5 Things You Should Know Before Your First Hot Yoga Class
Hot yoga has exploded over the last decade. Small towns. Big cities. Hot yoga rooms are everywhere. You may have done a yoga class or two, and now you're interested in trying this hot yoga thing. There’s a few things you should know before jumping in so that you feel ready for your first hot yoga practice.
There are different styles of hot yoga.
If you go to a hot yoga class, it’s likely you’ll end up in either a Bikram style or a Barkan style. Bikram Yoga, also called 26 & 2 or Hot 26, is a set sequence of 26 asanas done twice. The asanas are done statically with long holds, 60-90 seconds. It’s tough and builds a lot of strength. Barkan Yoga utilizes some of the traditional hot yoga asanas and adds vinyasa, or flow, in the set sequence. If you like to flow, this is a good class to try.
It’s also possible that the class is called Hot Vinyasa or Hot Mix. All that means is that it’s not a set sequence and the teacher will plan something new for each class.
The room is hot.
Some yoga rooms are heated up to 106 with 60% humidity. That’s hot. So pay attention to what it feels like. You’re going to be rolling sweat. If you don’t like to sweat, try hot yoga and become acquainted to the satisfaction of rolling the sweat off in the heat.
Bring a towel
You can buy yoga mat towels that fit your mat perfectly. These are nice because they prevent you from slipping on the mat from your sweat. If you don’t have a yoga mat towel, a normal towel will do. You’re going to sweat more than you think, so a towel is nice to dry off with as you go.
Hydrate the day before.
Guzzling water will fill your belly with water instead of saturating your tissues. A belly full of water will be uncomfortable during your practice. Bring a water bottle with some cold water to cool you down if you need a sip, but don’t gulp water during or before practice.
Some people go really hard
If you see someone next to you going really hard in their practice, don’t feel like you have to keep up with them. You don’t even have to keep up with the teacher. I’ve had people rest in child’s pose for 15 minutes during a class before. It takes confidence to rest while other people are going wild around you. Give yourself permission to rest.