Hi all!

So, at the end of Feb this year I decided to do Hot Yoga for at least 4 days a week (90 minutes for each session). In March, DH and I went on a bike ride. And my bike ride was MISERABLE -- out of shape, huffing, puffing -- I made it 14 km and that was it.

So, yesterday I decided not to go to Hot Yoga (hey, with 4 sessions a week, I can pick and choose the days!). But I thought I'd get out on the bike instead. I was a bit apprehensive. I mean, I had such a miserable time in March and we all know that although Hot Yoga is said to be a cardiovascular activity, I certainly had my doubts...

WELL, I pounded out 30 km (THIRTY) in less than 90 minutes. Including off-road, gravel, and hills...I could have gone another 20, seriously, but it was DARK outside by that time...today I did my class and had no problems...

O.M.G.

I NEVER really believed that Hot Yoga gave a good cardio workout, but I'm telling you, I sure proved this wrong yesterday!!!

I'm TOTALLY stoked!



Kira

Nice!

Way to go, girlie!!

Is Hot Yoga a specific kind of yoga? A DVD perhaps? sounds interesting. I was actually wondering if yoga would hep cardiovascular health!

Hi Ms Paris! Hot yoga is a series of 26 poses done in a heated, humidified room. It is an athletic form of Yoga and MAN do you sweat, cause the room is 105F and 40% humidity!!!
There are other athletic forms of yoga -- particularly Power Yoga or Vinyasa Yoga. Some are also done in hot rooms, but can also be done in cold rooms.

I personally would look for a studio in your area that offers a beginners class if you want to take Yoga in general cause then you can have your form and everything corrected and checked. Then you can move onto a video knowing you are doing yoga properly and are getting the benefits.

IF you are interested in Hot Yoga, then check for Bikram's Yoga (google or your yellow pages) or " Hot Vinyasa" or "Hot power yoga". If a regular room is more appealing and you want to do this at home with a dvd, then look for "Vinyasa" or "Power yoga" or "Flow yoga", cause these forms move you from one pose to another with minimal breaks. Which is what really gets your heart rate going!!!

Let us know how it goes!

Kira

You are totally awesome!!

I've been doing a yoga program in my aparment and it's been around 75-80 degrees for the past few days--hot enough for me! That sounds interesting though!

That's a good suggestion about the class though. I will check it out once the semester starts and I have access to the campus rec center.

Thanks, Ms Wonder!

And Ms Paris, seriously check it out. I think with Yoga you kind of have to know what you want to get out of it. If you are looking for meditation and improving your energy flow with the universe (some people do!!!), the form that might be most appealing would be Kundalini which focusses on chanting and breath control and meditation. If you are looking for a gentle stretching and to sort of relax at the end of the day with some beginner type stretches that flow but you go at your own pace, Traditional Hatha yoga would be for you. If you want to perfect, say, your form and balance and flexibility and try meditation through holding poses for long periods of time, then Iyengar-style Hatha yoga is for you, cause it is for beginners and you use straps and blocks and such to assist you. This form is like meditation through physical holding of poses. If you want a boot camp butt kick and you could care less about Ohmmmming your way to Nirvana, then Vinsaya or Ashtanga (aka Power Yoga) is for you. And if you want to sweat alot and like doing the same thing over and over and OVER again in a hot hot room, then Bikram's is for you!

Just try it -- you'll get hooked once you see what you can do. And what you WANT to do is a great motivator, too...let us all know how it goes! And don't forget, if flexibility and balance are really what you want, then 4 times a week or more is generally thought to be most beneficial (think of it this way -- you can't run a 5k if you run only once a week!), so the beginner class would be a great way to start! And look for the Gaia series of Yoga DVDs -- you can get them at Chapters (our big Canadian Bookstore chain) so you should be able to get them on eBay or at your big bookstore chain too.



Kira

So much info Kira, Thanks!

I imagine I'll be fairly restricted based on my schedule (which is insane during the semester) and based on what the rec center has to offer (it's just a university rec center, so...) I can't go to an outside center just because of money issues-Plus I already pay through students fees for the rec center at school!

Right now, I've started to do this Namaste Yoga program that's on FitTV. I DVR it, I think it's on at 7am or something. It's definitely a workout, and there are a few things I can't do (balancing my entire body weight on my hands), but it explains everything really well, and I love love love it. I can already feel like I'm getting more flexible even after only doing it three times!

AWESOME!!! Just keep at it -- you'll be surprised at your progress!
And classes at the rec center are going to be wonderful, too, cause you'll get the corrections that'll help you keep on doing this at home properly and correctly...

and
Kira