So I took my first 'hot yoga' class last night. Before being convinced to go, I was afraid of the heat. Being a previously larger person, heat and I were not friends so of course I was concerned about it. But turns out it wasnt the heat that was the hard part. It was the moves. Holy nuts! This sh*t was no joke.

I got into the room very early and the heat wasnt bad at all. I had taken previous yoga classes but this one apparently was for more experienced folks because there were some moves that had my thinking in my head "you got to be out of your mind". The times that I couldnt do the move or felt a little light headed, I just sat in childs pose and drank some Water and blotted my dripping face. No one judged and there were people as large or larger than myself which made me feel comfortable. I just didnt have the muscle strength to do some of the moves.

Im proud to say that I stayed in the room the whole time and managed about 80% of the moves. When they say you will be drenched from head to toe, they mean it! I know I got a good workout because I slept like a rock and Im sore today.

The best part, I lost 2 pounds overnight

So I took my first 'hot yoga' class last night. Before being convinced to go, I was afraid of the heat. Being a previously larger person, heat and I were not friends so of course I was concerned about it. But turns out it wasnt the heat that was the hard part. It was the moves. Holy nuts! This sh*t was no joke.

I got into the room very early and the heat wasnt bad at all. I had taken previous yoga classes but this one apparently was for more experienced folks because there were some moves that had my thinking in my head "you got to be out of your mind". The times that I couldnt do the move or felt a little light headed, I just sat in childs pose and drank some Water and blotted my dripping face. No one judged and there were people as large or larger than myself which made me feel comfortable. I just didnt have the muscle strength to do some of the moves.

Im proud to say that I stayed in the room the whole time and managed about 80% of the moves. When they say you will be drenched from head to toe, they mean it! I know I got a good workout because I slept like a rock and Im sore today.

The best part, I lost 2 pounds overnight

Good for you, Bunny! that's awesome!!

May I ask what kind it was?

I tried hot yoga years ago. they had carpeted floor and i hated going to any class other than the first of the day because of the sweat wet carpet and smell. I want to try it again if i can find a studio that has a type of flooring that doesnt soak up smelly sweat

Good for you! I have wanted to try it, but am scared!

May I ask what kind it was?

It was Bikram yoga. Very traditional poses and moves.

I tried hot yoga years ago. they had carpeted floor and i hated going to any class other than the first of the day because of the sweat wet carpet and smell. I want to try it again if i can find a studio that has a type of flooring that doesnt soak up smelly sweat

That would be so icky. Thankfully this facility is brand new and has hard woods floors in all of its studios. They have a studio for 'warm yoga' and a non-heated studio too. I was convinced by friends to join them in the HOT room lol. I hope you can find a nicer facility because I sure feel it. Feel the tingle? That means its working lol.

Good for you! I have wanted to try it, but am scared!

I was scared too but fortunately I had a couple of friends that had done it before and they promised I wouldnt die lol. I got there really early so I could have a nice place in the back of the room to be as invisible as I could and the times that I had to take a break, no one looked or even acknowledged it. Even the seasoned people took breaks so I didnt feel so bad. If you find a place, grab a friend and just check it once. If you dont like it, you never have to go back and you wont ever see those people again. But once you do it, you might really like it.

Any tips for a yoga newbie? I have been wanting to try hot yoga for awhile and will after current recovery. Should be in about 1-2 weeks. I have a hot yoga site about 5 miles away.

Any tips for a yoga newbie? I have been wanting to try hot yoga for awhile and will after current recovery. Should be in about 1-2 weeks. I have a hot yoga site about 5 miles away.

Hi Fiddleman,

My tips would be:

Make sure you bring a yoga mat and a yoga mat towel. I wouldve been slipping all over my mat if it wasnt for my yoga mat towel. I got mine at Sports Authority for like $25. You lay it ontop of your yoga mat. The under side of the towel is kind of grippy so it doesnt slide around on your mat.

Because Im not a master at yoga, I use a block when I need to. If you cant fully touch your toes while standing, I put my block in front of my feet and that way I can still extend my hammy's and have my hands on something. I use it for a few moves actually.

People sometimes use a 'strap' also. For instance when we were sitting with our legs out in front of us, they want you to touch your toes and have your feet flexed. Well I have a belly that prevents me and Im not super duper flexible yet so if you put this strap around your feet, you can pull it to keep them flexed. They sell straps at the sporting goods store but its the same as a D ring belt. I just brough a D ring belt with me. I didnt use it but it was nice to have. Its not a must though like the mat towel.

Watch others. My class didnt have the instructor doing the moves with you so you could watch. She would just say outloud what to do or what pose to go into. I basically had to watch what others were doing but it went so smooth that no one realized I didnt know the move by its name. The teacher would say things like stand straight up, feet shoulder width apart, point toes slightly outward, put right hand on right knee, keep hips straight, etc. You get the idea.

Oh, hydrate a lot during the day before you go to class. This will help you not get dizzy. Bring Water to class too.

Get to class early and set up your mat and just be in quiet room to get used to the heat. The heat really isnt that bad.

If you feel like you have to rest, just sit in childs pose, drink some water and blot your face with your towel. Its bad form to leave the studio before class is over but if you are sick, of course leave but be quiet.

Bring a hand towel for sure.

Just know that after class, you will have sweat in every single part of your body. Im not kidding. I was soaked from my scalp to the bottom of my feet.

Lastly, after class, hydrate hydrate hydrate.

I was amazed that after the 90 minutes I was able to do the moves easier and was able to push farther just in the one session. There were about 10 men in my class of 50 too which was nice. All ages.

Let me know if you take a class. Youll be so proud of yourself for just making it through the class. If I can do it, you can do it.

Any tips for a yoga newbie? I have been wanting to try hot yoga for awhile and will after current recovery. Should be in about 1-2 weeks. I have a hot yoga site about 5 miles away.

Yoga is amazing for the body and mind. When you're just starting out, I highly recommend a Hatha or Iyengar class because these will teach you about proper breathing as well as the proper way to do poses. Most studios will also offer Yoga for Beginners workshops or classes, which are great as well. You really want to avoid going to a class geared for more experienced people and just watching what they do because a lot of people do a lot of things wrong and you don't want to hurt yourself by picking up their bad habits. Once you learn about breath and the common poses, experiment with different types of classes. I take a variety of hot and non-hot classes regularly. My favorite is Baptiste Power Yoga. It's basically hot Vinyasa, which is a flow based type of yoga and not as rigid and repetitive as Bikram. I also agree with the other advice on investing in a good mat and a mat towel for hot classes and using props as necessary. Also, don't compare yourself to others in class. Yoga is all about listening to your body, not competing with or comparing yourself to others. The not competing/comparing was the hardest for me to adapt to initially because I'm extremely competitive by nature. But once you let that go, you really open yourself up to all yoga has to offer. Namaste.

Great advice newkat. I had taken beginner classes previously and Im glad I did because they really helped me in my hot yoga class. After so many beginner classes I felt I wasnt being challenged any longer so I stepped it up. I liked that in my hot class the instructor would walk around and watch everyones form to see if they were doing it correctly and if they werent she would help you get it corrected. My class had experts and beginners and everyone in between so I didnt feel intimidated by the experts.

It always gives me a chuckle when people think yoga is easy- just stretching, right? you're awesome! Even when I was doing a little yoga and in ok shape I wouldn't have dreamed of trying hot yoga! That's killer! I'm totally impressed!

It always gives me a chuckle when people think yoga is easy- just stretching, right? you're awesome! Even when I was doing a little yoga and in ok shape I wouldn't have dreamed of trying hot yoga! That's killer! I'm totally impressed!

I giggle too cause its farrrr from the truth lol. Im still sore from my Friday night class. Its a good sore though, tells me I really worked it.

So I took my first 'hot yoga' class last night. Before being convinced to go, I was afraid of the heat. Being a previously larger person, heat and I were not friends so of course I was concerned about it. But turns out it wasnt the heat that was the hard part. It was the moves. Holy nuts! This sh*t was no joke.

I got into the room very early and the heat wasnt bad at all. I had taken previous yoga classes but this one apparently was for more experienced folks because there were some moves that had my thinking in my head "you got to be out of your mind". The times that I couldnt do the move or felt a little light headed, I just sat in childs pose and drank some Water and blotted my dripping face. No one judged and there were people as large or larger than myself which made me feel comfortable. I just didnt have the muscle strength to do some of the moves.

Im proud to say that I stayed in the room the whole time and managed about 80% of the moves. When they say you will be drenched from head to toe, they mean it! I know I got a good workout because I slept like a rock and Im sore today.

The best part, I lost 2 pounds overnight

Sounds like you didn't have too much trouble with hydration which is great! You waited 3 months after your surgery to start? How soon after surgery do you think I can start? I was assuming when the doctor says I can start lifting weights but I don't know with hot yoga there's also the whole hydration thing......Have you stuck with it these past two weeks? I'm having surgery in two weeks and am going to bikram right now. I feel like I need it to mentally prepare for surgery.

Sounds like you didn't have too much trouble with hydration which is great! You waited 3 months after your surgery to start? How soon after surgery do you think I can start? I was assuming when the doctor says I can start lifting weights but I don't know with hot yoga there's also the whole hydration thing......Have you stuck with it these past two weeks? I'm having surgery in two weeks and am going to bikram right now. I feel like I need it to mentally prepare for surgery.

I actually have no problem with hydration. Ill be 4 months in a few days and I drink just like I did pre-surgery. I was very worried that I wouldnt be able to workout hard and replenish my fluids but its not an issue. The day that I know Im going to do hot yoga I make sure to EXTRA hydrate that day so I dont become dehydrated with all of the sweating.

I called my surgeon and asked if I could be cleared for hot yoga and I was told after 7 weeks that I was good but other surgeons may have different rules so just ask to be safe. I was more worried about the moves than the hydration, I didnt want to rip anything ya know.

I have stuck with it. I go a couple of times a week and Im so in love with it. I find that Ill lose an extra pound or two that week. Im a slow loser so just one pound is a big deal for me

I find that sometimes I dread going but once Im there I just take it one pose at a time and before I know it, Im done and very proud of myself. Plus I sleep like a ROCK that night lol.

Let me know if you find a hot class and tell me how you liked it when you go