at the peak of its popularity and is good for everyone who wants to be stronger, more flexible, and more endurable. Here is who will benefit from this type of class:
- Power workouters who want better muscle and joint flexibility;
- Those who try to lose some weight and improve their body shape;
- Fibromyalgia, arthritis, corporal tunnel, and chronic pain sufferers who seek relief and want to improve their state;
- Older adults and premenopausal ladies striving to improve their bone density and reduce the risk of injuries, traumas, and fractures;
- Individuals exposed to stressful situations or standing on the verge of depression and seeking to distract their minds from negative thoughts;
- Anyone who wants to gain better control over their bodies and minds and achieve harmony both with themselves and with the outer world.
How to Dive In
Is hot power yoga for you? You’ll never know unless you try. It should be admitted that this style is rather for those who already have some experience, understand asanas, and have mastered the basic postures. If you are an absolute newbie with little to no knowledge of yoga principles and techniques, hot power yoga is not the best option for you.
If you have an idea of what hot power yoga is and are determined to give it a shot, here is how to get started:
- Should you have any chronic states or other health problems, consult with your doctor to find out if you can do hot power yoga;
- Wear light breathable clothing when training to ensure efficient airflow as you sweat;
- To avoid a slippery mat, cover it with a towel;
- Bring enough water to stay hydrated and cool down during a hot session.
To Conclude
Hot yoga has a number of benefits such as “upgrading” your physique, building body strength, leveling up endurance, and honing your body-to-mind connections. As such, it’s a great way to move forward and try something new for traditional yoga practitioners.
However, high heat and humidity might be exhaustive and even dangerous for people with certain health problems or medical conditions. They should treat hot power yoga with extreme care and talk to their doctors before starting.