Hot Yoga Secrets and AHA Moments

To paraphrase the old TV show, I've Got A Hot Yoga Secret:

The journey of Hot yoga is mapped out for you in each hot yoga class, but still, you have to take the twists and turns yourself. It's a winding road, but then, no one can go too far traveling in a straight line (thank you, Little Prince). Did you think yoga was going to be soft, and gentle, all New-Age cuddly and comfortable? Wake up sweetheart. You're doing hot yoga now.

The AHA moments of hot yoga begin at the end of your comfort zone.

When you've been doing yoga (40 years)  and teaching yoga (30 years) for some time, you find some pretty cool inroads. And crossroads.

Here are some of my personal yoga AHA moments:

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When is the best time for hot yoga class?

Now there's an even better reason to jump out of bed and do hot yoga:

Turns out that exercise first thing in the morning can set you up for easier weight loss by reducing food cravings all day long.

Hot yoga to reduce hunger; that's new benefit to add to the list of hot yoga goodies.

Most people think exercise makes you want to eat more. But do you really feel like eating a full dinner after evening hot yoga?

Recent research proves what we always felt

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You're good at hot yoga? Too bad.

At Riverflow, we love it when you're bad at hot yoga.

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

I don't know who wrote this poem but isn't it a relief to hear that you don't have to be good? It really speaks to the child in me who still remembers how GOOD it felt to write on the walls with crayons and flush toy trucks down the toilet (I had a very lively childhood).

Aren't you tired of trying to be good at hot yoga?

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Is yoga stressing you out?

Can yoga be stressful?

Sounds funny but...

The yoga teacher is telling me to meditate, to empty my mind in yoga class and... I CAN'T DO IT! And now I have one more thing on my To Do list: EMPTY MIND. Arghh!

Maybe I'll just quit yoga so I don't have to feel like a failure. But wait - isn't that why I started yoga in the first place?

Let's be honest: it takes enlightened beings lifetimes to learn to empty the mind...do they really think you'll do it spontaneously, while you're resting after yoga class?

Women tend to stress about everything, even those things that are supposed to be enjoyable. If you've ever fretted about finding time for yourself, you've worried about... relaxing.

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Is Hot Yoga Your Emotional Rescue?

How about those emotional hot yoga reactions?

Nothing gets you more deeply and more quickly into healing mode than a good hot yoga class. 

But you many not know that you're about to transform yourself emotionally as well as physically during each hot yoga class.

If you're practicing hot yoga (or one of Jaime’s nutritional programs) be prepared for some emotional shifts as your actual body chemistry improves.  Yes, it does improve, even if it doesn’t feel so good at first.

What causes the weird emotional reactions you might feel during hot yoga?

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