Hot yoga is my new favorite way to exercise. Not only do you get in touch with your inner self, but you sweat from every part of your body. I am not kidding here. The room is kept at a warm 105 degrees. That means you are sweating from the moment you walk in to the moment you walk out. But don't get me wrong, I loved every moment of it.
I showed up to class about 15 minutes early to make sure that I got a good spot. I placed my mat in the middle of the room, but still close to the door. Thankfully I was near the door because I got a little bit of the draft from under it during class. Everyone started filing in, chatting with their friends. It was sad that I was alone, but I got the chance to breathe before the hour-and-15-minute workout began. Then, the instructor closed the door and dimmed the lights, telling us to begin.
We started to stretch by letting the body hang and get used to the warm temperature. Then we went on to the half moon pose. Doing a few repetitions of this, I was dripping sweat in places that I didn't even know could sweat. This made our next pose very difficult — eagle pose. The eagle pose is where you stand on one leg while the other one is wrapped around it. With my legs sweating, I kept slipping and could not stay still. I tried to play it off by looking around the room, and thankfully, a few other people were doing the same thing I was, so I didn't feel so bad.
The instructor took us through many other poses in her soft and soothing voice. I felt more and more in touch with my body throughout the entire work out. We worked on our splits, which is nice because I have not done them since I was on the cheer team in high school. We also ended with an ab workout and a five-minute meditation session. The instructor even placed a damp towel on our foreheads to cool us down, which felt amazing!
All in all, I loved this workout. Everyone was so helpful and nice to me. Even though it was the most I have sweated in my life, I have never felt more at peace with myself. If you'ver thought about trying hot yoga, I encourage you to do it! A few recommendations are to stay hydrated before, during and after your workout. Bring an extra towel to wipe off your face during breaks. Finally, keep an open mind and have fun!
Namaste.
