By Elizabeth Newton
The temperature topped 95 degrees today, the first real summerlike heat wave of the year. This sent most people scrambling for ice cream, air-conditioning, and dips into the Pacific sans wetsuit. But not team Active Recovery. We decided to turn up the heat even more with a class at Yogatropics in Encinitas. And we weren’t the only ones. Hot yoga at Yogatropics is a series of 26 yoga “asanas” or poses done in a heated room. The heat, 100-105 degrees is the ideal temperature, helps muscles stretch deeper and is a great way to sweat and detoxify the body. It also, as any hot yogi will tell you, relaxes the mind and feels amazing.
The temperature outside did little to dissuade the dedicated almost cult-like followers of hot yoga. The class today was a Vinyasa class, characterized by a series of asanas that flow together almost like a dance. Let me tell you it was a hot and sweaty 60 minutes. Alison was dripping wet, I got a little bit lightheaded once or twice, and hard core yogis were stepping outside (into the 90 degree day) to cool off. In the end, we made it through, although there was a bit of slipping and sliding going on at the end (not to mention an outbreak of giggles.) Afterwards we toweled off and headed over to a certain frozen yogurt shop, the perfect way to end a beautiful day and kick-ass yoga class.
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