Caged Heat
Written By Brett Paesel
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Wondertime editorial assistant Betsy Wheeler — who does seem remarkably centered — tells us the reasons a sane person might submit to hot yoga. She does not live in a spaceship, on a mountaintop, or in a gated community in Beverly Hills.
Q: So why do you do this?
A: Because if you spend 90 minutes in hell, it makes the rest of your day seem like heaven in a basket. And the threat of heat sickness encourages you to drink water.
I practice the Baptiste method — that's a type of hot Vinyasa yoga — which is made for all body types and temperaments. It's meditative, it lets you use props for modifications, and is as hard a workout as you want to make it. And it's the first type of yoga I've done that doesn't make me feel like a tall, weak, slightly heavy [Not true! — Ed.] Scandinavian trying to bend my body into poses only a tiny Indian man could get into.
It's also the first physical activity that I have ever done consistently for more than two weeks. Previously, I wouldn't have gotten up at 6:30 a.m. unless my bed was on fire.
Q: What makes it better for you than yoga in front of the air conditioner?
A: If I'm in front of the air conditioner, I want to be watching back-to-back episodes of Mad Men. Seriously, the heat makes yoga easier for those of us who just aren't very flexible. And it's only around 90 degrees, versus the 105 of Bikram, so it doesn't take you to the point where you see mirages in the distance. And a bonus is that you end up able to handle the heat of summer with much more grace.
Q: How's the learning curve?
A: At first you think you're going to be sick. But you either breathe and keep going, or you let your ego go and relax in child's pose, take a drink of water, and find gratitude. Gratitude that the class will eventually be over.
Once you do it for a week, it becomes something you actually crave. I mean it. It makes me into a genuinely happier person. Ask my partner if you need proof. (She'll get exasperated and say, "Will you just please go to yoga?")
Q: Haven't you ever prayed to die?
A: Once in a Bikram class, my face disappeared in the mirror and I saw the outline of my skull in its place. Is that not normal?
Plus: Get Betsy's favorite yoga products
