Remember that heat wave last week- the one that had all of Bucks County under a haze of sticky 90 degree temperatures? Now imagine walking into an enclosed room with several heaters turned on max, ready to practice 90 minutes of intense yoga. What a week to start the Bucks Happening hot yoga challenge!

I am now well into the 2nd week of the challenge, in which I will be attending at least five days a week of hot yoga at Riverflow Yoga for 1 month.  Each hot yoga class consists of the same series of 26 poses, each movement being performed in 2 sets. What amazes me is that even though I am doing the same set of exercises almost every day, my body reacts very differently each time.

After 7 hot yoga classes, my muscles have become more flexible and my heart & lungs better equipped for the cardio portion of the class (yes- there is a cardio portion of this yoga class!).  However, I find that my balance and concentration really vary on my mood pre-class.  Further, I find that moreso with hot yoga than with any other exercise I've done in the past, I can immediately feel the repercussion of mistreating my body.  That extra glass of wine on Saturday night will no doubt work it's way into your practice Sunday!

For anyone who has experienced hot yoga before, you know that getting through the first couple of classes is a major challenge- some people experience nausea, dizziness, or even shortness of breath.  However, after a couple classes, these feelings really began to subside, and I am now exploring the many facets of practicing hot yoga- increased flexibility, better sleep cycles, and even a calmer demeanor at times.  It may be completely in my head, but I do feel tighter in the tummy as well! (perhaps it's just the confidence of feeling fit?) Within each class, I triumph in my small victories, such as holding a pose for a full minute, while at the same time I maintain the feeling that there is so much left to achieve.

With two week left in my challenge, I am more excited than ever to continue my hot yoga practice.  I'm not saying that there aren't those moments of weakness, when the couch calls my name after a long day of work or when half-way through an extra-hot class I'm tempted to make a daring escape into the rain outside. However, in the back of my mind, I always know how amazing I'll feel, usually for a full 24 hours, after practicing at Riverflow. Week 3, here I come 🙂

Follow Riverflow Yoga on Facebook & Twitter for more information on hot yoga and check back on Bucks Happening throughout June for more updates on our challenge.

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