What to bring to class:
- A large bottle of water (or two)
- A yoga mat
- A small hand towel to dab away excess sweat
- **Optional** A slipless yoga mat or large beach towel to go over your regular yoga mat
How to best prepare for class:
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate before class
- Don’t drink TONS of water right before class
- Avoid heavy, greasy foods
- Eat about 2 hours before class…if you MUST eat within that 2-hour window, choose a light, healthy snack
- Arrive 5-15 minutes before class starts to allow time to check in and to get acclimated to the studio and heat before we begin
What to expect during class:
- Leave expectations and judgments at the door.
- Keep your attention and focus on your own practice/mat.
- You will sweat, it’s inevitable. We have showers available if you need to freshen up after class.
- You may feel light-headed at any given point. At any time, you can drop to Child’s Pose or Relaxation Pose, or sit in an upright seated position on your mat until you feel ready to re-join the poses.
- Come to class prepared to let go of your expectations and turn your gaze inward and upward. You will see changes occur rather quickly if you stick to yoga. There are so many ways to grow, learn and excel. We hope you take advantage of these opportunities.
What to wear:
- Guys: T-shirts and shorts, nothing too baggy
- Ladies: Fitted tank top or t-shirt, sports bra, fitted yoga pants/capris
- Sweat wicking, dri-fit fabrics
- Please refrain from shorty shorts
- Tops must be worn over sports bras
- Choose an outfit that will allow you to move freely and will still feel comfortable as it becomes wet with sweat.
Why practice yoga in the heat?
- Aside from getting a good sweat and calorie-burn in, what more could you want?
- The heat allows for safer stretching by opening up musculoskeletal structures
- Fascia, ligaments, muscles and tendons will warm up quickly and allow you to move further, more comfortably and more safely in all directions than while exercising in a cooler environment.
- The heat produces a fluid-like stretch allowing for greater range of movement.
- Muscles and connective tissue become more elastic and will help you to go deeper into a yoga pose as the body becomes more flexible with less chance of injury.
- Tendons and ligaments are lubricated, thereby increasing your strength, making you tougher and less prone to injury.
- Stretching your muscles in the heat stimulates blood flow to different parts of the body, thereby encouraging circulation of blood and improving the functioning of the circulatory system. Increased blood flow also increases oxygen and nutrient content to different body parts thus invigorating various organs and systems.
