Hot and Cold Yoga – What Is The Difference?

Can You Handle The Heat?

Yoga is an excellent form of exercise and also a great way to relax your mind with its meditation exercises. Have you heard of hot yoga or cold yoga? There are many forms, styles and intensities.

The stretching exercises combined with controlled breathing and relaxation will help you establish a deeper ‘mind-body’ connection. Yoga has so many healing benefits that don’t just include the physical. body. The exercises can help reduce your anxiety and stress levels.

Yoga is practiced by many celebrities and they have made it a popular form of exercise, however you can do it too!

Hot Yoga – Bikram

If you want a vigorous form of Yoga then you may want to consider hot yoga or Bikram yoga. This exercise is done in a studio that is heated between 95 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit and has a humidity of 40%.

The heated room will allow you to sweat out the toxins in your body. Additionally, the heat will warm your tendons and ligaments in no time. Simply put, warm muscles will burn fat more easily.

Hot yoga is performed within 90 minutes and it consists of a series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. Beginners may not be comfortable doing the poses for the first few weeks because they require lengthy, forceful and controlled contractions of all major muscle groups. The reason for this is to keep your heart rate up and tire your muscles.

Hot yoga or Bikram yoga is great for people who want to lose weight because it improves the metabolism as well as the digestive system. It also normalizes your appetite. Those who have been practicing this form of yoga say that they were able to diminish their unhealthy cravings.

Due to Bikram’s intensity, it is not recommended for everyone. It is certainly not recommended for pregnant women. If you have any health-related issues such as heat intolerance and heart disease, make sure you talk to your doctor before trying this form of yoga.

Cold Yoga – Hatha

If you don’t think hot yoga is for you then you can always try cold yoga. This form of yoga actually comes in many forms. These forms are typically referred to as Hatha yoga.

Unlike hot yoga which promotes weight loss, cold yoga’s main premise is to align your muscles, skin and bones. The main benefit thereof is the feeling of calmness and relaxation.

It involves breathing and a series of postures that can both have physical and mental benefits. Cold yoga is performed in a room that has standard room temperature. This form of yoga is great for people who are looking for a way to escape the chaos of the outside world. It’s a great stress reliever that will teach you how to connect with your inner being.

Other forms of cold yoga include Ashtanga, Iyengar, Kundalini and Viniyoga.

Have you ever done any hot or cold yoga exercises? If so how did it feel? If not, which one would be your style?! I would love to hear in the comments below…