Tips: Starting Hot Yoga.

Tips from a fellow nervous beginners point of view …
_{Don’t stress, if you’ve never been to a yoga class or it’s been years, it’s okay! You will most likely not be the only beginner in the class, even if no one else is admitting it. Before I started going I did a tiny bit of googling, just so I could re-familiarize myself with some of the poses, not that I needed too it just made me feel a bit more confident.}

Drink lot’s of water all day leading up to your class, it’s not like a pelvic ultrasound where you have to chug tons just before you go – you don’t want to be jumping around trying to hold your pee in. You just need to be hydrated, which means drink those 8 glasses a day, easy stuff.;)

_{Don’t eat at least an hour before, sorta like swimming. It’s hot in the room and doing anything physical on a full stomach, especially in the heat is no bueno.}

Bring:  a mat, a towel to lay on your mat (you can buy special sweat absorbing towels – I have yet to own one), a smaller hand towel to help wipe away facial sweat (I can’t stand when it’s getting in my eyes), a bottle of water, and if you want a clean, dry towel to use for after class if you want to shower. You can usually rent a mat and a towel from any studio, so if you don’t own a mat you can do that.

_{Arrive 15 mins early, then you have time to relax a bit before going in – sometimes the lead up to doing something new is the most stressful part. For me, once I’m there I feel better, calmer – and you can use the extra time to set yourself up in class so you feel more relaxed when class starts.}

Wear something you feel comfortable moving around and sweating in. I find clothing that is a bit more fitted, that pulls the sweat away from your body works best. Lot’s of shops sell “Yoga Clothing” but not all of them have the sweat pulling away proprieties (that’s the technical term, right?) – Lululemon (though a bit pricey) has by far the best hot yoga clothes, in my opinion.

_{Once you enter the room, set up quietly and then lay down. Start to breathe slowly and relax, the initial heat shock fades and you get used to it pretty quick (getting used to the heat does not mean you don’t sweat like crazy still). Also while we are talking about laying down, if at anytime during class you feel a bit too hot or dizzy go back to the mat and lay down or go to childs pose. Even expert yogi’s have moments when they need to do this, so don’t push it too hard.}

Breathe! I find the room much cooler, I sweat less and my balance and ability to hold postures is MUCH better when I concentrate on my breathe over everything else.