Doing hot studio yoga more then once a day?

[MOTH]

I have been doing hot vinyasa flow just about daily...but I won't be able to do it the next two days because of labor day schedules and whatnot. I love yoga so much I want to do it as much as I can. I was thinking I would do it one day next week TWICE in a day - making 3 hours total in a hot studio being very physical...

is this recommended? Just for one day a week, going all out...the rest of the days of the week doing only an hour and a half a day... I just want to do it as much as I can because it's like "school" to me.

How much hot yoga is too much?

[Eva]

Gosh, I don't know. I love the way it made me feel when I did it, but I only did it a couple times when I was in Austin, Texas.

I do remember that a friend of mine who has a yoga studio in Boston commented that it's very far from traditional yoga's beliefs or something like that. And she did say that it was very taxing to the kidneys, if I remember correctly. I was very surprised to hear that.

In any case... I have to reiterate that I LOVE the way it made me feel, and it sounds like you're really enjoying it. Your body is used to the hour and a half, so perhaps it's not so taxing to any of your organs (at least not more so than any other exercise)... but I would really exercise caution when considering doing more than your body knows.

[Eva]

Ha -- just found a hot yoga studio in Budapest, going to a class in a couple hours. Thanks for the reminder how good it make me feel.

I'm obviously not a yoga purist, or whatever, like my very lovely and well meaning friend.

Keep us updated if you decide to do the three hours. Take a snapshot of your kidneys and let us know if they're happy or overworked. ;)

[HolyGuacamole]

People at the Bikram studio I go to do consecutive classes not infrequently.
I'm not quite there yet but if I felt up to it I would absolutely go for it.
Have fun!

[MOTH]

Thanks so much, guys! I've already gotten a few comments by people that doing hot yoga is "so unhealthy," but seriously, people in our modern age have gotten PAMPERED with air conditioning! What do they think people did in India hundreds of years ago when it was scorching out? Not do yoga?! Ha! :o

I love the heat, I love to sweat, and I love the way my body feels after a class.

I'll try going twice next week (since I have an unlimited yoga pass, yay!) and see how it makes me feel! Probably exhausted, haha, but I won't mind.

[MOTH]

(twice in a day - I meant - I aim to go everyday!)

[HolyGuacamole]

Yay! That's fantastic. I bet you will love it and feel soooooo good!

[Eva]

Just got back from the hot yoga -- had to walk about half a kilometer then take the metro then a trolley-type thing then a bus to get there and back, plus signing up and whathaveyou -- but the 4+ hours for the class were worth it.

I wish I had an extra four hours laying around waiting to be used each day.

I will comment that they specifically ask participants not to exercise prior to class and also never hold back-to-back classes. So I'm curious to hear how it goes for you. :eek:

[Eva]

MOTH! Geez, Louise... I'm all raw, didn't realize I had so much detoxing to do... But after the class last night, I had the worst headache ever. I never have headaches now, which is lucky for me since I haven't taken medicine of any sort in about a year and a half. I thought it may be dehydration, but I had about 3 liters of water yesterday and generally stay hydrated without a problem these days. So just in case, I drank a bunch of water.

I was in so much pain when I was trying to sleep. Ack. I finally laid a towel next to the bed in case I needed to throw up from the pain or something. And I never vomit either.

I ended up oil pulling in an effort to move the toxins out. This helped, put me on the toilet in about 5 minutes' time. I put a wet cloth filled with ice on my head as I tried to sleep, but the pain still would not go.

I woke with a headache this morning too! I oil pulled for about an hour, went to the bathroom, made it stinky like in the pre-raw days...

And now life is better than ever, thanks to the hot yoga moving all those toxins through so forcefully.

I think I'm going to the 4:30 pm class today. :p

Maybe all of your daily hot yoga and being a raw foodie has moved it all out for you already. That's swell. I guess we have one more day before we'll hear about the doubled up day. I hope you don't mind putting TMI in your thread before then! :eek:

[MOTH]

No, not at all, thanks for sharing your personal experience with us! I've been raw (mostly fruitarian) for nine months now and I did notice my detox seems to have greatly accelerated through the hot-yoga! Class was cancelled yesterday due to the holiday, and it was just as well, because I felt like I had to rest and nurture myself the whole day. I felt endlessly thirsty, drank and drank and drank water, until it hit me that maybe I should drink a baby coconut. After that, I literally COULD NOT stop drinking young coconut water; I had one every two hours because I felt like my body needed the electrolytes. I got my Whole Foods (where I work) to order me a case of the, haha. They're arriving tomorrow and I'm going to try and drink one everyday after practice.

I'm glad oil-pulling helped you...what you went through sounds very uncomfortable! And yes, I am realizing that hot yoga is AWESOME for extreme detox, and detox CAN be quite intense.

I have a 5:45 class tonight...an hour and a half of the good stuff!

[MOTH]

Yoga is going AWESOME! I'm really starting to get into the flow! I haven't had a need to do it twice in one day; just going once a day is more then enough, hehe...most days I leave exhausted, but today I left, and I was nearly skipping with energy! My body is definitely adjusting.

[Eva]

I seem to not be ready to go for at least 48 hours, trying to get into it though. It seems to help.

How long have you been doing the hot yoga?? I hope I'll get to the point where my body recovers faster.

My back hurts (well, is sore) now, which is great. I have felt so limber after class! :)

[MOTH]

Not that long - about ten days. I've gone every day though, except over labor day. It's been tough to say the least but I've really been wanting to throw myself into it and challenge my body.

I think my body is catching up though - I've been FLAT OUT EXHAUSTED the past week, but I've still been taking myself to class everday and working hard. The past two days, I seem to be getting past the curve. Class flies by, I feel the flow, and today I had so much energy when I left it was unreal!

I had a tender back yesterday from doing wheel, and talked to the teacher, who helped to reassure me. Today I took it easier on wheel and my back feels fine.

[freespirit]

i do Bikram yoga and once a week i attend the advanced class, the regular class followed by about two to three more hours of hot yoga. so, 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours total. I feel great. the naysayers usually have never partaken in something as enjoyable as hot yoga, and are just jealous they cant walk awy from their dead cow burger to experience somthing so incredible. I say your body should be your guide and if you feel good, then do it!!

[MOTH]

Thanks, freespirit! I am getting so much out of my yoga class. I think on Monday I will go to a regular flow class and then go to a fundamentals class with my girlfriend, who wants to get into it.

How does bikram yoga differ from vinyasa? I've been trying to figure it out. Do you just hold the poses for longer? Not as flowing?

[MOTH]

I did two yoga classes yesterday! Then another this morning. Wow, my butt is SORE LOL. :)

I was thinking about going to another class tonight...but I might just nurture myself at home.

[Eva]

Hey MOTH, I just came looking for this thread. I can't believe it was only a couple months ago when I went to the hot yoga here for the first time. My body has changed a lot since I started!!! My posture is so much better, and I just feel more strong and steady. I've been going a few times a week or so. I wish I could go every day, but it's 4 hours of my already pretty limited time.

Anyways, just thought I would share what a wonderful experience it's been for me. I've even been trying to figure out what I'll do when I go to Brazil in February. I'm actually looking into heating equipment for our spare bedroom because they don't really have it in Brazil yet... I will actually do it by myself so I can keep going! LOL. :o:D