Why the Heat?!

We aren't that crazy, there is science behind it!

Rachel soaking in the Heat at YTT!

You've probably realized by now we meant it when we said we specialize in HOT FITNESS! For the majority of our classes on the schedule, the room is heated and humidity is added - and we LOVE getting our sweat on! Maybe you think it's crazy - but we assure you, there is a scientific method to this madness and promise, it's sooo good for you!

The #1 reason for the Heat is to warm + soften our body tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons, etc.) allowing them to stretch + reshape safely!

In other words, the Heat acts as a tool that we utilize to access many of the potential benefits of our practice - first and foremost, assisting with increasing flexibility and creating long, lean muscle!

Bikram himself relates this to forging a sword from steel:
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​​"You start with a piece of fine steel and the first thing you do is put the steel in the fire and heat it up. When the steel is hot, it becomes soft. Then you can hammer it and slowly you make it change shape to the sword you want."

​If you try to hammer on cold steel - you'll break your hammer, or ruin the steel. The same is true for your body: if you stretch, stretch, stretch your cold body, you can end up with injuries and/or damage to your body!
​Our goal is to heal and prevent injuries, not create them.

All of the tools we use in the Hot Room serve the purpose of maximizing the potential for therapy and minimizing the potential for injury, and the Heat is no different!

More reasons for the Heat include:
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• Increased oxygen in the blood - allowing increased circulation and nourishment to the muscles and tissues. This creates healthier tissues from inside-out! Keep an eye-out for information about Perfusion!
• Increased hydration - you'll notice a desire to take in more water outside the hot room, because you'll quickly realize that feel better inside the hot room when doing so. You'll start to increase your water intake out of habit!
• Cardiovascular benefit - the heat helps to increase your heart rate, which helps to make Bikram Yoga such an effective 'workout'. Your heart needs to work, too!
• Circulatory system benefit - in the heat, your veins dilate to allow for more, freshly-oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood and/or other bodily fluids (more perfusion!) to flush through  to places that may not normally get the blood flow they'd love (think low back, knees, ankles, feet)!
• Improved breathing - deep breathing in the hot + humid room can relieve symptoms of asthma of other conditions!
• Sweat - you'll sweat a LOT, meaning your skin is the organ doing some detoxification work through our wide open pores! Sweating also helps our body from over-heating, let the sweat drips drip! They will cool you down if you don't wipe them!
• Increased immunity - just like how your body warms itself to fight infection, the heat in the yoga room supports strengthening of the immune system!

Coming to class frequently and consistently will ensure that your body will acclimate and stay acclimated to the environment that we practice in. The benefits are too good to pass up. Trust us, you will get used to the heat and even more, you'll learn to love it!

We hope this answers the question we hear most often from both our new and experienced students alike - why the Heat?! Tell us below - what did you think of it during your first class? Do you love it now?! 

Namaste.
- the BYHD Team