Hot Fun In The Summertime! by Pam Goldberg

Having reached my 300th class after starting at RHY in November, 2013, I have had the opportunity to practice hot yoga in every season. And as a person who is ALWAYS cold — frozen hands, icy feet, always requesting extra blankets at a hotel, I find the heat of the yoga room to be heaven at any time of the year.

There truly is nothing sweeter than coming into the room on a cold January morning and feeling that blast of heat as I hurry into the changing room. As spring 2014 came around, I thought I would find hot yoga in hot weather to be uncomfortable and kind of icky. Boy, was I wrong!

 
Hot yoga in hot weather is a whole new experience.Not only does it take less time to get heated up and sweating away, but it is energizing in a different way. The transition from a hot outside to inside a hot yoga room is easy, and I find I acclimate quickly. The big benefit is the increased flexibility that comes much sooner in the practice. 

And then there’s the earlier experience of the “swimming pool effect.” That’s the point in my practice where I am drenched.and sweat is rolling down my face, my legs, my arms, and dripping onto my mat. When the weather is cold, this point is usually at the end of the warrior series, or during the balancing series. But when the temperature outside goes above 80, I’m in the deep end of that pool by the end of the second half moon sequence. It’s a wet one from there out! 

I like sweating like a pig. (Even though I don’t eat pork!) It means that all that toxic gunk is coming out of my body and falling onto my long-suffering Yogatoes towel which is not even close to it’s original shade of teal blue.My skin is pushing out all that oil and dirt that floats around the world and sticks to it. My innards are moving around, and I’m stretching all of me, inside and out. 

I’m so pleased that RHY has returned me to my full height of 5’8”, instead of the 5’7-1/2” that I shrink to when the world is weighing me down.That move down to the mat for the spine strengthening comes at just the right time and savasana is as lovely as ever on a hot summer day. 

Is there such a thing as a bad savasana? 

But the best part of all is leaving the studio, sweaty as can be, and settling into that steamy car. It’s just not that hot! It’s temperate. I don’t want the A/C — it would make me cold and probably bring on a sick feeling. Instead, I’ll open the sun roof and get some breeze blowing while I look for a song on the radio that resonates with my endorphin high and toxins released state-of-mind. 

“Hot Fun in the Summertime,” indeed!

Pam Goldberg with wax Madonna.

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