FAQs

Please bring a bottle of water and make sure to hydrate at least two hours before class. We also recommend you keep an empty stomach a couple hours before class. The recommendations for hydration before, during and after exercise are as follows:

1. Daily intake of 8–10 glasses of water (8 oz. per glass) for normal activity, not including exercise
2. At least 2 hours prior to exercise, drink 16 oz. of water or fluid without caffeine
3. If possible, determine body weight while hydrated, prior to exercise
4. During exercise, drink frequently and early, before you are actually thirsty. Your goal is to replenish fluids at the same rate you are sweating. The maximal rate of replacement is, between 20–40 oz. per hour, based on absorption of fluid by the stomach
5. After exercise, evaluate change in body weight. Consume fluids to return to body weight prior to exercise.

Since the environment in our Heated Yoga classes increases body fluid loss, the above guidelines become even more important. Of additional concern, caffeinated beverages such as coffee, many teas, and sodas will increase fluid loss by increasing urinary output. Wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages cause fluid loss as well. Students who drink beverages with caffeine or alcohol should consume equal amounts of water (in addition to the daily recommendation of 8–10 glasses) to avoid dehydration.

Please bring a bottle of water, a towel and a mat if you have one. The studio rents mat and towels and sells water. Wear fitted exercise clothes that you can sweat in. Arrive to the studio 15 minutes before class to meet the instructor, relax on your mat, and be present before class.

Yoga was developed in India, a country that sustains relatively high temperatures year-round. In order to mimic that intended environment adequate external heat can be viewed as essential. The heated room initially serves to prevent injury until the practitioners learn to generate their own internal heat and gradually come to welcome the warm environment as a tool for enhancing flexibility and deepening an awareness of breath. Beyond the physical implications (as further described below), environmental heat acts as a powerful and tangible psychological force that compels students of all levels to overcome attachment to external distractions. This enhances the practice of meditation, considered the primary vehicle for self-realization in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

Practicing yoga in a heated room stimulates the lymphatic system responsible for flushing out toxins from your system. This rids your body of harmful substances and makes it healthier. The hot and humid room makes your body sweat, which promotes detoxification and elimination through the skin, the body’s largest organ. Your capillaries will dilate in the heat oxygenating the tissues, muscles, glands and organs and helping in the removal of waste products.
We have noticed that your daily intake of water often increases dramatically when you begin taking classes at LLF and this will have a healthy flushing and cleansing effect on your body.