Bikram yoga – the hottest form of yoga – practised in forty degree temperatures is rapidly growing in popularity, but why practise in such heat? What are the benefits? And are there any dangers?
Although I practise yoga at home, I’d never got round to doing it in such extreme temperatures; so, a few weeks ago, I went with my housemate to one of the Hot Bikram Yoga studios in south London to experience it.
I welcomed the heat and loved the first twenty minutes of the class. It’s amazing how easily I could relax into each asana when normally I’d have to do lots of sun salutations before warming my body up properly – the level of flexibility I could achieve without hurting was amazing. It was also very easy to focus fully on each asana in such high temperatures and I have to say, on the whole, it was an incredibly soothing experience.
However, half way through the class, the novelty of the heat wore off and I found myself feeling dizzy and a bit sick, despite drinking sips of water regularly. I probably hadn’t had enough water to drink during the day which is a must!
After sitting down for a few minutes, I got back up and enjoyed the rest of the class; however, when I got home, I started to get a really intense headache which developed into a migraine. Apparently, I should have been drinking sports drinks with electrolytes to help hydrate my body more quickly. Drinking water alone just wasn’t enough for my first class.
Apparently it’s quite common to feel this way after trying Bikram Yoga for the first time. It hasn’t put me off, but it’s certainly made me realise how important it is to drink plenty of water and certainly for the next few classes, keep hydrated with electrolytes afterwards.
If you’ve had similar problems with headaches after a Bikram Yoga class and you’ve got some advice for others who are thinking about starting hot yoga, post your tips and suggestions here.
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