Hot Yoga; Is It For You?

hot yoga; is it for you?

I don't know what it is about certain sports and fitness classes but people seem to think that they need to be good at it before joining a class or practice session. Yoga is one of those types of exercise that when you ask people about it they say things like 'Oh, I'm not flexible enough to do that'. Surely going to a class means that you will practice that sport/exercise style to become good at it?!
I am talking about Yoga in particular because I recently tried Hot Yoga for the first time. I have never been a 'Yogi' as such but I have been to Vinyasa Yoga classes before and absolutely loved it, so when I was invited to try out a Hot Yoga class in London I couldn't really turn down the opportunity to have a go.

(Image from Google)

The class I attended was a Vinyasa Hot Yoga class held at Marshall Street Leisure Centre, London. The 45 minute class was at lunchtime, 12.15-1pm.
I arrived a little early as I wasn't sure what to expect when I arrived (I didn't realise it was held at a leisure centre before arriving so I arrived dressed and ready to go). As I walked in to the room where the class was being held I expected the room to be really hot, but to be honest it wasn't too hot. It was a temperature that you are be able to sit and feel comfortable in in a t-shirt. I was one of the first there so I introduced myself to the instructor, grabbed a mat and found a space. The instructor asked me the usual questions- if I had any injuries and if I had done yoga before. She seemed lovely and was very welcoming.
Once people had arrived and the time came to start she explained what kind of yoga we were doing (Vinyasa) and said that she doesn't stand and show the poses; instead she talks through the flow and comes round and corrects form, etc. I thought fair enough and we began.
The flow went by quickly and before I knew it time was up and it was time to leave!

(Image from Google here)

My thoughts...

From the beginning of the flow I could feel the heat a little more but it wasn't too hot that it wasn't possible to continue; I was just a little sweatier than I would be normally. I was always under the impression that Hot Yoga meant that you would be sweating A LOT and that it would be almost unbearable. It isn't like that at all, which is good! The flow was strong, fast-paced and challenging.

I liked the style of yoga that was taught and I liked that it was challenging and quite hard to do. I would maybe not advise complete yoga beginners to go as it was quite a fast and powerful flow and as the instructor wasn't doing to poses I know I would have struggled to keep up and manage it if I didn't already know most of the poses and had done yoga before. My criticism would be that the instructor could show more of the poses (I didn't know all of them) and spend a little more time on this and holding the poses to ensure everyone knew what to do and was doing them correctly. The flow was quite quick so we didn't hold poses for too long which meant it was quite easy to get lost in the sequence.
However, I personally did enjoy the fast-paced side of things as I do like a challenge and it certainly was a challenge!

So is Hot Yoga for you? Basically, if you like yoga then yes it is for you. It is exactly the same as normal yoga, just a little warmer and sweatier!
If you are in central London and fancy giving Hot Yoga a go then head to the Marshall Street Leisure Centre and give it a go!

Amie xx

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THE GIRL BEHIND FITNESS FORSTER

My name is Amie and I am the face behind Fitness Forster.
I am a freelance recipe developer, content creator and qualified personal trainer. I developed this website to share my passion for healthy recipes, fitness and travel.

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