Hot yoga allows its practitioners to safely go deeper into poses, helps release toxins in the body and also reduces the risk of injury, according to The ABC of Yoga. The benefits of practicing yoga in a heated room are widely debated, according to the Seattle Times, which stated that "few researchers have studied the physical and mental effects of hot yoga...leaving...practitioners as the main guide to its benefits or harms." Nonetheless, there are several steps to take both before and during your hot yoga sessions that will help you get the most out of your yoga practice.
Practice Bikram Yoga Poses
Bikram yoga features a set sequence of 26 poses or asanas practiced for 90 minutes. Follow these steps to learn the poses.
Practice Ashtanga Yoga Steps
Ashtanga Yoga steps are the Eight Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga. Each succeeding step builds cumulatively upon the previous step(s). Practiced together, as taught in the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, the Eight Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga create a way of life that reaches the physical body, one's conduct in the world and one's spiritual aspirations.
Do Yoga Swing Exercises
Yoga swing, also known as aerial or anti-gravity yoga, is not a new style of dance, it is a new yoga prop whose popularity is growing as it makes its way into yoga studios. The concept of the yoga swing comes from gymnasts working on their aerial training. The movements have similar elements to yoga asanas as well as acrobatics and pilates.
Learn the Bandhas in AshTanga Yoga
Bandhas is an ashtanga yoga technique that requires some physical action and much mental concentration. Bandhas regulate and strengthen the flow of prana, or life energy, in your body and can improve your ashtanga yoga practice. There are two basic forms of bandhas which you can easily learn as part of your regular yoga practice.