Bright and early Saturday I headed to the yoga studio with my best friend, Andrew, his dad, step-mom, and step-brother. I knew it was going to be "hot" but boy did I underestimate what I was in for. Stepping into the 104 degree room, raised to 40% humidity, was like getting the air sucked out of you while being suffocated with a hot, smelly towel at the same time. Disgusting.
The 50 minute class was a series of stretches and balancing exercises, body and mind connection practices, and scheduled breathing techniques. All the while sweat was dripping off everyone like waterfalls. At the end of the class, I picked my exhausted body up off the floor, dropped my sweat soaked towels and borrowed mat in the hamper, and headed for the exit. Once back in the lobby, I was handed a yummy drink called Electris. This helps your body replenish all the electrolytes and energy it lost while in class.
In addition to all the electrolytes and energy I supposedly lost, I nearly emptied my body of all sweat. This is extremely abnormal for me. I've danced my entire life and taken on stints of kickboxing and boot camps but NEVER have I sweated as much in 50 minutes as I did during hot yoga. I'm usually "lucky" if I get the little ring of sweat around the neck of my shirt after a good work out. For a pictorial demonstration see below. (Keep in mind that, yes, this is gross. But more importantly this is 30 minutes after class was out and I had had plenty of time to dry off, drink lots, and freshen up.)
So the verdict? Although both the class and after drink were quite refreshing and a nice change of pace, I'm not sure I'll regularly be signing up for anything that a good amount of water after won't fix! It was a good experience for sure but all I have to say is...hot yoga? Hot damn!
I've always been curious about this, too! I'm like you though, with the no sweating thing. So perhaps this would be my chance to finally break a true sweat!
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