When it’s wet and cold outside, your natural inclination might be to hibernate in front of the TV with a bunch of carb-loaded snack foods. While that picture does hold a certain amount of undeniable charm, consider another option – pulling out your yoga mat or, better yet, heading down to a local yoga class.
Yoga, in all its’ forms, is a natural aphrodisiac to counter the winter blues. In this article, we’ll uncover how it can help you to thrive during the dreaded New England winter.
photo credit: Hamza
What is Bikram Yoga?
Bikram Yoga, also known as ‘Hot Yoga’, is the popular yoga sensation that has recently swept across America. But Bikram Yoga isn’t one of those here today, gone tomorrow fitness crazes that pop up every so often. It is an ancient training style with proven health giving benefits that can transform your life.
Bikram Yoga consists of 26 yoga poses done in a specific series over 90 minutes. Over the course of that 90-minute class, you go through two sets of each posture. It is known as Hot Yoga because the classes are held in an elevated temperature environment – the room is set to 105 degrees fahrenheit. The humidity of the room is kept to about 40 per cent. That means that you’ll be walking out of the session soaked in sweat.
Bikram Yoga differs from other types of yoga in that it is purposefully done in a hotter environment. This, in effect, transfers the training environment of India to anywhere around the world. The benefit of this is that it opens up the muscles to stretch more safely, increase the cardiovascular workout and to provide a safer stretching environment.
You’re not alone.
Increased flexibility and range of motion, reduced risk of injury and joint pain, and improved focus/mental clarity are just some of the reported benefits of a regular practice.
But trying to decide which yoga class to take can be confusing, especially in the Cambridge, MA area where yoga studios are a plenty. There are many different styles of yoga classes, and in Boston you’ll find everything from beginner tutorials to hardcore advanced seminars.
At Evolve Fitness, we pride ourselves on offering a diverse selection of group exercise classes catering to all levels of experience, and yoga is no exception. We offer several different free yoga classes at both our Framingham and Cambridge, MA locations, and we’re going to spend some time today breaking down a few of the different styles that you might run into at a typical class.
Photo Credit: g-useppe