When it comes to yoga, we can 100% state that any type of the exercise is better than none at all! Yoga is often seen by many people as an entryway into a more ‘taxing’ exercise, but don’t underestimate just how beneficial it can be for you from top to bottom – that means mind and body!
Newcomers to the practice might not know that there are a few different types of yoga to consider. There is regular yoga, which is the kind of yoga that you might be most familiar with, and then there is ‘hot’ yoga which is more or less the same thing, just performed in a deliberately heated space! Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of hot yoga or regular yoga.
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● Increased Flexibility
Yoga is obviously already a workout that can do wonders for your flexibility, but hot yoga is even better than the regular form of the exercise. This is simply down to the fact that when your muscles are warmer, they are able to flex with a greater range of motion. Hot yoga enthusiasts often have much better flexibility in areas like their shoulders, hamstrings and lower back.
● Larger Lung Capacity
The link between successful yoga and successful breathing is a vital one, and in warmer, humid conditions, it has been proven that people are able to take longer, more oxygen filled breaths. What this does is provide better oxygen levels to your bloodstream, which in turn aids all around good health. The more you focus on the quality of your breathing during hot yoga, the larger your lung capacity will become over time.
● Burns More Calories
On average, a standard yoga class will burn anywhere between 180 and 360 calories but doing the very same poses for the same amount of time in a hot yoga setting can rise to 330 to 460 calories. This is largely due to the fact that you are going to be sweating a lot more in a hot yoga class and this forces your body to work harder to keep your temperature regulated.
● Helps To Manage Stress
The increased intensity of a hot yoga class versus a regular yoga class will result in higher levels of endorphins being released in your body. The more endorphins you produce, the more euphoric you are going to feel after your workout has ended. Endorphins are a crucial element in helping to relieve the feelings of worry and everyday stress that we all feel on a regular basis, so partaking in hot yoga can give you a much needed endorphin boost whenever you need it.
Ultimately, both normal and hot yoga offer the same benefits in terms of stress reduction, increased flexibility and improved strength, but with the heat turned up, you are giving your body the chance to give your lungs, heart and muscles an even better, more intense workout experience. Whatever decision you make, the last stage is consulting the best yoga mat guide here to ready for your first class!