As you may have already realized,
yoga is IN. Everywhere I go, I see people carrying
yoga mats here and there, showing off their fashionable yoga pants (might I say, overpriced as well?). Well, no offense to many yogis out there, but I'm SO not a yoga person. I feel like it's not enough of a work-out for me. However, the only yoga I can never say NO to is
Bikram Yoga, aka Hot Yoga.
A couple years ago when I was in Korea, I tried out a few different yoga classes with my friend. The ones we tried were Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, and Bikram Yoga. Both Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga were very calming and relaxing. (So relaxing that I ended up falling asleep mid-pose where I had to lie down). Obviously, I needed something that was more active.
However, Birakm Yoga's different. It's a 90-minute session that involves 26 yoga poses done in a heated room--about 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity.
Just the sound of it makes it feel suffocating, right? I hear ya. The first time I tried, I thought I was literally going to die. I was only wearing a tank top and shorts, but I was sweating SO MUCH I looked like I just came out of a swimming pool. But the feeling of freshness after taking a shower was just indescribable. After dripping all that sweat, my skin was visibly clean and softer. Not only that, with all that heat, my body was also a lot more flexible! I felt totally energized after the first session and ended up returning back for more later on.
I have my doubts though --Can Bikram Yoga alone really make you lose weight? I've heard it can help you burn up to over 600 calories per hour (depending on your weight), which is A LOT considering you don't really move like you would when you're running or doing jump roping. How is this possible? Is it the heat? The poses? I still don't get it. I've heard people losing pounds just by doing Hot Yoga, but I'm not sure if it's just the water or the actual "fat" they're losing.
Have you ever lost a lot of weight just by doing Bikram Yoga? Would you substitute it for your other regular
cardio exercises?
Comments (37)
Umm most girls burn about 80-90 calories per mile, so unless what you've done in an hour equals the effort it takes to run 7-8 miles, I would say you can't burn 600 calories.
Heat doesn't help burn calories. Actually, the hotter your environment, the less calories you burn because normally your body needs to generate heat all the time. If it's burning up in your exercise room, your body won't need to generate heat, and will use less energy.
i wanna tryy!!
I don't think so. I took hot yoga for 2 months before (they do some really.... extremely weird poses btw), and I didn't shed more than 3 lbs. It helped me look leaner, yes. But now I'm running 4-5 miles a day, and I already lost 5 lbs in less than a month. But that was just my experience.
If you want to burn more calories, I'd suggest Power Yoga, rather.yoga just makes me flexible, gets the blood circulating and makes me have a glow. its good for your health although i think anything that gets the heart pumping is a good thing. if your heart is pumping, you lose weight. thats how it goes right.
@InTheThin@xanga - whoa, not sure where you got that idea about the body needing to "generate heat." Our bodies stay within certain temperature ranges as a by-product of various processes going on within them-- your liver cleaning out toxins, for instance, generates heat. One's body doesn't generate heat simply because it needs to; it's a "side effect," really.
That said, I'm not sure entirely what effect performing exercise in extreme temperatures has on metabolism, heart rate, and resulting potential weight loss. Your body has to work harder to COOL the skin, certainly; more sweat is generated on that count. How many calories one burns/energy expended is tied into metabolism and heart rate. If anyone here is an expert on how those two systems interact, I'd give the most credence to their views on this. The average layman stating who burns what per hour is taking a pretty wild shot in the dark.
Calorie burning really shouldn't be the focus of a given workout. It's WAY too arbitrary and removed from that which one SHOULD be thinking about-- how well one is performing.ooo this sounds nice!
I love yoga just because I'm naturally flexible so it's easier (although I have terrible balance)
It sounds like being in a sauna and a workout at the same time! :D Very spa-esque.
i LOVE bikram. weight loss or not, it feels amazing, and it gets addictive. the first week i tried it (i did it for 6 days straight) i weighed myself to see - i lost more than 5 lbs, and it wasn't just water weight, because i was drinking 2-3x the amount i usually do. it's a great workout - it's actually fantastic cardio because after about 10 minutes in the room, your heart is pounding just from the heat. the stretches are amazing and you have benefits from it long after you leave. the only bad thing is that the 90 min classes can be a time-sink, and the closest studio to my house is more than 45 minutes away - you can't just do Bikram anywhere.
but to anyone who is wondering, you should DEFINITELY try it. a lot of studios will give a cheap into week so that you won't give up after the first class. the first 2 classes i couldn't even stand through the whole thing, but by the 4th, i could do every pose. you'll have good days and bad days, even the most experienced people have to sit down sometimes. you'll think you're going to pass out or throw up, but just stay in the room - sit or lie down in savasana (the resting/breathing pose) until it passes, and try some more. any good instructor will never push you if you feel ill.
@kimtendo@xanga - it is a lot like a spa! and you feel amazing after!
@scruffylizard@xanga - the heat helps your muscles relax so that you can stretch and go more deeply into poses without hurting yourself.
@InTheThin@xanga - Maybe there should be arctic yoga or something? :D
-Kunoichi
Nice posting. Do you know about these yoga books?
http://www.yogavidya.com/freepdfs.html
@scruffylizard@xanga - Hm okay well I might have been wrong about the body needing to generate heat. One thing I do know though is that there has been research concerning the base number of calories burned per hour and the temperature of the environment, and the higher the temperature, the fewer calories burned per hour. Though it may not be the body generating heat for the sake of being warm, it should be true that generally the hotter it is, the fewer calories one burns.
@KrazeeKunoichi009@xanga - loll
my mother does this type of yoga like three times a week. she says she hasnt lost any significant amount of weight but i do notice she is leaner...more lean muscle is built for sure. and deff her core looks stronger...but shes also been supplementing running with it as well. she runs n then she goes off to yoga.
I defff wanna try Bikram. Its the only yoga ive been wanting to try and it seems worth the money to me. who knows maybe ill join my mama one day.
@InTheThin@xanga - Interesting. I am addicted to reading science and health-related articles on the NYT site; do you have any links for the research you're referring to here?
@scruffylizard@xanga - No sorry. I read so many random articles about health, science, psychology, astronomy, etc....no way I'd ever remember haha.
Calorie-wise, no you're not going to lose more calories.
IF you did the same workout at room temperature, and a second workout at a warmer temperature, you will not burn more calories. What you will do, is lose much more water.
However, "hot" yoga certainly can have you increasing your range of motion in a shorter time period. The blood flow that is increased due to temperature allows for a greater elasticity of your muscles and connective tissue.
So...while it may not be better for calorie loss, it definitely has it's benefits. :)
@Titanic_Spaz@xanga - Also,because the body is attempting to cool itself by sweating, you burn a lot of fat too. D: I wanna try it, I wish I was a lean, mean, yoga machine. *sad face*
-Kunoichi
@KrazeeKunoichi009@xanga - sorry hun but you're incorrect. While 'hot' yoga makes you sweat more, and sweating increases your heart rate, your actual energy expendature while doing hot yoga is the same. Sweating itself does not burn any additional calories, such as sitting in a sauna. This merely makes you perspire, not burn fat. The exercises you do when you sweat are what burn calories, but the sweat itself has nothing to do with it
sounds cool! i've always wanted to join yoga and i didn't know there were different types haha.
I don't function well in temperatures above 85 degrees or so, so I would probably react poorly to that type of yoga. I think I'd most likely get heat exhaustion (if not heat stroke) and pass out. Not my idea of a fun time.
I have tried several different episodes of yoga variations on ExerciseTV, and so far, the power yoga/yoga-fitness fusion concepts work best for me. They're strenuous and give me a pretty good cardio workout for an hour or so. My incredibly fit friend, Aaron, tried it with me once, too, and even he was feeling the burn. :)
You definitely lose weight in hot yoga. Your heart rate goes up like you have been running at high speed! No workout is a miracle weight loss pill but hot yoga works. I must add though, I do hot yoga and also Pilates. The combination of both has made me shed so many pounds already. I used to be a runner and i was never this thin and lean before. When i used to run i was bulkier and not flexible at all which made me look heavier and not lean. After doing both Pilates and hot yoga, I am so strong! My legs and arms are so much leaner and defined. The best part is that im not breaking my knees anymore running outside! I have a lot of core strength which is what boost your metabolic rate. If you want to boost your metabolism you must strengthen your CORE! Yoga is wonderful too because there is nothing more cleansing than sweating out all the toxins you sweat in a hot yoga class! People dont realize that weight loss is much more complicated than just calorie intake. Most people are overweight because they have accumulated toxins in their liver and digestive systems which are preventing their metabolism to kick in and burn calories naturally. Hormonal imbalances will cause weight gain and overeating and this is all a result of the body being congested with toxins from bad eating habits! One thing i have realized about bikram yoga is that it has completely curbed my appetite! When the body is cleansed and the bacteria and toxins are gone your able to absorb more nutrients. When you are clogged with toxins you tend to over eat because your body is not able to absorb what it needs. YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT WITH HOT YOGA AND PILATES AND A BETTER DIET! You dont have to starve yourself to be thin and lean! All these new fads about cutting carbs and fake sweetners is what is making people fat. THe body wasnt made to "curb all carbs" you just have to eat healthy. All these diet products are full of fake ingredients and sweetners and chemicals which are at fault for making people not be able to burn fat anymore. I could go on forever! When you are kind to your body your body is kind to you. A workout doesnt have to be streneous and you dont have to lift tons of weights and run 10 miles a day to be thin. You probably will be thin but also will tend to eat 3000calories a day. A 1 hour strengthening and challenging workout that is good to your joints can be just as succesful and you probably wont be feeling like you need to eat a horse.
I'd do it in conjunction with cardio work.
Actually, Dr. Oz recently appeared on Oprah and he actually stated that sitting in a sauna--just sitting--can burn calories. He actually had one set up on the Oprah show and they both sat in there--until she could not take it! Just some info. for the discussion.
That sounds good to me. Except I'd really wanna do it in winter instead of summer.
bikram yoga sounds good, i may try it some time ;D thanks for letting us know about it
karen.
dont u lost weight from sweating?