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POV: it’s 2020, gyms are closed, we’re only allowed outside for an hour a day and it's illegal to sit on a park bench. We were forced into finding new ways of making our body move, especially if we didn’t have a garden. I’d only ever attended a few yoga classes, until my childhood best friend and I decided to partake in an online yoga challenge. We’d FaceTime every morning, simultaneously pressing start on the same YouTube clip and complete a 30-minute yoga flow together. This is when my mind really became open to the world of yoga; a world I didn’t necessarily think I fit into.
Once we left lockdown behind, my regular workouts happened at the local gym. I’d do cardio, weights, spin, circuits, pump and yoga. Somehow, I didn’t feel the benefits from yoga here, the vibe was just off. Maybe it was the bright white overhead lights or the dramatic thuds from gym-rats dropping their weights in the room next door. Just across the street from my local gym is a hot yoga studio. I’d often walk by, seeing the regular members go in and out in their Lululemon matching sets, just yearning to be a yoga girlie like them.
In September last year, I did it. I cancelled my basic and boring gym membership and signed up to The Good Rooms in Muswell Hill, North London until Christmas. I’d always wondered what a consistent hot yoga routine could do for my body and mindset, I was about to find out.
Any yoga, whether hot or cold will improve your strength and flexibility, but as hot yoga has a sauna-like environment it has a heap of additional benefits. It gives your lungs and heart a much harder workout, which has huge health benefits like boosts circulation, builds bone density, reduces blood glucose levels, and you sweat like you’ve never sweat before - great for burning calories and your metabolism.
What’s the difference between hot yoga and Bikram yoga I hear you ask? Bikram was popularised by the controversial celebrity yogi Bikram Choudhury. It consisted of 26 poses, a 90-minute class and a 40 degrees celsius room. Whereas hot yoga has much more variations including class length, the heat of the room and poses. Following the scandal surrounding Bikram, most studios now use the term hot yoga.
The day of my first hot yoga class had arrived and I was intimidated to say the least, having never been to a yoga studio before, the fear of logistics was hitting me hard. I entered the reception to have a welcoming face greet me, give me the low-down of what was about to happen and ensure that I had everything I needed. This, paired with the soothing rainforest sounds echoing all around made me feel much, much calmer.
When it comes to yoga studio etiquette, I’ve learnt from my mistakes so you don’t have to. First thing, we leave our shoes in reception, the changing room and studio is a shoe-free zone. Secondly, there is no technology in the studio - we leave our phones in the changing room. What was I going to do for fifteen whole minutes until the class started - be alone with my thoughts?! Last of all, towels. Yeah of course I had a towel… a puny, pathetic, little flannel. As I entered the steamy studio (phone-less) I noticed everyone had these special, anti-slip, yoga-mat-sized towels. That, I did not have, so I got myself and my pathetic little flannel a space and set-up for the next 75 minutes.
It was hot, like, really hot. It was quite literally like stepping into a sauna, kind of taking my breath away. I was so glad I arrived fifteen minutes early so I could somewhat climatise before the class began, even sitting had me sweating buckets. The mirrored studio was dimly lit with flickering candles, tropical leaves and plants hung from the ceiling and slow, meditative music rippled around the room.
I braved my way through the sweaty 75 minute BLISS class. As a beginner, the hardest thing about yoga is the terminology, there’s around 84 poses in total. Thankfully, after my previous yoga stints, I’d become familiar with most of the terminology, so I could get into position without having to peer across the room. My poor little flannel was absolutely sopping-wet. I was genuinely surprised at how worked-out I felt, even though a yoga class is so typically slow compared to other classes like spin. My smart watch illuminated to reveal that I had burnt around 800 calories doing 75 minutes of hot yoga - my jaw hit the floor. That was more than three times the amount I usually burn doing regular yoga. I genuinely couldn’t wait to come again, slightly more prepared.
As I continued attending, probably around three times a week, I felt myself getting physically stronger, my flexibility was increasing and I was getting much more confident day by day. I ached less in general day-to-day life, my whole body felt more limber in everything that I did. Before, climbing the stairs would have my back nagging, but not anymore; if I walked up a steep hill, my calves would sometimes feel grippingly tight, but not anymore. I was sleeping better and I wasn’t feeling stiff in the morning like I usually would. Yoga is known for improving core strength, mine admittedly has always been kind of shitty. Some classes would have my abs aching for days, even though I didn’t feel I was engaging my abs at the time. I kinda like the aches and pains after working-out, it reassured me that it was working, getting me super hyped for the next class.
I was also getting used to the heat (around 35-38 degrees celsius), when I walked into the studio, it felt cosy, rather than like I was stepping into a sauna. For each class, I took my own yoga mat, a full-sized towel, a hand-towel to dab my sweat away and a BIG water bottle - all absolute essentials. The studio has mats, straps, blocks and water available if you need it.
The Good Rooms offer a variety of different classes including; FLOW- your generic vinyasa flow, BLISS - a calming class, RESET - a class done mostly on the floor and one of my personal favourites, YIN AND GONG - 45 minutes of slow yoga followed by a 25 minute gong bath. One of which actually had me uncontrollably giggling to myself. Sound baths are supposed to send you into a euphoric state of meditation, but during this one class, at least three people fell asleep and snored the whole time. Apparently, this is quite common with group sound baths. Other than that, these classes were so calming and they really did send me into deep relaxation.
When I’m just at the gym, I barely pay any attention at all to my breathing. The Hot Yoga instructors would encourage you to breathe in a certain rhythm that matches the positions and speed. This meant I was paying much more attention to my body than I usually would. Each pose gives you a chance to feel stretching, cramping, shaking - what needs more attention, where do I need to send my breath to.
While it was amazing to feel the physical benefits of hot yoga and feeling the thrill of hundreds of calories burning away each time, it was the mental benefits I valued the most. I’d never usually set any time during the day to be alone with just my thoughts, I’d usually be watching tv or scrolling through TikTok. The no-phone rule, that at first I wasn’t sure about, became something I actually highly appreciated. The fifteen minutes before each class, lying flat (savasana pose) in silence, gave me some clarity over my thoughts. I allowed thoughts to come and pass me by, putting them to the side to give myself some headspace. It was this that was missing in my regular gym membership.
I had finally found a workout that I actually enjoyed. It felt like I was rewarding my body for thriving, not punishing it for overeating. There’s also just something about carrying a yoga mat over your shoulder on your way to a class that makes you feel like you’ve got your life together. I may not have felt or looked like a springy yoga girl and I wasn’t wearing head-to-toe Lululemon, but I was a yoga girl. I was a girl, going to yoga and that’s all you need to be. That’s the great thing about yoga culture, no matter your age, size, background, ability - you’re always welcome, especially at The Good Rooms. For me, my attitude towards exercise has definitely altered. The end goal is being first and foremost, healthy, physically and mentally, rather than losing pounds. Hot yoga is a brilliant all-rounded workout, building strength, flexibility, your heart-rate gets pumping and you’re getting a complete mental reset, my regular gym could never. I will undoubtedly be incorporating hot yoga into my weekly exercise routine from now until the end of time.
If you’re thinking about starting hot yoga yourself, here are a few essentials to get you started…
The Good Rooms in Muswell Hill, North London offer daily hot yoga and hot pilates classes.
Sign-up to their brilliant introductory offer: 15 days of classes for £39
For more information please click here.
