Hot moves that slim
It is literally the ‘hottest’ thing in the fitness circles. Hot yoga, which involves performing yoga asanas in a room that’s heated to up to 50 degrees Celsius with a humidity of 40 per cent and above, is becoming the favourite of fitness-conscious celebs like Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and even Jennifer Aniston.
The basic principle behind this type of yoga, is that the heat pushes the muscles to work harder and therefore, achieve better results. “Essentially, hot yoga comprises a 90 minute long workout with about 26 asanas and some pranayama techniques,” shares Chandrakant, a yoga practitioner who trains TV artistes in Mumbai. “These asanas include a whole range of bends, twists, turns and even sitting postures that help to increase flexibility and add balance to one’s body,” he adds.
Hot yoga traces its origins to Bikram yoga, another popular branch of yoga that was founded by popular yoga exponent Bikram Choudhury. Apparently, even Bollywood stars like Kareena Kapoor and Malaika Arora Khan are said to have tried out hot yoga techniques to maintain their svelte figures.
“Basically it is like sitting in a sauna and performing yoga,” laughs Niyati Thakkar, a yoga instructor and personal trainer. She elaborates, “What happens is that the temperature is gradually raised to allow the body to get accustomed to the heat. Eventually, this leads to a lot of sweating and ultimately weight loss. Another benefit of hot yoga is that because of the sweating it causes the toxins to be flushed out of the system and helps improve blood circulation and immunity. Since breathing exercises are also involved here, this helps clear the nasal chambers and stop occurrence of ailments like cold and sinus.”
However, experts caution that hot yoga is not for everyone. “It is better that one gets a green signal from their doctors before they enroll for a session, because often people aren’t able to withstand the heat and this can lead to complications,” says Chandrakant.
Hygiene is another important factor. “As participants tend to sweat a lot, it is better for them to wear loose, cotton clothing and carry their own mats and other gear. The heat also causes the body to lose moisture so they need to drink adequate water before the workout otherwise they will experience severe cramps,” advises Niyati.
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