Temperatures of 40 degree centigrade. 26 poses in 90 minutes. Line after line of sweating students stretching their bodies to the max. You’ve just walked into a hot yoga studio.
Of course, if you’re a hot yoga instructor, you’ll know all about the decade’s most talked about fitness trend. What started out as an extravagant exercise programme for the rich and famous now appears in local leisure centres across the country, with affordable prices bringing high-temperature fitness to the masses. The hot yoga boom has controversially developed this traditionally introspective and spiritual pursuit into a 100 billion dollar industry, with thousands of qualified hot yoga instructors setting up studios all over the world.
The benefits of hot yoga are debated amongst its fans and detractors, with fitness instructors, physiotherapists, scientists and hot yoga fans from across their globe determined to have their say. Proponents of hot yoga insist that the high temperatures provide a more intense work out, raising the heart rate and relaxing the muscles so yoga students can push themselves further when holding postures. The heavy sweating caused by tropical temperatures is supposed to help detoxification, with copious sweating flushing out toxins from our bodies’ systems. Other claimed benefits include relaxation, help breathing for asthmatics and better concentration. Hot yoga critics are more reserved about the sport’s benefits and voice caution about negative side effects of high temperatures such as dehydration and dizziness. Some have even suggested that the positive side effects come more from the perception of an intense workout than from the exercise itself.
With no conclusive studies to back up either position it’s difficult to know at this stage whether hot yoga is a bona fide fitness revolution or just another feel-good fad. But perhaps that doesn’t matter. It’s clear that the sport has thousands of devoted followers who benefit physically and psychologically from hot yoga – and, as we all know, feeling happy and healthy is a vital part of being happy and healthy. The combination of intense effort and relaxation may be physically therapeutic or just psychologically therapeutic – but is the latter really less valuable than the former?
The more pressing question for many yoga instructors is – how to heat yoga studios to the tropical heat levels required by hot yoga?
Reaching and maintaining constant temperatures of 40 °C is a very difficult task for conventional heating systems. Fan heaters, central heating radiators and other convection heaters heat by pushing warm air around the room. The occupants of a room are heated in turn by the temperature of the air. Because warm air naturally moves to cooler spaces, convected heat constantly moves around the room creating uneven temperature levels. This can be very disruptive in a yoga studio, creating cool breezes and waves of heat above the required temperatures. Convected heat is a poor imitation of natural outdoor heat which does not effectively recreate the atmosphere of truly tropical environments. It’s also very inefficient because the hot air will naturally rush to colder spaces outside the room – through windows, the gaps under doors and poorly insulated walls – requiring the heat to be constantly topped up.
Luckily, far infrared heating presents an ideal alternative. Infrared heaters heat by radiation rather than convection. In the same way the sun warms the Earth, infrared heaters heat the objects and people in their path regardless of the temperature of the air. In this way, infrared overcomes many of the challenges which make convection heaters inappropriate for hot yoga heating. Infrared heat is constant – because it does not rely on heating the air you won’t feel breezes or waves of heat. Infrared heat is natural – it operates and feels just like the warmth of the sun, the perfect way to recreate a tropical environment. And infrared is also efficient – because no heat is lost through draughts and the natural circulation of air.
Our range of hot yoga infrared heaters includes stylish panels which can be fitted on the walls and ceilings to ensure even heat coverage throughout your studio. You’ll also find a range of weatherproof Herschel outdoor heaters which are ideal for hot yoga studios with high levels of humidity. For total control over your infrared heaters, our dedicated hot yoga thermostat can control temperatures of up to 45 °C. The thermostat is fully programmable, allowing you to set up your heating schedule around your classes so that you’re only using energy when you need it – a great way to reduce your studio heating bill.
Whatever the debated health benefits of hot yoga, we’re here to help you heat your studio in the most energy efficient – and therefore the most eco-friendly – way possible. For a friendly chat with one of our expert sales team, why not call us for more information and a free quote today? Find us at 0330 880 8383.