I was quite excited to see that Planet Fitness in my ‘hood was offering hot yoga on Saturday mornings and decided I’d give it a try. I did yoga many years ago but wasn’t quite sure how different hot yoga was to the traditional one I did. I heard recommendations from friends ‘in the know’ to take an extra towel with me and a bottle of water. Having overdone it a tad last week in the power box class, I was worried that I was over my head trying something new a second week in a row.

The SMS alert said “Arrive early” which I thought meant 9:20 but when I walked into the class, it was already full! I managed to squeeze in a mat before the door was closed to the disappointment of quite a few people outside. Wow, popular class or New Year’s resolutionites? I wasn’t sure.

With a raise of hands, most people were new to yoga, including hot yoga, which was perfect. It meant the instructor spent more time explaining the moves and no one was made to feel too insecure not being able to do the moves perfectly. And so we started.

Boy did it get hot quickly! They weren’t kidding about “hot” yoga! The heaters above us kept the temperature quite warm and soon I was dripping with sweat. It’s apparently the best work-out for a hangover because of the detoxification. I was just hoping my muscles wouldn’t be too stiff for the 5km race I was running the next day so took each pose very slowly.

An hour flew by so quickly. In between standing poses, sitting poses and the most incredible stretching of the back, we were done. Luckily I did not wake up with the DOMS and could easily run my race. But what I loved most about the class is that it was slow. Every move was according to my pace, my strength and my body. I was also made aware of my breathing and tightness in my shoulders. If anything, the workout is a fantastic stress reliever!

I have taken my running down a notch to focus more on core strength exercises, leg strengthening as well as correcting my running form. I’m definitely adding hot yoga to my list!

*Image credit: Lindy Geraghty @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1696726923880804/)