Is Hot Yoga Safe for High Blood Pressure?

By Sangeetha Saran

Is Hot yoga safe for high blood pressure? Let's look deep into this debate. Hot yoga has become a popular option in gyms and fitness centers around the world. It’s based on the idea of creating a warm, moist environment to imitate the climate of India. Since its introduction to the United States around 1970, Bikram’s heated style has morphed into other various forms of hot yoga. Class structures can vary, but a heated yoga class basically involves a room that’s heated to around 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity.

Many hot yoga followers continue to practice hot yoga because of the benefits it provides. Muscles can easily stretch when body heat rises to such levels, providing a way for students to push even deeper into stretches. With temperatures topping the 100 degree Fahrenheit mark, the body also begins to sweat out all of its toxins. Yoga enthusiasts who practice in heated classes find it a positive way to release stress and find clarity within the mind.

As with any type of yoga class, there is always a small amount of risk of injury involved. Some believe hot classes encourage injury or strain to the joints; tendons or muscles due to over-extension or pushing too far while muscles are so loose and warm. Those with high blood pressure might be concerned that hot yoga will put too much strain on the heart, causing blood pressure to rise even higher.

Actually, hot yoga should be able to help reduce high blood pressure over time, but it’s important for practitioners to speak with their doctor before beginning any kind of asana practice. If a student is taking a high blood pressure prescription, it should be noted that lower potassium levels may occur with some of these medications. Lower potassium levels can cause a stroke.

If you have high blood pressure, and have your doctor’s permission, you should be able to safely practice asanas in heated classes, but it is important to be aware of your body the entire time. Pay attention to how you feel. If you begin to feel short of breath, lightheaded or nauseous, those are signs to stop immediately.

Most heated classes are composed of a series of 26 postures. Some Yoga instructors recommend avoiding a few of those until your blood pressure returns to normal levels. The poses to avoid include the backward bend portion of Half Moon pose, Balancing Stick, Standing Bow Pulling, Cobra, the third portion of Locust, Full Locust and Camel. All other asanas can safely be performed with slow, steady breathing or alternate nostril breathing. Taking slow, deep breaths will help arteries return to their normal size, allowing blood to flow easily throughout the body.

If you are a patient with high blood pressure, one last issue to discuss with your physician is the combination of exercise in heat while taking high blood pressure medication. Additionally, non-medicated patients with borderline blood pressure should also consult with their doctors. The main concern is to reduce any risks for students who participate in yoga classes of any kind.

© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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How to Prepare Students for Hot Yoga

By Sangeetha Saran

A Hatha yoga teacher, who has heated classes on their schedule, should prepare a handout and only admit students who have completely explained their state of health.  Not every student will be able to endure the intense heat.  Students with high blood pressure should consult a physician before considering entering a heated class.  Students from northern climates may find the intense heat causes them nausea.  It is wise to mentally prepare students before they attempt a heated session.

Hot yoga is a general term and can refer to any Hatha style with an emphasis on the practice room being heated. Bikram is a form of heated Hatha yoga, but a very specific form in which the room is heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and the same 26 poses are practiced twice in the same sequence every session. Bikram classes are so identical that the yoga instructor even gives the same monologue as he or she walks students through the asanas. When most practitioners think of practicing asanas in a heated studio, they often think of Bikram.

Tips to Tell Your Hot Yoga Students

1. Stay cool! Plan for a heated room and choose your clothing wisely. One practitioner says she usually ends up stripped to a sports bra and spandex by the end of her hot yoga practice. A cool t-shirt and shorts will suffice, although material that wicks away sweat will keep you from getting too slippery.

2. Bring a towel, and not just a hand or sweat towel. Most yogis bring a full-size bath towel with them to hot yoga, since the hour to hour and a half they spend in the heat and humidity can leave every corner of a regular sweat towel soaked.

3. Drink up! Yoga in a warm room was conceived of as a purifying practice, which helps the body cleanse itself through sweating and opening pores. With this in mind, drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated and help flush out all the toxins in your body.

4. Eat a little something! The combination of heat, humidity and demanding postures will challenge your body in many ways. Arriving at a hot yoga session with a completely empty stomach will leave you tired, hungry and possibly dizzy or unable to complete the session. Avoid faint spells and nausea by eating a light meal one to two hours before your practice, if possible. If you are crunched for time, bring an apple or banana and a handful of granola to eat on the way to the studio.

5. Because Bikram, and other heated Hatha styles, practice the same or similar 26 asanas in the same sequence, it is open to practitioners of all levels. It is not a fast or vinyasa flowing sequence, so beginners are able to follow along and learn the poses, but yoga teachers often warn students that you can expect to be challenged no matter what your level. The more experience you have, the deeper you will be able to stretch into each pose as aided by the heat and humidity. Arrive ready to work hard.

© Copyright 2012 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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The Origin of Hot Yoga

By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 250

The original creator of Hot Yoga is a great Yogi by the name of Bikram Choudhary. Bikram Choudhary is an Olympic champion in weight-lifting. In the 1960′s, he won Olympic Gold in his class. For personal health reasons, Bikram sequenced traditional Yoga poses in a very specific way, in order to promote the health and healing of the physical body and mind.

One of the main aspects of Hot Yoga is that the Yoga asana sequence is performed in a very hot and humid room. Ideally, the temperature is to be set at 105 degrees and the humidity level between 40-50 percent. Performing Yoga asanas in a heated room helps the elasticity of the muscles and ligaments and also enhances the detoxification process.

Bikram Choudhury was born in Kolkata, India in 1946. He began to learn and practice Yoga asanas at the age of three. When Bikram was five years old, he began studying Yoga techniques with his teacher, Bishnu Ghosh. Bishnu Ghosh is the brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, a beloved Yoga instructor and meditation teacher. This lineage focuses on bringing ancient Indian scriptural wisdom to the Western world, while maintaining the integrity of the original manuscripts.

By the age of 14, Bikram was known as an exemplary practitioner. Within his lineage, he was declared to be a Yoga Raj, or King of Yoga. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, at age 20, Bikram suffered a severe weightlifting accident that crippled him. Bikram was told that he would never walk again.

With the expert guidance and support of his guru, Bikram created a series of 26 yoga asanas that ultimately restored his health. To the doctors’ amazement, he made a full recovery in six months through the ardent practice of this 26 asana posture series. Several years later, Bikram opened up Yoga schools in Japan and India. In 1972, he traveled to the United States and opened up the Bikram Yoga College of India that is flourishing today.

The practice of Hot Yoga has grown out of Bikram Yoga. Bikram Yoga outlines a set practice of asanas, in a specific order. Hot Yogic styles utilize Bikram Yoga as a framework from which to build a powerful and effective Yoga practice. The use of a heated and humid room is also a core element of any Hot Yoga practice. Truly, Hot Yoga practitioners and teachers owe a debt of gratitude to Bikram Choudhury and his teacher, Bishnu Ghosh, in the creation of such a powerful and healing Yoga practice.

© Copyright 2011 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division

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