Some like it hot

So this morning I ventured out of my comfort zone and tried a hot yoga class. I've been to yoga plenty of times, but never the hot variety, though many friends have raved about it.

This summer, I bought a Living Social deal for 5 yoga classes at Yoga One. At $25, even if I only used it twice I was ahead as a guest class is $15.

In true former journalist style, I procrastinated until the last minute possible to start using my pass. I decided that my extended break out of the office for the holiday would be a great time to use as much of the pass as I could. The studio is in Midtown, which with no traffic, is 20 minutes tops from Casa Burns.

As YOH's website notes, hot yoga is done in room 102-105 degrees (though I think the thermometer read 110 by the end of class) and 50-60% humidity. So basically, it's like a Houston day in August but less humidity.

Upon entering the room with my mat, towel and bottles of water (I took about 48 oz.), the warmth hit me immediately. Participants are encouraged to arrive early to acclimate to the temperature. Seeing as I'd just gotten up about 90 minutes earlier, I enjoyed the chance to lie quietly on the floor. In fact, I would have liked to have just napped right there! I'm one of those that needs to be warm to sleep.

We were encouraged to stay in the room for the whole 90 minutes, and if it got tough at all, feel free to take a break, grab some water, and rejoin when all was good. I only had one point, about 45 minutes in, that I plain needed to just lie down for about a minute. I did take a few more water breaks than the rest of the folks but that was minimally disruptive to the routine.

Our practice consisted of pretty standard poses. Most I had done in other classes before. I noticed the heat in the room made it a little easier to push myself a little further (in fact, I can already feel that some in my legs now!). The breathing is more key in this kind of yoga than others, and once you get the hang of it, feels quite refreshing. I went in still having a little bit of the sinus issues tickling my throat, and those are greatly reduced now.

Another difference: you SWEAT. Boy, you sweat! Like dripping off you as you stand there. Like soak the bath towel through. I don't even think I've sweated that much running! But it felt awesome. I felt so clean. I felt like I didn't want to put any bad food in my body anytime soon. In fact, I didn't get hungry until a good hour after the class, and the scrambled eggs I ate then were the BEST eggs ever. I drank all the water during the class, and another 16 oz. on the way home. I have never felt so hydrated and it feels good!

I'm a little worn out now, but am relieved to know I've gotten my exercise in for the day, so now I can just enjoy the day as it progresses. I have a lot to do on my list today, but I feel pretty peaceful about it.

So I think I'll be going back Thursday morning for another round. Who's in?