Hot Yoga is a recent fitness trend which puts a new twist on an age-old practice. As a participant, you are placed in a heated room at approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat that the body naturally generates through yoga postures, coupled with the increased temperature in the room, make the body sweat more than usual. Heat will also increase body flexibility, lower the risk of muscular injury, and help to strengthen the immune system. It is commonly referred to as yoga in a sauna.
Detox the Natural Way
The word Detox is just another way to describe your bodys natural ability to eliminate waste and toxins from within. There are three main bodily systems that play a role in this process: circulatory, digestive, and lymph.
*****The Circulatory System: This body system is the transport system in charge distributing oxygen throughout the body and getting rid of waste products accumulating in the bodys cells.
*****The Digestive System: This system will processes the food that we eat; storing nutrients and getting rid of whatever the body doesnt require.
*****Then Lymphatic System: This body system collects fluid from cells and takes it to the lymph nodes that dispose of toxins in the liquid through the bloodstream.
When your body chemistry is healthy and active it will automatically undergo the detox process, efficiently on its own. However, due to a poor diet or lifestyle, the body can become slow or inefficient in the detox process; this is when the body needs a little outside help.
Exercise to Detox
All forms of exercise will encourage your body to eliminate toxins. However, yoga is especially suited to help the detox process. Many yoga postures focus on stretching and compressing the body, encouraging the flow and function of the waste removal departments in the body. The fact that the body is being pushed, pulled, and turned in many different ways will actually assist the body in the removal of harmful toxins found deep in the bodys tissues, that other forms of exercise simply do not encourage this process as much.
When referring to toxins, they include: carbon dioxide, lactic acid and lymphatic fluid. The sauna-like conditions of hot yoga usually encourage excess sweat which will allow your body to remove even more toxins. Sweat is a key way that toxins are released from the bodys pores. In this process your skin converts toxins from fats into simpler and water-soluble compounds.
Another benefits associated with hot yoga is the associated boost in circulation and metabolism. This is achieved through the heavy focus on deep breathing and postures that are simply intensified in the hot yoga setting.
