Hot Yoga Forum

weight gain, water retention, bloating…

2010-06-12T09:07:58-08:00

I’m feeling icky. I have been doing hot yoga 4-5 times a week for about 6 weeks now. At first I loved it!! I used to run and lift weights at the gym and was getting really bored with my workout and uninspired. Hot yoga was wonderful, especially for an old, ex-gymnast/dancer like me! I was feeling great, motivated and inspired and stopped going to the gym. I could happily do this every day.

However, I am now feeling disappointed and deflated. I have gained a few pounds and, although I know the scale should not be of great importance, I cannot fit into most of my jeans! Also, I feel bloated, like I’m retaining water and have had to remove (with some difficulty) the rings I’ve worn regularly for years and years! I don’t care what my weight is (I’m generally in a very normal range), I just don’t want to feel like this.

I sweat a lot, but drink lots of water throughout the day and feel no other symptoms that I may be dehydrated. I eat well and haven’t changed my diet. I keep drinking more and more water, but my fingers especially are still puffy and I’m uncomfortable. I don’t know how much more I can drink. What’s going on?!

I really don’t want to give up on hot yoga, nor do I want to go back to my old gym routine. I don’t have the time to do both and it would be very expensive to keep both memberships. What should I try before I give up on this?

my studio is SMELLY!

2008-05-21T21:58:58-08:00

Hello!

I have recently began practicing Bikram Yoga. I am very athletic and flexible, so I LOVE Bikram. The only issue I have been having is that the room STINKS. It’s very intense. I just assumed that this was normal due to the sweating and carpet, but now I am not so sure. Is this normal? Is this a sign of an unsafe studio? I have started to read reviews on the studio, and I am suspecting that this isn’t something one should expect of their studio.

I really love the practice, and this is the only studio near by house, but if this is unsafe, I guess I should find a new place to practice!

Thanks so much!
Regan

Weight Gain

2009-05-16T17:23:57-08:00

I have been practicing Bikram yoga now for 3 months, going 4 to 5 times a week. I have gained 5 pounds. I started yoga to help maintain or lower my weight. All my clothes fit tighter. My diet is great. I eat healthy and consume around 1600 calaries a day. I also do about 45min of cardio each day.

Why am I gaining weight. I never exercised more in my life. I currently weigh 137lbs.

I know the scale should not matter, but when my clothes are tighter it makes me very depressed.

I really like Bikram yoga but I am going to stop it if I can’t loose the extra 5 pounds.

Rounded shoulders

2010-07-03T04:07:22-08:00

Hello

I’ll cut right to the chase here. I have poor posture and have rounded shoulders. I just wondered how much you have seen someone improve by doing this sort of yoga. I have difficulty in doing some postures because of it. For example in the forward bend at the start, when I hear ‘touch your forehead on your calf muscles’ my forehead only touches my knees! - and even standing head to knee - I am still after 6 months - 4 times a week - I am still working on strengthening my leg enough to keep the knee locked for 60 seconds. I think my leg muscles are weak beause of my posture etc. Many thanks for any insights.

Namaste

Six months of hot yoga and still feeling stiff ?

2010-07-03T03:59:17-08:00

Hello

Firstly just wanted to say I love this forum - it is so helpful, thank you. I have been doing Bikram Yoga for 6 months now and love it. However I do have a question about flexibility. I am 47 and each time I do the yoga I am stiff somewhere else - I am OK with that as I assume I have stretched to new places that day. However - perhaps naively I thought I would have had more flexibility in general - however I feel stiff just picking something up off the floor as example. Or I played tennis the other day and found I felt stiff doing that. I had kind of thought that doing this yoga might have given me some of the flexibility I had in my younger years. My expectations are perhaps out of whack and I just wondered what your thoughts were on that! Thank you in advance.

Namaste

Best food after yoga

2008-10-15T18:46:40-08:00

I usually attend class after work which ends at 7pm. I feel as though I could possibly eat the entire contents of my refrigerator. What foods do you find would be most beneficial after a Bikram yoga class?

looking forward to your suggestions, yoga-flo

Overweight and wanting to start Bikram Yoga

2010-06-06T05:57:36-08:00

Hello everyone,
I am new on the forum and I’ve been reading a bit about Yoga lately. I am quite overweight and I really want to start leading a healthier life. My main problem is I lose motivation quickly, because I am worried about how people perceive me. I am looking for a Bikram Yoga studio near me but my main concern seems to be will people laugh at me?
I don’t want to end up going and having someone mock me for being “fat”. I have been teased all my life about my weight and have struggled with it that long also. I am 25 and I feel if I don’t make a change now I will just keep deteriorating and I really don’t want that to happen.
I want to experience more of life, I want to be healthy and I want to be able to walk down the street without worrying how someone perceives me.

For those of you that have been in my situation or have any advice I would appreciate anything you have to say.

I am curious if the poses hard? What if I can’t keep my balance on poses? How are the instructors usually with larger people?

Are there specific mats for larger people? What do you usually wear to your Bikram Yoga class and what did you bring the first time you went?
Thank you all in advance and I hope someone can help me with the questions.

Elle

Bikram for weight loss - any stories for me?!

2009-06-24T23:34:19-08:00

Hi All,
Have just stared Bikram a few weeks ago & am going about 4 times a week, really liking it! Definately addictive - cant explain why!
Anyway, i have a goal to loose 7kgs over the next 3 months and was hoping Bikram will help - i can already tell it makes me want to eat healthier food & im defiantely drinking more water.

I am wondering if anyone has experianced weight loss from Bikram & would love to hear your stories? Its not the only excercise i do, but am hoping it will kick the weight loss into gear! Also does any one reccomend i only focus on the bikram & say go 4-5 times a week or should i go say 3 times a week & do other cardio on other days?

Ive also noticed my skin is clearer & im sleeping better!

Looking fwd to hearing some stories!

Asking from Iceland

2010-06-03T04:15:34-08:00

I´m from Iceland

I was wondering, I started Hot Yoga last week and I want to know how many calories I burn in 60 - 90 min

Can u help me?

Best regards from Iceland

New to Hot Yoga

2010-05-20T12:31:23-08:00

I have been trying to find a form of exercise that I enjoy so that I will keep it up. I tried Hot Yoga for the first time 1 week ago - I have been 3 times already, and I plan on going 4 times a week. I enjoy it - I don’t feel completely out of place, even if there are a few looks that I receive from other participants. I should explain that - I am morbidly obese, so I definitely stand out in the class. But, generally, once the class starts I concentrate on what I am doing and the rest of the stuff does not affect me.

My question/concern is just regarding the fact that I cannot do all of the poses as instructed because there is just too much fat in the way (to put it bluntly), and I wonder if I am still receiving the benefits of the workout. For example, the pose pictured on the top right hand side of the screen - we are instructed to put our forehead on our knee, even if we have to bend out knee to do it. But, not matter how much I bend my knee, my forehead won’t get there because of a) belly fat and b) my breasts. I can put my hands around the bottom of my foot with my knee locked, but my forehead is not even close.

I honestly feel that this is a workout I can stick with, but I just wonder if I need to try to lose the weight by some other means before continuing with it.

Thank-you.