Doing yoga in a heated room loosens up your muscles more quickly than practicing yoga in an unheated room at typical room temperature. Practicing yoga in a heated room can allow your body greater freedom of movement when executing poses and movements, says Moonaz, who's a yoga therapist. She's also the founder of Yoga for Arthritis, which provides training for yoga teachers and students with the aim of serving people living with the set of chronic conditions that comprise the disease. "It warms up all the soft tissue in the body," Moonaz says. "It can be good for people who have yoga experience and who know their limits."
What is hot yoga?
There's no one style of yoga that's known as "hot yoga." Rather, instructors can turn up the temperature in a studio – typically to between 80 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit – for a variety of different types of yoga. Most yoga studios are kept at typical room temperature, in the low 70s.
Then there are yoga styles in which a heated room is standard, not a deviation. These include yoga sculpt, a rigorous approach that involves small weights and lots of cardio, and hot power fusion, which can include a mixture of different styles, such as Vinyasa and Bikram.
Hot yoga isn't for everyone
Not everyone should participate in hot yoga, particularly menopausal and pregnant women, Moonaz says. Women experiencing menopause sometimes experience hot flashes, and practicing yoga in a heated room could trigger or exacerbate those events. Women who are pregnant should also not practice hot yoga, because being overheated can be a health risk during pregnancy. "Being overheated for more than 10 minutes can damage the fetus," she says.
Older people – typically individuals over 65 – are at greater risk for falls and should probably not engage in hot yoga, she says. Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for people older than age 65, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who don't hydrate sufficiently before and after yoga may become light-headed, which could make them susceptible to falling.
People who are new to yoga also should probably not engage in hot yoga until they've established a practice and become familiar with common poses and movements and how they affect their body, Moonaz says. "Hot yoga can be good for people who have yoga experience and know their limits rather than a beginner who isn't familiar with a yoga practice," she says.
Also, hot yoga may pose a risk for people with these health conditions:
A heart condition, Diabetes, Autoimmune disease, High blood pressure issues, Anorexia and Vertigo.
Health benefits of hot yoga
If you aren't in a group that should stay away from hot yoga, doing your practice in a heated room can provide these health benefits, says Judi Bar, yoga program manager at Cleveland Clinic: Iimproved circulation, Skin nourishment, A higher rate of burning calories.
Improved circulation. Doing yoga poses in a heated room gives your heart, lungs and muscles more of a challenge than if you were doing the same movements in a non-heated space. "It can get your heart pumping a bit faster, as if you were taking a fast walk," Bar says. This can help boost your circulation.
Skin nourishment. Improved circulation moves more oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout your body, including your skin. A higher rate of burning calories. When your body works harder – as it does in a hot yoga class – your metabolism revs up. "You're working a little harder, so you can potentially burn more calories," she says.
Before your first class
Before trying hot yoga, you should ask your health care provider whether it's safe to adopt the practice."Checking with them gives you a personal response to what the benefits or potential risks hot yoga could pose to your health," Bar says.
