Hot or Not

I’m often asked my opinion about Hot Yoga so I thought I would share my thoughts.  Please note that this is my educated opinion and in no way am I judging, criticizing or telling anyone what to do or what not to do.  Any Yoga is better than no Yoga!  If you currently practice Hot Yoga or have been considering Hot Yoga though, maybe I can give you a few things to think about.

Now-disgraced Yoga Teacher Bikram Choudry is generally credited with starting the Hot Yoga craze in the West.  Bikram taught a fixed sequence of postures in a room with high heat and high humidity, believing that this environment would allow students to stretch more deeply and detoxify through sweat. (If you’d like to learn more about Bikram, watch the eye-opening documentary “Bikram – Yogi, Guru, Predator”).

Hot Yoga continued to gain popularity, likely due at least in part to the West’s obsession with “working hard”.  Expressions like “feel the burn” were once commonplace in fitness classes, and the mentality that we need to push ourselves and sweat or we’re not working hard enough still persists.  While you can work hard in a Yoga class, Yoga is so much more than a physical practice, and the sweat in a Hot Yoga class is mostly due to the high heat and humidity and is not an accurate gauge of how hard one is working.

While I had my reservations about Hot Yoga, I decided to teach it for a while to experience it for myself before forming an opinion.  I can tolerate the heat quite easily (humidity, not so much) and didn’t detest Hot Yoga, but what I witnessed from most students was a lack of mindfulness and awareness as compared to traditional room temperature classes. The heat and sweat became a focal point, with participants frequently reaching for towels or water and not truly being present in their practice. This can lead to students focusing on asana (the physical practice) only and missing out on the other important elements of Yoga.

After teaching a 90 minute Hot Flow class one day, I witnessed the “I need to work hard or it’s not worth it” mentality myself when one of my students angrily berated me after class because it was not fast enough or challenging enough for him.  He said that he can gauge how “hard” the class is by how much he’s sweating, and he wasn’t sweating profusely enough in my class. Clearly he wasn’t getting any calming effects from the practice and was solely focused on “working hard”.  This is not Yoga.

Muscles like to stretch when they’re warm, so it’s true that bodies will be more flexible in the heat, but there is also a danger of overstretching that comes along with that.  As for detoxification, our bodies are made to detoxify naturally and there really is no clear evidence that sweating profusely in a Hot Yoga class improves detoxification.

Yin is one format of Yoga that shouldn’t be done in a hot (or even warm) room if one wants the true benefits of the practice.  Yin is the cool, lunar energy, Yang is the hot, solar energy, which means that a hot studio is a Yang environment and as such, is not ideal for Yin Yoga.  For Yin to be most effective, the muscles (Yang tissues) need to be cool, so a room temperature (or even cooler than room temperature) environment is best.  We want tension in the muscles to allow us to effectively put safe stress (eustress) on our connective tissues, or joint structures (Yin tissues). In a heated room, the muscles will take the stretch and the joints will not be adequately stressed.  A Yin-style practice in a hot room may feel great for some people, and if it helps them relax or relieve stress, that’s great, they just need to keep in mind that, while it can be considered “Yin” in relation to other more “Yang” classes (Yin and Yang are on a spectrum), it’s not truly a Yin Yoga practice and the benefits to the joints will be minimal.  

Another consideration with Hot Yoga is the potential dampening or understimulation of agni, or internal fire. In Yoga, asana and pranayama practices help stimulate internal heat (agni), and drinking water or other beverages during class is not recommended (especially cold drinks). Taking a sip of water here and there won’t hurt – in fact one of my teachers, the legendary Gerda Krebs, always says to take a sip of water prior to working on balancing poses – but drinking larger amounts of fluids can essentially put the internal fire out. The external heat of Hot Yoga means the body has to work harder to cool itself, which can impair its ability to build agni to begin with. When we add to that the amount of water (or other beverages) that Hot Yoga participants need to consume during and after class to prevent dehydration and replace fluids lost through sweat, it can be ver difficult for them to get this important benefit from their practice.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, Hot Yoga isn’t beneficial for any of the Doshas and is especially aggravating for Pitta Dosha. Everyone has a unique combination of all three Doshas – some are Dual-Doshic, with two co-dominant Doshas and the third in a lower quantity, some have a single dominant Dosha with the other two in lower quantities and some (very few) are Tri-Doshic, with a relatively equal quantity of all three Doshas.  As everyone has all three Doshas, any of them can go out of balance, but your dominant Dosha(s) is/are more likely to become aggravated.

Vata (air and ether): While the heat and humidity of a hot studio may seem like it would be balancing for the cool, dryness of Vata, that is not the case. Vatas tend to be more delicate in nature and need activities that are slow, gentle and mindful.  The intensity of a Hot Yoga class would overwhelm them, as would the extreme environment.  Hatha Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga in a room temperature environment are best. Vatas can be easily depleted, so intense forms of movement (including Hot Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga) should be avoided.

Pitta (fire and water): Looking at the elements that make up Pitta Dosha should tell you all you need to know about why Hot Yoga is especially aggravating for Pittas.  Pitta Dosha is already hot and damp, being in a Hot Yoga class will only add to that.  In Ayurveda, like increases like and opposites balance and heal, so heat and humidity are very aggravating for Pitta. Ironically though, Pittas are very drawn to Hot Yoga as they tend to be fiery, competitive people who want to push themselves. The person who confronted me after my Hot Flow class is a good example – he wanted to sweat, move and work hard and became very irritated when the class wasn’t to his liking.  Irritability and anger are common signs of Pitta aggravation or imbalance.  While Pittas can handle a bit more intensity than Vatas, moderate Hatha Yoga classes (not fast Vinyasa Flow) in room temperature or cooler environments are best for them.

Kapha (earth and water): Kaphas need the most movement of any Dosha and can have the strength and endurance for higher intensity classes, however Hot Yoga is not great for Kaphas, either. The heat of a Hot Yoga class is good for Kapha, however the humidity is not. Kaphas are already damp in nature and don’t need extra moisture.  As someone who is highly Kapha in nature, I can attest to this.  When I taught Hot Yoga, I quite enjoyed the heat of the studio, but the humidity made me feel like I was drowning (I favour hot, dry desert climates). Kaphas can do well with sun salutations and flowing movements, but it’s best done in a room temperature environment.  

Should you practice Hot Yoga?  Well, that’s completely up to you.  You are the only one who knows what type of activity is most beneficial for your body and your mind, and if it’s something you enjoy and it gets you on your Yoga mat, I wouldn’t tell you not to do it.  If you are a Hot Yoga lover though, I encourage you to try room temperature classes (especially if you practice Yin Yoga). You just might find that room temperature classes are more challenging as you don’t have the heat and sweat to distract you and you need to be fully present and aware throughout. On a physical level, Hot Yoga practitioners are often surprised at how much more difficult asana practice can be in a room temperature setting (especially Yin Yoga). Pranayama  practices are also more pleasant and more effective when the air is not hot and humid.  

If you are a fiery Pitta Dosha, I would definitely encourage you to try switching to room temperature classes and see if it makes a difference in your mind and body. You may find you are less irritable, more patient, less competitive, less judgemental, not as quick to anger and have fewer Pitta-related conditions such as rashes, inflammation, conjunctivitis, rosacea and acidity. If you don’t know your Dosha but are prone to “hot” conditions like those listed above, there is a good chance you have a Pitta dominance (or co-dominance) or a Pitta imbalance.  Pitta Dosha can go out of balance for anyone, but those who are Pitta-dominant are more prone to Pitta aggravation. If you’d like to do a simple Dosha test to determine your constitution, email me and I’ll send you one. I also offer personal Ayurvedic consultations for anyone who is interested.