Is Hot Yoga Good for You?

At age 15, I attended my first yoga class with my dad, who’d been happening and on about how significantly better he felt mentally and bodily since he began practising. His ranting obtained me curious, so I agreed to check out a 90-minute sizzling yoga class with out a lot of a clue what I used to be getting myself into. (I’ve since turn out to be an authorized yoga trainer.)

About 20 minutes into the category, I used to be gasping for air, combating the urge to both go out or hurl.

“This may’t really be good for you—why do these individuals wish to torture themselves like this?” I questioned. However by the point class was over, all of it made sense. I left that room feeling gentle as a feather—energized, but relaxed—and I knew I needed to do it once more.

Many individuals I’ve spoken to have had related experiences with sizzling yoga—it has considerably of an addictive high quality. And on prime of the sensation you may have after a category, it’s presupposed to have much more advantages than conventional yoga, like burning extra energy, eliminating extra toxins (dangerous bodily substances), and rising your potential to stretch within the poses.

However the fact is, analysis exhibits sizzling yoga in all probability isn’t any higher for you than practising yoga at normal temperatures. The truth is, there are even some dangers related to sizzling yoga it’s your decision to bear in mind.

1. You’re not likely sweating out toxins

Many individuals assume while you’re sweating buckets in a sizzling yoga class, your physique is releasing extra toxins, however this merely isn’t true.

Sweat is definitely made up of 99 p.c water mixed with salt, proteins, carbohydrates, and urea (a substance produced by the physique throughout protein metabolism)—not toxins, in line with UAMS Well being.

Toxins depart your physique by way of your liver, kidneys, and intestines. Sweating excessively, say, if you happen to’re taking sizzling yoga lessons typically, might trigger your kidneys to retain water and really maintain on to toxins and recirculate them in your physique, per UAMS Well being.

Sweating an excessive amount of may result in dehydration, in line with the Mayo Clinic.

2. You’re not burning that many extra energy

One of many main promoting factors for warm yoga is that the excessive temps ramp up calorie burn. Growing warmth in your physique can, theoretically, enhance calorie burn. That mentioned, analysis has but to indicate that sizzling yoga really burns extra energy than an everyday yoga class.

In a small Might 2020 examine within the Worldwide Journal of Train Science, 16 individuals accomplished a one-hour sizzling yoga class and later did the identical sequence at room temperature. The researchers checked out joint vary of movement, respiration charge, energy burned, and biomarkers of stress and irritation earlier than and after the lessons. Their outcomes confirmed related enhancements in all measures after the heated and non-heated yoga class.

Due to the small dimension of this examine and restricted time-frame (every particular person solely took one sizzling yoga and one common yoga class), extra analysis is required into long-term results of every sort of yoga.

American health tradition typically facilities round extremes and achievements, so sizzling yoga may be very “sellable.”

3. It’s in all probability not higher to your coronary heart

If you happen to assume you’re doing all of your coronary heart a favor in sizzling yoga, assume once more. Researchers got down to take a look at whether or not sizzling yoga was extra useful for the guts than common room-temp yoga in a January 2018 examine in Experimental Physiology.

For the 12-week examine, 52 individuals have been divided into three teams: One group practiced conventional 26-posture sizzling yoga, one group did the identical postures at room temp, and one management group who didn’t apply.

The researchers took measurements to evaluate blood circulate to the guts earlier than and after the lessons. Outcomes confirmed that each teams practising yoga skilled related coronary heart well being advantages, whereas the management group that didn’t apply noticed no advantages.

4. You danger overstretching

I at all times hear individuals say the warmth in a sizzling yoga class helps them stretch a lot deeper, and that is in all probability true: The warmth does assist your muscle tissues heat up quicker, which can provide you extra mobility than you’d sometimes have—however this isn’t at all times a superb factor.

With heat muscle tissues, you might be much less conscious of your physique’s limitations and find yourself overstretching, which may result in strains and sprains, in line with Williams School.

Muscular tissues which can be too unfastened will even fail to correctly help your joints, which may result in joint ache and irritation, in line with the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how (MIT).

5. It might not be greatest to your physique sort, or dosha

Ayurveda, the Indian well being science of yoga, says the universe is made up of 5 components—aakash (house), vayu (air), jala (water), prithvi (earth), and teja (hearth). From this attitude, every particular person is made up of a particular mixture of those components, normally with some extra dominant than the others.

The dominant components decide your dosha, or energetic sort, and your psychological, emotional and bodily wellbeing are mentioned to be ruled by it. The three doshas and their related components are:

Pitta: Hearth and water Vata: Area and air Kapha: Earth and water

In line with Ayurveda, an individual with a pitta dosha already has the power of fireplace of their biology. These sorts typically gravitate to intense, sweaty train as a result of they take pleasure in it.

However for the pitta-dominant particular person, doing yoga, (or any train) in heated temperatures is taken into account dangerous. Extra warmth in Ayurveda is attributed to issues like stress and nervousness, irritability, burnout, irritation within the physique, pores and skin points, heartburn, indigestion, and extra.

To search out out your dosha, search out an Ayurvedic practitioner for a private analysis or take a web based dosha quiz.

So why can we love sizzling yoga a lot?

Scorching yoga was popularized by Bikram Chodhury within the Seventies, who launched warmth into the apply with the intention of simulating the excessive temperatures in India. Regardless of controversy and allegations towards him, sizzling yoga lives on as probably the most practiced types of yoga within the U.S. at the moment.

Folks love sizzling yoga for various causes. Some say it’s due to the endorphins they get after sweating it out on the mat, others take pleasure in getting deeply into the postures, and a few merely say they simply love the way it makes them really feel.

To not point out, American health tradition typically facilities round extremes and achievements, so sizzling yoga may be very “sellable.” In different phrases, you might really feel such as you’re not likely doing something for your self in an everyday yoga class the place you’re not gasping for air, leaking sweat from each pore, watching and criticizing your self in a full-length mirror in a room that feels extra like a gymnasium than a sacred house so that you can join with your self.

However bear in mind: Conventional yogic philosophy says steadiness (not achievement—that’s your ego!) is the last word objective of the apply. If you’re shifting your physique and connecting to your breath in a yoga class, you’re getting advantages—psychological and bodily—it doesn’t matter what.

The underside line

Fact is, sizzling yoga in all probability isn’t any higher for you than yoga practiced at normal room temperatures. The analysis evaluating the 2 continues to be fairly restricted, however small research appear to point that a lot of the advantages, like improved measures of coronary heart well being, extra mobility, and energy burned, are about the identical.

Scorching yoga can also be harmful for some individuals—you possibly can turn out to be dehydrated or find yourself overstretching to the purpose of damage.

That being mentioned, at all times know your self. If you happen to like to burn off some steam at sizzling yoga as a result of it makes you’re feeling like a weightless unicorn flying by way of the sky, then by all means, apply on. Simply ensure you’re doing so safely—drink a number of water (earlier than and after) and thoughts your physique’s limits.