In today’s fitness world, there’s a seemingly endless number of various yoga disciplines, many of which can be very different from one another. One particular approach to yoga that has been gaining traction in recent years is hot yoga, which, for many reasons, provides numerous benefits to its practitioners.
Here at Kennedy Fitness: A Jefferson Health Affiliate, we offer hot yoga classes for the Hainesport, NJ community through our Cherry Hill and West Berlin locations. Continue reading to learn more about hot yoga and how it can revolutionize the way you do fitness!
What is Hot Yoga?
In a nutshell, hot yoga involves practicing yoga routines in a highly humid room with the temperature cranked way, with temps in our classes sometimes reaching 105° Fahrenheit. Hot yoga originally grew out of Bikram Yoga, a technique developed out of a variety of traditional hatha yoga techniques.
The Benefits of Hot Yoga
Although the prospect of doing yoga in intensely hot and humid conditions may sound intimidating, practitioners of the method have the potential to reap huge benefits for their body and mind, such as:
Enhanced flexibility
The heat of the steamy environment has the effect of making your muscles more pliable, allowing you to stretch more deeply than you might in an air-conditioned room. Not only is this great for your yoga practice in general, it also helps you avoid injuries during your routine such as pulled muscles.
Greater cardio intensity
By performing your routine in high temperatures, your body will be forced to take extra measures to keep itself cool. Besides deep sweating, you’ll notice your heart rate go up in an effort to push more blood towards the skin to cool you off, giving you a more intense cardio workout.
Reduce Stress & Boost Your Lung Capacity
Focusing on your breathing is a tried and true method of reducing stress. The sweltering heat of a hot yoga workout will get you breathing more deeply and heavily, making it that much easier to keep your mind on your inhaling and exhaling.
Further, as you become accustomed to deep breathing, you can actually train your lungs to hold more air. Deeper breaths cause your lungs to expand more than usual, allowing for more oxygen to enter the bloodstream and reach your other organs.
Burn Major Calories
Any exercise that ups your heart rate will also help burn more calories. In fact, hot yoga, especially when combined with a fast-paced yoga routine, is renowned as one of the most efficient ways of burning off calories quickly and efficiently.
How to Prep for Hot Yoga
Preparing for a hot yoga session is all about hydration. Up to 24 hours before you walk into a hot yoga class, make sure to load up on fluids, especially ones with electrolytes. Also, if you eat before yoga, try to leave a two-hour window between your meal and class for proper digestion.
As far as what to wear, bring clothes that you’re comfortable sweating in, such as a breathable or sweat-wicking fabric —because you’re going to be sweating a lot!
Sign Up Today!
Whether you’re looking for a yoga class or ZUMBA® in your Cherry Hill community, don’t hesitate to get in touch by giving our team at Kennedy Fitness a call today to start revolutionizing the way you do fitness!