Hot yoga is a kind of workout performed inside a room heated to 80-105 degrees F and includes a number of various yoga poses to help stability and rejuvenate the entire body. Many people turn to hot yoga in the hopes of losing extra pounds of fat, but some are doubtful of whether hot yoga can serve as a cardiovascular type of exercise. After all, other kinds of cardio often involve high amounts of movement, so how can executing poses while remaining in place do any good? For those who mistakenly think hot yoga cannot contend with the likes of running and other forms of cardio, read on.
As soon as you enter a hot yoga practice room, your body will be warmed by the intense heat. This sensation can take some time getting used to, but it will also let you stretch your muscles more easily during the poses. Heat also helps to raise your metabolic rate. As you are flexed in a tough position, muscles straining to keep your body in place, you will invariably find that your heart rate is rocketing - potentially even higher than in other cardio workouts! This allows for weight loss and definitely qualifies hot yoga to stand with the rest.
The reason certain individuals may believe that hot yoga does not provide these benefits is possibly due to the fact that some of its practitioners provide an incorrect reason for their weight loss, casting hot yoga in an equally dubious light. An increased heart rate allows your blood to circulate more quickly and causes your body to work harder resulting in weight lost, as mentioned above, but some think that sweating alone causes fat loss. You can lose pounds "miraculously" after one hot yoga class, it is true, but this is only due to lost water weight rather than excess fat. Staying hydrated throughout class is actually very important as you will certainly sweat, but sweating in itself is not what allows for long term results.
Another aspect of hot yoga you should take into consideration is whether you can easily reach an optimal heart rate or not. You only need to reach 60-70% of your maximum heart rate to drop weight, and so if your heart rate is above this percentage during hot yoga, you might wish to work on other activities in warm weather to acclimatize yourself to the additional stress on your system. A high heart rate will still allow you to benefit from better endurance and an improved respiratory system, but if fat loss is a major goal then you might want to allow yourself to adjust earlier on.
Hot yoga offers many benefits to different people, and should be adapted to the individual practicing it as in any form of exercise. If you'd really like to get into the details of hot yoga, then taking the step to becoming an instructor and helping other students get the most out of their practice may be a viable option. No matter your choice, always focus on maintaining a calm mental state during hot yoga rather than pushing yourself beyond what is safe.
Becoming a yoga instructor can be a satisfying and healthier way for you to show others how to enhance their well-being and health. Yoga instructor training begins with practice and study with competent teachers and concludes with receiving your yoga instructor certification.
Obtaining Your Cardiovascular Workout Through Hot Yoga
Comments for this post have been disabled.