Does doing Yoga in a heated room help with weight loss compared to doing yoga in a regular temperature room?
With any form of yoga, a practitioner should focus on safe and effective movement. The goal in a pose is a free flow of energy, good body alignment, and a free flow of breath. These goals exist in the space between the poses too. Balance, focus, flexibility and strength can improve over time. In a perfect, non-judgemental world, students of yoga could seek gradual improvement of many aspects of heath and fitness comfortably over time. In American society today, we are typically driven to focus on how our bodies look and what number appears on the scale to gauge success. If going to a hot yoga class makes you feel like you’re really doing something, then GO! Just be mindful of how you practice. Don’t expect to learn everything about every pose in class. Take responsibility of improving your own posture, strength, flexibility and balance. Do a little reading, ask some questions, observe. The process of sweating to cool your body does burn calories. Moving around at a fast pace burns calories. Making your body move in ways it’s not used to burns calories. If you are enjoying your class and you’re doing it regularly, keep up the good work! I suggest you take a slower ‘regular’ temperature yoga class too and see what you can learn about the poses when you’re not moving so fast and not dripping in sweat. Mix in a cardio workout from time to time and keep an eye on what you’re eating. Weight loss will come.