Hot Yoga

"Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
 For the straightforward pathway had been lost.”

Thus begins one of the most famous works of the 14th century, Dante Alighieri's poem Inferno. Recently this came to mind, not because trying all these different forms of exercise is like visiting the nine circles of hell but because, being in midlife myself, I, like Dante, have been on a journey (of exercise exploration) and found myself within a forest (yoga studio) dark. And hot!

Arriving at Beyoutiful Hot Yoga in the dark at 5:20 a.m. for a 5:30 class, it was immediately clear that this was a devoted bunch as I was far from the first person there. In keeping with my theme of having an exercise buddy, I met my friend, Linda Rohlinger, out in the parking lot and we proceeded inside together. After signing the obligatory medical release form (does anybody actually read these things?) and stowing my things in the cubbies in the lobby, I took my yoga mat and went into the studio.  

While not technically an inferno, when I first stepped into the studio I was hit by a wall of heat that felt simultaneously stifling and relaxing. I subsequently learned that their target is 105 degrees with 30-40% humidity.  Owners Wes and Mimi Vemont (who opened their first Hot Yoga studio in 2013) assured me that the heat is actually intended to make it more safe and effective. By heating up the muscles it increases circulation and pliability for safer stretching. “I think a lot of people kind of come from the angle that Hot Yoga is kind of an extra challenging yoga or more advanced yoga or something to add some level of torture to yoga… [but] we find that the level of injury is significantly lower than yoga classes that are not heated,” according to Wes. Nevertheless, I’m not sure I would recommend it to anyone who might be prone to overheating or fainting. In fact, before we started, our instructor kindly gave us advice on what to do if we felt like we were going to pass out.

In addition to being very warm, the studio was dimly lit with soothing music playing in the background (which must be some sort of prerequisite for yoga studios). My first class was Hatha-style yoga and, generally speaking, I was impressed that the classes included almost as many men as women. Everyone looked fit and somehow ageless in the way that yoga people tend to do. Our instructor had a very calming voice and led us through a series of 26 hatha poses that proved to be very challenging and sweat-inducing. Let's just say, by the end of the hour I was a puddle. 

My friend Linda really encouraged me to experience multiple classes at Beyoutiful Hot Yoga because, as she explained, "they are all so different!” So, in addition to the Hatha class, I took a Vinyasa Yoga class (same 26 poses but more flow-y), a Yin class (gentle stretching) and an Inferno Hot Pilates class. And, indeed, they were all quite unique — from the quiet and contemplative Yin class where each stretch was held so long I wondered if the instructor had fallen asleep to the much more social, music-blaring and hardcore Pilates class that, judging by the attire, must’ve been sponsored by Lululemon. Nevertheless, they were all extremely good workouts that focused on strength as well as flexibility and balance all while leaving me drenched. I can honestly say that if your straightforward pathway to fitness has been lost, you might really enjoy shaking things up by finding yourself a Hot Yoga class.

THE GOOD: Affordability and convenience. The cost is only $20-$29 per drop-in class depending on how many you purchase (or there’s a monthly plan option) and classes are offered at different times from early morning to evening to fit almost any schedule.

THE BAD: Probably not for someone completely new to exercise or with significant health issues. These are challenging workouts!

THE NITTY GRITTY: With a wide variety of classes (I didn't try them all!) to keep things interesting, hot yoga is great for those who, like me, want to avoid losing strength and flexibility as they age.

Dr. Emry is a family physician and partner at Ironwood Family Practice in Coeur d’Alene. Exercise Explorer MD will appear every other week in The Press and Dr. Emry can be contacted via email exercisexplorermd@gmail.com. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license.