Is Hot Yoga Bad For You?

Okay, so we all know that at BReal we don't jive with blasting forced air into our studio to create a sauna BUT we use far infrared heating panels.

This means we're not just heating your body WITHOUT making the room sticky and stuffy, but we're also providing a TON of health benefits like improving heart health, blood pressure, and circulation, as well as reducing inflammation, and promoting glowing skin! There are so many other amazing benefits of our infrareds - I mean there's a reason why people pay thousands of dollars for these saunas in their houses, or why top notch spas have implemented them as treatments. Check out just some of the research around our far infrared panels making this style of yoga superior to a traditional forced air heated room.

A study investigating the health benefits of sauna use conducted by researchers in Finland found that more frequent far infrared use was associated with a decreased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke. Men in the study averaged only 14 minutes per visit of exposure to far infrared. The men who visited the sauna four to seven times each week had the lowest mortality rates. (1)

A small study conducted on women with chronic fatigue syndrome who were treated with Waon therapy experienced less pain after the treatment, as well as improved mood, and reduced anxiety, depression, and fatigue. Waon therapy is a form of thermal therapy using a far infrared light (2)

And finally, one of the most commonly cited health benefits of far infrared is improved muscle recovery after exercise. Anecdotal reports suggest a decrease in pain and inflammation after intense exercise when a workout is followed by exposure to infrareds. (3)

(1) Laukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen JA. Association between sauna bathing and fatal cardiovascular and all-cause mortality events. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(4):542-548. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8187

(2) Soejima Y, Munemoto T, Masuda A, Uwatoko Y, Miyata M, Tei C. Effects of Waon therapy on chronic fatigue syndrome: a pilot study. Intern Med. 2015;54(3):333-338. doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.54.3042

(3) Mero A, Tornberg J, Mäntykoski M, Puurtinen R. Effects of far-infrared sauna bathing on recovery from strength and endurance training sessions in men. Springerplus. 2015;4:321. doi:10.1186/s40064-015-1093-5