Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What do I bring to class?
A: Water, mat, and a large towel. These items are also available for rent or purchase at the studio.
Q. How do I prepare for class?
- Please arrive at least 15 minutes before class. This will give you enough time to register, change, and become used to your surroundings.
- Dress as if you were going to the beach – light, fitted exercise clothing works fine.
- Avoid baggy T-shirts and pants. A sleeveless top and shorts are best.
- Don’t worry about shoes – you’ll be doing your yoga barefoot.
- Set your spot up in the back row.
- If you’re heading to work after class, no worries, we have showers! Avoid eating 2-3 hours before class – yoga is usually best practiced on an empty stomach.
- Be well-hydrated! We should be drinking 2 liters a day but on the days you do Kiva Hot Yoga you should drink 3-4 liters!
- Come with an open mind.
Q. How often should I practice?
A: As often as you can. For great results, practice 3-5 times per week.
Q. Can I just come once and “try” it out?
A: To be effective, yoga must be practiced daily or on a regular basis with no long lapses of time between lessons. A minimum commitment of 10 classes in 30 days is highly recommended to derive maximum benefit from this yoga program. For this reason, we STRONGLY recommend 1st timers commit to the 1 month intro special. If you just attend 1 class you will usually only gain a bit of soreness and frustration. The subsequent classes will prove to change your life! This is a healing modality. If you were sick and your doctor prescribed you a week’s worth of antibiotics, you wouldn’t just take 1 dose and say, “You know, I don’t feel any better from that1 dose, so I’m not going to take the rest.” This is what you are doing if you only take one class. As experienced authorities on the healing and strengthening power of hot yoga, we require that you commit to the “prescription”.
We do have Karma Classes once a month. These are the same 90 minute, hot classes. There is no commitment, only a donation to the non-profit of the month is asked. Members, non-members and first timers are welcome.
Q. Do I need to supplement my diet?
A: Everyone is different – it is a matter of listening to your body. If you’re feeling sluggish, dizzy or even nauseous during or after the class you may be dehydrated or mineral deficient. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. You might also like to try some electrolytes for extra sodium and potassium that is lost via sweating.
Q. Can I lose weight?
A: YES! In a 90 minute Kiva Hot Yoga class you can burn between 350-1000 calories. As you progress, you’ll naturally begin to make better food choices by listening to what your body wants and needs. Meanwhile, your cravings for sugar, salt and caffeine will decrease, and you’ll eat less junk – good news for your waistline!
Q. What are some of the benefits of Kiva Hot Yoga?
- Reduces stress Increases flexibility
- Builds strength and endurance
- Burns fat and speeds up your metabolism
- Increases muscle tone
- Helps with back, neck, shoulder and knee pain
- Improves quality of sleep
- Improves posture
- Improves circulation
- Reduces risk of injury
- Raises energy level
- Increases balance, coordination, focus and discipline
- Improves healthy and balanced functioning of the skeletal, muscular, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, endocrine, immune and nervous systems Six classes per week (with one day rest) are amazing.
Q. Why the heat?
A: The heat does the following:
- • Enhances vasodilatation* so that more blood is delivered to the muscles.
- Allows oxygen In the blood to detach from the hemoglobin more easily.**
- Speeds up the breakdown of glucose and fatty acids.
- Makes muscles more elastic, less susceptible to injury.
- Elevates your metabolism and burns fat more easily.
- Increases perspiration and therefore detoxification.
- Higher temperatures improve the function of the nervous system, meaning that messages are carried more rapidly to and from the brain and spinal cord.
- You are changing the construction of your body as you perform these postures. Think of it as a piece of steel. When the steel is hot it becomes soft. When the steel is cool, it is easier to break and does not bend as easily. The heat makes your body more malleable. Warm muscles are more elastic and less susceptible to injury. Warmer temperatures produce a fluid-like stretch that allows greater range of motion. Cold muscles don’t absorb shock or impact well and aren’t stretched well so they get injured more readily.
- Additionally, the oxygen and blood exchange rate is more rapid so you are getting more oxygen to your tissues, and your heart is more efficient. It is clearing out the valves of the heart chambers. It helps to flush out the arteries. Sweating is important because it takes the majority of the workload off the kidneys and the liver allowing the skin, which is the largest organ of the body, to excrete toxins. It exfoliates the skin by ridding the dead skin cells, so your skin will become clearer.
- The capillaries that weave around the muscles respond to the heat by dilating. This brings more oxygen to the muscles and helps in the removal of waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid.
*When blood passes through warm muscles oxygen releases more easily from the hemoglobin. Blood passing through cold muscles releases less oxygen.
** Warm muscles burn fat more easily than cold ones. Fat is released during stress. The stress of intense exercise causes a deluge of fatty acids into the blood stream. If you exercise with cold muscles, the muscles cannot use the fatty acids, and the fatty acids end up in places where they aren’t wanted, such as the lining of the arteries.
Q. What health concerns do I need to look out for?
A: Always follow your doctor’s orders and consult with your doctor if you are on any medications or have any known health issues. Pay attention to your body during class, and if necessary, consult your doctor when your symptoms change. Dizziness or nausea may occur during your class. If this happens, SIT DOWN and do not try to work through this! Usually it will pass in a few minutes. Even seasoned practitioners experience this from time to time. As you progress, these occurrences will disappear as your body adapts to the heat and your fitness improves.
Q. Can I practice during my pregnancy?
A: Yes, pregnant students (after the first trimester) are welcome. Postures are modified within the regular class.
Q. Can I start right away?
A: YES! Get started HERE
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