What is the difference between

Infrared Heat and Hot Yoga?

Infrared Heat Yoga uses safe and healthy infrared heat that directly targets your body and not the room around you. That means heat directly lands on the body while keeping the room cooler. Infrared heat is safe and penetrates the body within, thus aids in detoxifying internal organs instead of merely causing the body to sweat. Infrared heat is radiant heat, a form of energy that heats objects directly without having to heat the surrounding air. Your body feels pleasantly warm without feeling the exhaustion of a hot room. 

Infrared heat is therapeutic, not oppressive. Infrared heat helps increase circulation, alleviate aches, and revitalize your body with a sense of wellness and warmth from within. You can benefit from Infrared Heat Yoga if you want to be more flexible, have stronger muscles, detoxify, have healthy looking skin, or achieve an overall sense of wellness. Infrared heat is like soaking up the warm goodness of sunshine, without having to stay outdoors and squint your eyes because of the bright sun. Experience warm healing from within!

Infrared heat can only be felt within 10 feet of the bulbs. We have four 4,000 watt infrared bulbs in the ceiling of Room 2. It is a comfortable heat, not stifling, between 75-90 degrees. If you want high heat, then position your mat directly under the bulbs. The further you position your mat from the bulbs, the less intense the heat will be. You can compare it to sitting in the shade on a hot day. Place your mat on the outer edges of the room to get the least heat. No matter where you are in the room, you will be able to feel the yummy warmth radiating from our beautiful hardwood floors!

Class size is limited to 20. Arrive early to get your spot on the floor. We do not offer the option to pick your floor placement. We find that our yogis are very accommodating and will move around to make everyone feel comfortable with the location of their mat. Infrared classes are clearly designated on the class schedule.

We offer our Infrared Beginner Yoga between 75-85 degrees. Yin and Restorative Yoga will be at 84 degrees making it very comfy while resting on the floor. All other infrared classes can be a maximum of 90 degrees. We believe the health risks far outweigh the benefits of going higher than 90 and have therefore decided on this as our maximum temperature. 

Water is essential in a heated yoga class! A water bottle with a flip straw makes drinking easier during class. We recommend bringing a towel but we do have microfiber towels available in the room. Moisture-wicking or breathable fabric will help you feel more comfortable during class. 

IMPORTANT: If you have a health condition that is exacerbated by heat, please consult your physician before taking a heated class. If at any time you feel dizzy or unwell during class, it is best to get down on your mat rather than leave the room quickly. Take Child's Pose or Savasana to see if you feel better. Once you have cooled down a little and still don't feel well, you can quietly exit the room leaving your mat and belongings. Go directly to the lobby and let the front desk staff know your specific issues. They will help you refresh and gather your belongings out of the room as best to not disturb others. However if you feel your situation is urgent during class, please call out to your teacher! You will be helped immediately. 

Hot Yoga is practicing yoga in a room where the temperature is turned up to around 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more. The body naturally sweats when in a very hot room to help cool it down. But the potential health hazard posed by hot yoga is that there is simply no way for the body to cool down because the room temperature is hot. Add to that, if there are up to 20 people in the room, their body temperature adds to the humidity. Because of the potential risks of practicing yoga in an oppressively hot room, infrared heat yoga is gaining popularity as a better option for many yogis.