benefits of hot yoga

I recently completed a week of “Express Hot Yoga” classes in The Woodlands, TX. My sister, Amber, and I used the buddy system to get there and complete the 50-minute yoga class. I really tried to make it to class as much as I could since I only signed up for a week. Well, a few things came up like my baby sister, Halie, surprising me at home, which called for the weekend off. However, I did manage to get there on Sunday evening just to find out there was no Sunday PM class. Oops, I could have sworn I saw it on the schedule. I wasn’t crazy. The schedule was wrong and the friendly staff offered me three more days for catching their mistake, YAY! I ended up doing seven out of ten days of the 50-minute hot express yoga and I LOVED IT!

I noticed some great changes in just that short time of practicing, so I wanted to share! The class consists of twenty-six postures and two breathing exercises. We started class with the standing series which is 30-minutes of standing postures, followed by the 20-minute floor series. Here are benefits that I noticed:

DETOX: I was literally drenched in sweat at the end of each class. It felt so good to get a good sweat in and flush toxins from my skin. A great detox for my body, glands, and muscles. All the sweat and elimination of toxins brings me to my next point…

REFRESHED SKIN: This reason spiked my idea to share my experience with y’all! I was washing my face towards the end of my week of practice and noticed my skin was much softer. I guess all of the sweat flushed my pores and helped my blemishes disappear; it was amazing! I was thrilled.

STRENGTH: Although you aren’t lifting weights, you are using body weight and an immense amount of core strength to hold these postures. I noticed an overall increase in my body strength along with a tighter core

FLEXIBILITY: On my final day of class, I was so proud of myself after holding the standing head to knee pose. I asked my sister after class if she noticed how I totally rocked that pose and she DID!! Seriously my flexibility needed that week of hot yoga more than any part of my body. I feel like my muscles are always pretty tight and definitely noticed positive change.

CLARITY: The 50-minutes of yoga allows you to clear your mind, focus on the postures and your body and rid of anything that might be going on outside that room. It felt great just being able to concentrate on doing my best in class and really, there is no time to think about anything else because the class is fast paced and focus oriented. There were many times that I fell out of a pose but was very focused and able to get right back in. The instructors are very encouraging.

RELAXATION: After class I felt relaxed and restored. There are many moments before, throughout, and after class to relax your body and mind. It is most definitely a stress relieving practice.

There are many benefits of hot yoga but these stood out to me personally during my ten days of practice. I would definitely recommend trying hot yoga! It gets extremely hot but you can always take breaks or step out of the room if you are feeling overheated. I started to really get the hang of it towards the end of my week and like I said I really did improve over just a short period of time. I made sure to stay hydrated and if you decide to try it, make sure you do too! I hope to get to another class soon. Stay tuned, y’all.