HOT, NOT BOTHERED: HOW TO PREPARE FOR HOT YOGA
"I love you, Riverflow Yoga!"
"Last night my whole body was sore from a workout. My hips and hamstrings were tightest. 90 minutes of heat & humidity plus 50 oz. of water - I felt like a brand new me! This morning I could actually walk. Who knew 105 degrees could feel so good?" - Jaime Sisolack Cahalan
Welcome to Riverflow Yoga. Follow these simple instructions and you're ready to take the heat.
Eat, Drink and Be Hydrated
Hydrate well throughout the day and continue right up until class.
Rule of thumb: you need half your body weight in ounces of water daily to maintain hydration in your body.
Add coconut juice to your diet for excellent hydration - we sell the Amy & Brian's brand at our studio.
Eat no sooner than an hour before class and keep it light: toast, cereal, yogurt; choose healthy carbs and proteins but avoid fatty meats, and stay away from processed sugar and alcohol. Avoid caffeine too.
The perfect hot yoga food, before and after, is one of Jaime's Green Smoothies - find your new faves.
Sometimes a simple, nourishing snack an hour before class will do. Here are some favorites to try:
- Almonds or almond butter with Green Apple
- Plain full fat yogurt with walnuts and cinnamon
- Raw walnuts with a hard boiled egg
- Kale chips
- Green apple with cinnamon and walnuts
- My personal favorite - a coconut (juice and meat! )
WHAT TO EAT AFTER HOT YOGA?
Become a member of our Online Yoga Community and check our healthy and easy (because who has time to cook after class?) recipes that will keep your hot yoga detox going.
Arrive early...relax instantly
Arrive 20 minutes before class.
Check in, sip water, chat with friends in the changing room or reception area, then enter the yoga room quietly and stay relaxed in silence till class begins.
Close your eyes, acclimate to the heat and de-stress. CLass will start soon.
Don't get left out in the cold
Once a hot yoga class starts, we lock the outside door, so you can feel secure leaving your valuables.
If you're running just a bit late, just call ahead and tell us to leave the door open for 5 minutes.
Come in, lock the door behind you and join the heat.
Hot stuff
- A large bottle of cold water to sip during class, and another for after class.
- Water ONLY in the yoga room; after class we recommend Amy & Brian's Coconut Juice to hydrate, which we sell ($3). We also sell water ($1).
- Water, yoga mat and towel into the yoga room...and that's it.
Whatever you bring into the yoga room must stay on your mat, so just mat, towel, water and you. We rent the right kind of towels ($1) and mats (rent for $2 or purchase an Anti-Microbial Yoga Mat from us for $40) Start a TAB with us ($20 or more) and you can rent/buy whatever you need from us anytime.
Dress for (hot yoga) Success
Wear shorts, sports bra, bathing suit...very little clothing. Our favorite hot yoga clothes are Yoga Bela - good fit and coverage, breathability, great styles for men and women. They last through many washings. Check our boutique for Yoga Bela hot yoga duds.
Bring a dry change of clothes for after hot yoga class - strip off your dripping wet yoga clothes in the changing room, towel dry, and change back into dry clothing before exiting the yoga studio. Especially in the wintertime - don't go wet into that cold, cold night!
Hot yoga health check
If you are under a doctor's care, check with your doctor before starting hot yoga. If you have any health issues, get your doctor's OK.
If you're pregnant, discuss hot yoga with your OB/GYN. Many women who were hot yoga students before pregnancy continued their hot yoga practice all the way through delivery, and report a wonderful experience, including my hot yoga teacher Michelle, and our Riverflow hot yoga teacher, Jaime, who shared her hot yoga pregnancy with us (read all about it!).
There are modifications to the poses to accomodate a growing belly, but always do what feels right for you!
Talk to your hot yoga teacher
Before class, feel free to talk to the hot yoga teacher about any ailments - we can show you some modifications - but mostly we're going to tell you to do each pose to the best of your ability which means simply this:
Follow our instructions, do the poses to the best of your ability today. and NEVER push yourself into pain.
As long as you give each pose 100% effort in the right way, per our instructions, you're headed in the right direction.
