Alternative Healing and Medicine
Hot Yoga at Big Ron’s
I always thought Florida in the summer was as hot and humid as it could possibly get…..until I went to Hot Yoga at Big Ron’s Yoga Studio. One hundred degrees for 100 minutes, they advertise—and they don’t joke about it.
I was recently on an assignment to cover the local yoga scene, and stumbled across Big Ron’s at the suggestion of a friend. She told me the yoga instructor cranks the heat up to just past 100 degrees for a session which last longer than an hour and a half. I cringed at the idea and thought to myself, “No way!” but the story assignment led me to Big Ron’s which is a leading enterprise in the yoga industry today.
One hundred degrees for 100 minutes they say. It sounded intimidating enough, but after my session I was surprised to feel exhausted and rejuvenated at once. Owner Rose Charbonneau says the heat releases toxins from the body and relaxes muscles at once, so there’s no need to warm up before getting into positions. I hate sweating, and I hate the Florida humidity, but in the case of hot yoga, the high temperature actually facilitates your body’s movements rather than create further discomfort.
And for those looking to lose weight, I’ve got even better news: the heat during the workout allows you to burn calories hours after you’ve been in the studio. To optimize these results, Charbonneau suggest avoiding caffeine before the session, drinking plenty of water and consuming nutrient-rich food afterward.
What I loved about the yoga lesson was that I was able to go at my own pace: with or without positioning blocks, holding poses longer or briefly depending on my own comfort. The cool down at the end of the “hottest” 90 minutes of my life was much-welcome, and I walked out of the studio feeling the stress in my body had been completely released.
With only a single session’s workout I could feel the effects of the yoga in my muscles for the following week, and that’s when I realized hot yoga is not something that should be passed up.
So what should you take with you? Most definitely a water bottle. You lose way too much water during the session, so take the largest water bottle you have! Don’t forget to take along several towels as well. If you, like me, hate sweating, the more hand towels (Charbonneau suggests three, I suggest more), the better. And as always, keep an open mind. It’s only as effective as you are willing to let it be, so flexibility of mind and body is essential to reaping the rewards of hot yoga.
Amritha Alladi is a senior journalism student at the University of Florida, pursuing a career in print or broadcast journalism. Her emphasis has mainly been in writing features for newspapers and magazine. Additionally, she covers local news working as an anchor and producer for morning, midday and evening news for UF's CBS affiliate station WRUF-AM850.
She was born in Gainesville, Fla., and has lived there since. Her interests include reading, writing, international travel, the French language and culture, scrap-booking, tennis, and Indian dance. She visits India every year with her family during the summer and/or winter holidays.