Heated Yoga at Black Lotus Yoga

I have wanted to try hot yoga for a long time but wasn't keen on practising in a room heated to 40°C and 40% humidity, and then stepping out into the cold, harsh winter streets. However this muggy, stormy week I was fortunate to attend a mildly heated class (approximately 30°C) with the nutritionist and yoga teacher Simone Venner at Black Lotus Yoga. I hadn't been to a led yoga class for a while and realised that it was long overdue when I pulled a muscle putting on my sports bra.

The Black Lotus studio has a great energy, is very welcoming and is flooded with natural light.

During the class, the heat slowly crept in as we worked on our core strength and then it got to one point where my ear lobes felt hot! My fear of comically collapsing in the middle of the class was alleviated as I found it was easy to manage the heat through the breath, keeping hydrated and slowing down when necessary.

Simone's style of teaching was very free and open, which allowed me to "be" rather than "do" (something that is sometimes difficult to achieve in other forms of yoga such as Ashtanga). This is also something that is mirrored off of my mat in everyday life - my desire to move away from the need to "do" rather than just being in stillness, in the unknowing, in non-resistance, in the infinite possibilities. I felt able to flow into poses in a way that felt natural for my body, rather than moving in the "correct way". 

Overall, the heat was manageable and I could see how regular classes would help with my concrete-tight calf muscles. Most importantly, Simone had one of the best playlists I have heard during a yoga class for a long time!

The next step is to try to a hot class with temperatures reaching 40°C - pray for me!