This article is written by Sinead. As one of our lead instructors, Sinead is someone who absolutely loves Hot Yoga and truly believes in its capacity to help people feel fantastic.
Since my motorbike accident 3 weeks ago (you can read about it here), I have had a lot of time to think and to reflect about what Yoga and Hot Yoga mean to me. And they mean an awful lot!
Here I offer some of the main benefits of Hot Yoga that I have experienced over the years.
I’ve always been careful not to be someone who discovers Yoga and then loses their identity to becoming ‘like a yogi’. Before finding yoga I loved (and still do love) motorbikes, heavy metal music, whisky, snowboarding and other not-necessarily-yogic things. I believe what Yoga does is that it works alongside people throughout their lives. That a regular Hot Yoga practice can enrich and enhance daily life. What I’m trying to say is, you don’t have to be ‘like’ a yogi to be like a yogi!
Hot Yoga has helped me transform to enjoy all the many aspects of my life. Yoga, and Hot Yoga in particular, have offered me the benefits you’ll see listed below. Being able to enjoy those benefits offer me a zest for life, a sense of adventure, of gratitude, of a yearning to get out there, to learn more (about anything) and appreciate as much of it as I can.
What Hot Yoga offers is a doorway to presence in every day life, in relationships, in relationship to ourselves, and our relationship with this earth.
Below isn’t a list that I then back up by scientific studies (Yogafurie blog has plenty of these already!). Sure I have read studies and articles in the past that back up how I feel. However below is my personal account of what is awesome about Hot Yoga:
1. Reduce Stress
Hot Yoga is there for us throughout the good and the bad times. When times are good, it makes things better and helps us to see the abundance of what we already have. When times aren’t so good, Yoga is there to remind us how to take care of ourselves. How to take care of our physical, mental and emotional health. Meditations, relaxations, a felt sense of connection to our bodies; these all serve to help with stress and anxiety.
2. Improve Flexibility
It goes without saying that Yoga helps with flexibility. Hot Yoga, in turn, provides us with a greater range of motion due to the warmth in our connective tissue and muscular structures. Yogafurie Hot Yoga helps us to gain more flexibility in a safe and sustainable way.
3. Improve Sleep
One of the most amazing (and yet understated) benefits of hot yoga! I often encounter people that struggle with their sleep in some form or another. Practice Hot Yoga and enjoy deep, restorative sleep at night from the moment your head hits the pillow.
4. Have more energy – feel more vital
Hot Yoga has a brilliant way of giving us more energy. It’s such a challenge, and offers a real sense of achievement. It oils up our creaky joints, dusts out our cobwebs and gives us a bounce of vitality that we can take in to our everyday life.
5. Increase self awareness and self connection
Hot Yoga helps us to connect with the felt sense of our sensations, emotions, thoughts and more. It helps us to feel connected to ourselves and to feel more aware of how we are doing from day to day. This way we can make the most of the good days and take care of ourselves on the days when we need a little TLC.
6. Develop new good habits!
Something about a regular hot yoga practice helps us to make better decisions. We might notice ourselves picking up an apple instead of a chocolate bar. Or having a couple of drinks with our friends (instead of a couple of bottles!) because we want to be fresh for class the next day.
This list is in no way exhaustive as far as I’m concerned. As your yoga and hot yoga practice deepens and develops, you’ll find a myriad of benefits that are unique to you!
If you have never tried hot yoga before, this might be the time to give it a go. It may sound intimidating, however here at Yogafurie you’ll be made to feel welcome and comfortable just as you are!
See you on the mat.
