Why HOT Yoga is NOT Better

It’s hard to walk anywhere in Houston without passing a “hot yoga” studio. There are over 6,000 yoga studios in the United States, and more and more are either hot-specific studios, or are offering hot classes purported to “sweat away toxins” and “cleanse the body and mind.” What many people don’t realize is that practicing yoga in an overheated room hasn’t been shown to be any better than non-heated yoga classes, and in some ways can even be harmful.

The heat and sweat myth

One of the biggest misconceptions about hot yoga is that it’s better for our bodies because heating our bodies from the outside makes us sweat more, which makes us more flexible and “detoxifies” our body. But this isn’t how the body works.

Why We Sweat

The average person has a baseline core temperature of between 98 degrees F and 100 degrees F. While our body has some flexibility with temperature, if we get too far to one end of the spectrum or the other, things can go badly. In order to keep us in range, our bodies thermoregulate--or maintain our core temperature--by heating us up or cooling us down. When our internal temperature rises, like when we’re in a hot yoga class, sensors in our central nervous system (CNS) send signals to various organs and systems in our body. Our body does two things to cool us down--we sweat, and we radiate heat. Sweating cools our skin as the sweat evaporates off us us. Vasodilation, which make the blood vessels under our skin wider, increases blood flow to the skin and away from our warm inner body. The heat radiates off our body into the environment, cooling us down.

But in a very hot room, this thermoregulation can’t function optimally. A 2015 study by the American Council on Exercise found that the temperature of Bikram yoga students rose steadily during the entire class, topping out at 103 degrees F, dangerously close to the 104 degree threshold that doctors find dangerous. Because the room is so hot, our bodies can’t “off” the heat like they would in a non-heated room. And because we can’t get rid of the heat, our bodies continue the cycle, sweating more and more and more until we’re drenched and dehydrated. By some accounts, 50% of hot yoga students end the classes dehydrated. Constant dehydration can pose significant risk such as stroke, pulmonary embolus, and blood clotting issues. Pulling heat (and thus blood, and energy) always away from our internal body also means these other areas are getting less blood flow as well. In yoga, we’re supposed to be cultivating prana (energy) within, not overly dispersing it through heat because of the temperature of the room.

How We Detoxify- Body and Spirit

Despite popular belief, sweating doesn’t “detoxify” the body. While there are very small amounts of toxins released through our sweat, sweat is made almost entirely of salt and water, and its function is to cool the body. The liver and the kidneys are the true detoxers in the body, taking in, filtering, and releasing--through urine and feces--the harmful substances we come into contact with.

This doesn’t mean we can’t detoxify with yoga; it’s just a different type of detoxification. According to yogic scriptures, igniting our agni--our inner fire--should be done with asana and pranayama to rid the body, mind, and breath of our ashuddhi (impurities). This is important for two reasons-- the first is that the idea is to create heat from within in order to purify, not to use a heat source from outside of ourselves. The second is that the “toxins”, the Ashuddhi in the yogic sense, aren’t toxins we ingest: according to Patanjali, ashuddhi is made up of our karma (past actions whose effects are lingering on), klesha (modes of suffering such as anxiety, jealousy, and fear), vasana (our habitual tendencies/dispositions), and samskara (our subconscious imprint). This is whole-body detoxification that is possible in an intentionally-designed yoga class with well trained instructors.

Yoga in a Safe and Welcoming Environment

People are drawn to hot yoga because they like the feeling of working hard, stretching, toning, and centering. We believe you can get all of that--and more--in our classes, without the potential risks of hot yoga. All of BEYOGA’s classes honor both the philosophy and physical side of yoga, meeting you where you are in life and guiding you in movement, breath, and meditation. Grounded in a holistic approach that encompasses all 8 limbs of yoga, we steer clear of the fads that come and go and instead help you tone and strengthen your body, mind, and spirit in ways that are challenging and personalized. Come create a yoga practice with our community! You won’t be disappointed.