Hot Yoga is REALLY HOT!

I love yoga.  I know how good it is for the body, mind, and spirit, but I have a really hard time fitting it into my weekly workout routine.  I used to attend yoga classes at the YMCA on Friday mornings, but I dropped it when I realized that I was outgrowing the class.  It was kind of fun to have the instructor say things like, "And when you move to full expression, you'll look like Dusty," and have the whole group groan.  Did I mention that I was the youngest participant in the class...by about 20 years?

So now I do yoga on Friday mornings in the entryway of my air-conditioned home, because it's the only place where I have hardwood floors and space for two yoga mats.  I need two mats, because occasionally the Husband will join me, but invariably the cats want to do yoga too.  And they like to be on whichever mat I'm on.  They're under me when I'm in bridge pose and sometimes on top of my belly while I'm in table top.  Mostly, they think I'm there as their personal jungle gym, so we play musical mats.  Not great for the drishti, but it's a sweet part of the Whiskers' Family routine.

Yesterday, I had an incredible yoga experience.  It rivaled my yoga experience on the third floor rooftop deck at Sea Grove Beach, Florida over Spring Break.  (If you want to rent a great house check out Beachme.)

But the Beachme rooftop had cool breezes and a view of the ocean.  Yesterday's experience was nothing like that.

I have an incredibly strong friend named Melissa, and strong women inspire me.  I've seen Melissa lift heavy weights in my sculpting class.  I've seen her complete four more reps than she thought she could.  I've seen her hold a plank progressively longer as the weeks passed, growing stronger and stronger each time.  I've seen her push herself to her limits and beyond.  But she's not just physically strong, she has a strong presence.  You can tell that she's one of those people who makes a decision to do something and sees it to the end.  So when I heard about her Hot Yoga challenge I knew immediately that she'd meet it with ferocity. 

Melissa's challenge is to complete 30 consecutive days of Hot Yoga classes, and she's been blogging about her experience at Hot in Hot Pants (Hopefully!).  Well, guess who got a free guest pass to join her yesterday?  When Melissa told me to bring two bottles of water, a yoga mat, a beach towel, and a sweat towel, and to wear as little clothing as possible, I knew it would be a hot experience.  But I had no idea how hot HOT could be.  I'm not a fan of being hot.  I don't mind sweating, but I prefer to sweat in an air-conditioned room or outside on a cool spring morning.

So I packed my bag and decided to give it my best shot.  On the way to the car I was hit with the early summer heat and checked the thermometer.  88 degrees.  I thought, who needs a hot yoga studio?  We could just do yoga outside in this heat.  Oh my, I had no idea how HOT Hot Yoga would be.

When we walked into the yoga studio I was smacked in the face with heat.  "Wow, it's HOT!" I mouthed to Melissa so as not to disturb the already centered participants lying on their mats in savasana.  You can always count on me to state the obvious. The thermostat registered 97 degrees.  I was already wishing for the hot 88 degree afternoon that I had inwardly complained about.  Melissa took great care of me, showing me where to put my mat, how to place the beach towel on top of my mat (which I didn't understand until the rivers of sweat starting gushing from every pore in my body), and I followed the cue of the others and laid down.

The heat had a presence of its own, and it sat on my chest as I struggled to get air.  I looked up at the ceiling fans and wondered why in the world I couldn't feel their air movement.  (Later, Melissa told me that the fans aren't usually on at all.  Gift to me!)  If I couldn't handle laying down in this oppressive heat, how was I going to move in it for 75 minutes?  This was Melissa's 17th day of her challenge.  She had survived 16 consecutive sessions so far, and I wasn't sure that I could last one.

It was one of the hardest workouts I've ever done.  I sweat more in that 75 minute class than I did running my last half marathon.  I'm not talking lady-like perspiration beads on the forehead.  I'm talking dripping from your nose, earlobes, chin, elbows, and fingertips sweating.  But as I sweat, I moved, I held poses, I teetered and tottered, I focused, and I gracefully kicked over my open water bottle.  Several times I wished there was a clock in the room so I'd know how much longer the torture would last; other times the moments quickly moved by as I was completely engaged in form and stillness.  By the end of class, the temperature in the room had reached 100 degrees.  Hot Yoga is REALLY HOT!

In the welcomed air-conditioned lobby, Melissa sweetly congratulated me for making it through my first class.  But she's the one who should be congratulated.  She's made it through 17 consecutive classes, she has 13 more to go, and she is going to finish strong.  What an incredibly strong woman.  You can follow her progress as she completes this challenge at Hot in Hot Pants (Hopefully!), and check out her blog entry for Day 17 to see how I did!  She's a beautiful writer, a great person, and an inspiration.  I know you'll love it.

So, am I a Hot Yoga convert?  I know that I loved the feeling of accomplishment when the class was over.  I know it pushed me beyond what I thought I could do.  I know that when I was done I wanted a cold, clean, vegetarian dinner.  I know I felt as if every last toxin had been purged from my body.  It was a great experience.  I think I'll be back.  Could I do it 30 days in a row?  Not a chance!  I'll leave that up to Melissa.

Have you ever tried Hot Yoga?  Share your experience!