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Sunday, October 16, 2011

Guest Views On... Hot Yoga

Decreasing Stress Utilizing Hot Yoga

by Cathy T.  Linton



For anyone who is just starting hot yoga, you might question exactly what benefits it can provide with regards to reducing stress. How can a challenging class that gets your heart pumping and allows you to push past your usual comfort zones be in any way soothing?

As many can confirm, hot yoga is actually a fantastic exercise for relaxation. Those who perform it often have reduced cholesterol levels, lower heart rates, lower blood pressure, and better rest at night. Hot yoga enables your internal organs to detox during class and leaves you with a sense of well-being afterward.

The poses in hot yoga are designed so that your lymphatic system is flushed and your detoxifying organs, such as the liver, are gently massaged. The tightening and release of muscles also stimulates your body in a way similar to receiving pressure point therapy.

Hot yoga is not only about bodily practices, but breathing. Breathing exercises allow you to release tension and get into a calmer state of mind. It is actually quite meditative to be so concentrated on your breath and the positioning of your body during a class and this sort of focus can be transmitted into other practices as well.

Hot yoga increases metabolism and blood circulation so that you will feel its healing effects once you are outside of class. Many participants feel that since they have been able to work through a hard scenario during hot yoga, they are able to deal with other, non-physical stresses throughout the day better as well. It is true that much may seem less taxing than usual after a hot yoga class, and having completed one is definitely something to feel confident about. This self belief leads people to feel more sure of themselves.

There is a specific stress reduction technique that is targeted during yoga, whether practitioners are aware of it or not. It is called "progressive muscle relaxation", which is fairly similar to how one prepares to sleep. Though hot yoga is of course a more conscious activity, the practice of tensing certain muscles and then releasing that tension allows people to slip deeper into a stress-free state of being. This is also an important method because it sets people up so that they are able to tell when they may be feeling increased discomfort or tightness in any specific portion of their body, and they can more easily work to soothe it.

Mindfulness has always played an important part in all forms of yoga, especially when it was first created thousands of years ago. By paying attention to every part of their bodies while performing hot yoga, practitioners are able to be aware of themselves to a greater extent than usual. There is also a "walking" meditation that hot yoga promotes that allows for people to be aware of the physicality of what they are doing without being distracted by other things going on around them. Hot yoga is a wonderful way to loosen up and grow more centered in your life and that can pass from you to others for a more peaceful attitude throughout the day.

Also See:  Yoga Benefits
   
Few careers provide the flexibility and satisfaction of being a yoga instructor.  Yoga teacher trainings offer the support and guidance essential to acquire your official yoga instructor certification.