Hot Yoga and Pregnancy

Hot Yoga during pregnancy? Yes, No, Maybe?

Some people just say no to hot yoga during pregnancy.  Others  couldn't imagine not having their hot yoga practice through the pregnant months.

Who's right? You are, of course.

Especially when you're pregnant, it's important to do what feels good to you. Everyone will have an opinion; only you can choose what feels right for you (this is great training for parenthood, by the way, when everyone and their mother will offer sage advice on what you're doing wrong; you have to learn filter what you hear and listen only to your inner parenting guide.)

The woman who trained me to be a hot yoga teacher, Michelle, practiced and taught hot yoga throughout her pregnancies. She looked wonderful - you know, one of those women who glows during pregnancy and is all belly, no body fat.

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Three Ways To Lock In The Benefits of Hot Yoga

"Lock your arms! Lock your leg! Lock your knee or the pose hasn't even started!"

You hear the word "lock" a lot in hot yoga. Here are the many variations you may have heard for 90 minutes straight:

"Squeeze your biceps behind your ears like they're holding your head onto your neck."

"Lock your thigh muscle; pull it up off your kneecap. Look for the dimple above your knee in the mirror."

"Make your standing leg like a tree-trunk, a lamppost. Lock your knee!"

Here's why you will hear that over and over again: 

The lock is the key to getting all the benefits of hot yoga.

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12 Things I Learned from Sweaty Naked People

In my hot yoga NJ studio and thousands of others across the country, people of all sizes, shapes and smells stand mat to mat testing the limits of our skimpiest clothing, nonchalantly sweating like racehorses while we focus intently in the mirrors, shutting out all distractions including the hot yogis around us (translate "hot" any way you want).

This is not easy, especially in forward bends. (Best line ever after hot yoga class: "My head was so far up that girl's butt, I feel I should take her to dinner.")

During my hot yoga teaching these 13+ years, I have touched many, many sweat-drenched students, bringing students deeper into a pose. By holding on, I have learned a lot about letting go...

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Angry Hot Yoga!

Isn't yoga supposed to make you feel calm and serene?

Not if you've got some surpressed anger. Hot yoga is sure to bring up whatever you've been keeping down. And that's a good thing: because when those emotions are finally ready to come up, they're ready to be done.

Hot yoga is a science of letting go: a set sequence of 26 poses done in a very heated room with specific instructions offered to keep you safe in the heat, to occupy your mind so it doesn't wander, to take you

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