All puns aside, the “hottest” new health and wellness trend to hit Preston Street in the last two months has been hot yoga. It’s just what it sounds like: a series of traditional yoga postures, but practiced in a room that is heated up to 38 degrees Celsius. Participants say they get a much deeper stretch than they would with regular yoga and generally feel invigorated after the routine.
“It’s a great all-around physical workout. You feel energized at the end of a class, but you feel calm, relaxed, focused, and a little more clear-headed,” says Tracy Koert, a co-owner and teacher at Moksha Yoga Ottawa.
Koert and co-owner Paula Romkey have been thriving in their Little Italy studio since opening it in December, and were happy participants in the Power of Movement fundraiser on Feb 22.
Yoga studios from across the country recently participated in what was called the world’s largest yoga fundraiser. And thanks to some enthusiastic supporters at Moksha, Ottawa was able to contribute more than $4,800 to the nationwide total of more than $250,000.
Moksha is the only yoga studio in Ottawa that exclusively offers hot yoga, but out of the four yoga studios in Centretown, three of them, including Moksha, offer hot yoga classes.
Hot yoga, also known as “Bikram yoga” was developed by Bikram Choudhury who teaches and trains out of his studio in Los Angeles, Calif.
Moksha Yoga, taught at Koert and Romkey’s studio, is a variation of “Bikram” which concentrates a little more on core strength, and includes a downward dog pose.
Despite some concern, there are few, if any, health risks involved in performing a workout in the nearly sauna-like temperatures, Koert says.
“It’s really about going at your own pace and listening to your own body,” she says. “For anyone who has a [health] condition, pregnancy, or some type of illness, we always have to recommend you check in with your doctor first. We don’t push anyone into anything.”
Romkey says practicing hot yoga helped to reduce her chronic back pain. “It ended up being really therapeutic and it ended up helping. I saw all kinds of doctors and physiotherapists and nobody could really offer me any solutions so it started to be a huge relief for me.”
Koert says hot yoga also helped her through a rough point in her life. “I was really stressed out, you know I was miserable. I was unhappy with my job, I was going through a divorce and a friend of mine suggested I give yoga a try. Hot yoga was the first class I ever did and I instantly fell in love with it.”
Both Koert and Romkey are quick to quash the rumours that hot yoga is a female-dominated activity.
“We see a lot of men coming in,” says Koert. “Men are coming into yoga a lot more, but hot yoga especially because it is a little more athletic, so it’s a little more intense with the heat. Your heart-rate gets up there so I think that’s a little more attractive for men.”
Austin Boyd, is one of the male regulars at Moksha and says his biggest fear when starting was actually wearing spandex.
“I didn’t want to send off any odd interpretations about it, but now I’m totally into it [hot yoga].” Boyd, an aspiring yoga instructor himself, says he got into hot yoga because of a desire to change his workout routine from merely lifting weights all the time and wanting to be part of a group exercise in a small community like a yoga class.
The co-owners explain that a typical routine doesn’t just see a participant going from “their toes to their head.” Instead it starts with poses to zero in your focus, and gentle stretches to help you warm up. Following that, there is usually a peak, and some cooling down poses. They usually repeat the peak and cool down phases and end with a long relaxation.
Romkey says that at Moksha Yoga Ottawa they are not just trying to physically help out people, they want to create a community as well.
“We just want people to feel better about themselves. We just want, ultimately, to have people leave our studio feeling a little bit more love in their hearts, with a smile on their face, and their outlook a little bit more positive.”