Why Make it Hot?

When it comes to yoga, the benefits of a practice incorporated into your life can be remarkable. However, when you add heat, yoga can go from powerful to magical?

Who else wants increased flexibility, detoxification, reduced stress, glowing skin, natural mood stability and an overall elevation in your consciousness on a regular basis? If you answered yes to many or all of these questions, The Yoga Barre has something special in store for you. Give us one class and we’ll help you gain access to all of the above. Gone are the days of looking for multiple solutions to many problems. We have one solution, that when used consistently, will certainly change your life.

However, don’t take it from us, take it from some of our valued customers who have experienced the magic:

Carla, a 27 year old full-time mom and writer, shares, “I suffered great anxiety before having been introduced to hot yoga. Frequent panic attacks that would derail my days and overall fatigue seemed to be a common theme during this phase of my life. My stomach was always in knots, jaw constantly clenched, and riddled with a low-grade pervasive neck pain from all the stress. Hot yoga was my savior, single-handedly changed my life. The relief of crippling anxiety and pain was something I will always be eternally grateful for. Not to mention, the way it shaped my body was an unexpected bonus that gave me a new level of confidence.”

Why heat? You may be asking. When heat is added to your practice at The Yoga Barre, it serves as a catalyst for transformation. With one elemental shift, you can increase the possibility for greater transformation while significantly reducing the risk of injury. Many items we utilize on a daily basis require heat to become the useful or beautiful item it is. Metal, glass, ceramics, cooking, distillation, textiles, even soap. So why is it we wouldn’t consider the same for ourselves? When a blacksmith forges a sword, he must first heat the steel in order to shape it. Trying to hammer it while cold would not only make zero change, the blacksmith would possibly sustain an injury in the process. The phrase “let’s warm up” is literal and often taken lightly. Here at The Yoga Barre we’re fully dedicated to warming up to wind down.

Our bodies when warmed up are more pliable, making space for our students to get deeper into postures and push themselves to their edge. The improved flexibility can be directly correlated with the heat’s ability to warm up muscles, tendons, and ligaments, resulting in increased elasticity. In a cool room, the body relies on internal mechanisms to warm up, which can take a lot longer. We provide an immediate solution, and how many people can actually say that? In pushing yourself to confront discomfort you can build incredible resilience. So whether you’re coming in for yoga sculpt, barre fusion, or the best and classic hot vinyasa yoga flow, we have it all for you to meet all your goals and needs.

Now that we’ve covered how hot yoga can change your practice immediately, what about all the other stuff? Detoxification, glowing skin, mood stability, and reducing stress? Don’t worry, we got you covered. Here are the 5 benefits you can achieve with a consistent heated practice:

• Detoxification: As you practice yoga in a heated room, your body naturally sweats more. This increased perspiration helps remove toxins from the body, leading to a deep cleansing effect on a cellular level.

• Increased Blood Flow: The heat helps improve circulation, ensuring that oxygen-rich blood reaches all parts of the body. Better circulation can lead to improved organ function and healthier skin.

• Enhanced Mental Focus: Combining the challenge of heat with the concentration required for yoga poses can sharpen one’s mental focus and discipline. The environment forces you to remain present and pushes mental endurance.

• Stress Reduction: Like all forms of yoga, the hot variation promotes relaxation and stress relief. The heat adds an element of intensity that can help in releasing pent-up tension.

• Boosted Immunity: Regular hot yoga practice can enhance the immune system. The heat produces a simulated ‘fever’ environment in the body, which can strengthen the immune response.

The benefits don’t stop there, let us elaborate. Ever heard of thermal regulation training? By exposing the body to higher temperatures, you train it to regulate its internal temperature more efficiently. This can help in improving endurance in other activities and exercises. Let’s also talk about improved cardiovascular. Heat exposure can result in a temporary increase in heart rate, mimicking the effect of moderate cardiovascular exercises. Over time, this can lead to improved heart health. Here’s another one for you, stress and heat-shock proteins, this one packs a big punch. The heat stress from hot yoga triggers the body to produce heat-shock proteins. These proteins play a vital role in cellular repair and protection against damage. If these sound like to-do’s in your long term health goals, consider them checked off.

As one final bonus, we want to share one more important health advantage. When you practice yoga in a heated room, your body undergoes a process called thermogenesis, which is the generation of heat in the body. This process requires energy, meaning your body needs to burn calories to produce this heat. The combined effect of practicing yoga poses, which already helps burn calories, and the added element of thermogenesis can amplify weight loss efforts. In short, if you’re on a weight loss journey, hot yoga is a surefire way to amplify that process. Not to mention, it’s a low impact exercise that when coupled with any weight loss journey is ideal. Weight loss is a marathon and one that requires the energy and stamina to remain focused. When doing higher impact exercises, you run the risk of injury, fatigue, loss of motivation, unsustainability, etc. We want to be the long term and sustainable solution for all your health goals no matter what they are.

Let’s get philosophical for a second – consider this. When you take on a consistent hot yoga practice at The Yoga Barre, you not only gain all these health benefits, but there is another secondary gain that is important to emphasize. Two words – small wins. Consciously opting into a challenge and completing it will create new brain patterns that build trust within yourself. Bigger picture, you can do anything regardless of how challenging it may seem. In a hot yoga room we practice working through challenges as we hold and breath through different poses (or asanas) and of course the added difficulty of heat. Practicing the small things like this consistently will get you ready for what’s outside our doors. Real life. Bottom line, hot yoga makes you better at handling the big stuff!

In today’s fast paced world, it’s important to always regard your mental and physical health as one of the most powerful tools you obtain. When you foster a comprehensive mind-body connection that can weather any kind of storm life throws at you, your future self will thank you for nurturing this lifestyle choice. Here we believe hot yoga is more than just a workout. It’s a work in. The Yoga Barre believes in the benefits that transcend the physical body. We have fostered a community of like-minded individuals who are aligned with these beliefs. In two weeks you’ll feel it, in four weeks you’ll see it, in eight weeks you won’t be able to live without it.

Hot yoga every day…We can’t wait to see you in the studio.

Namaste and always journey with love!