Sweaty Betty

Hot yoga is my new favourite activity. EVER.

I am not exaggerating. I regularly get tension headaches from stiff upper back, shoulder and neck muscles. Massages and regular yoga help a little. But the morning after my first hot yoga class, I woke up a brand new person. No pain, incredibly relaxed (both physically and mentally), and tons of energy.

First, the location. I've taken regular yoga classes before, at a small studio with a decidedly upper middle-aged crowd. Moksha, on the other hand, couldn't be further from the average yoga facility. It's hip, it's cool, it attracts a young crowd that results in wait lists at every class. It has energy, it has panache, it's "the" place to be for today's yogi.

And it's a great place to view good-looking people with nice bodies wearing next-to-no clothing!! Frankly, it gives me a good excuse to wear my shorty shorts (which, now that I've lost a bit of weight, are kinda flattering) and I'm going to take advantage of that opportunity any chance I get.

The yoga studio itself? Dimly lit (really, you're doing yoga virtually in the dark by candelight - can you think of anything more relaxing?) and about a million degrees (while I wondered how I would do with the temperature - I find extreme heat draining, to say the least - the warmth and the sweat made me feel both relaxed and like I was getting a good workout).

Second, the class. Until I had this experience to compare to, I thought my regular yoga classes were the gold standard. They weren't incredibly relaxing, but they were incredibly physically challenging. In retrospect, they could more aptly have been described as a training routine for Eastern European gymnasts - we were put through our paces, but might as well have just gone to the gym to lift weights. Moksha, on the other hand, focuses on both the physicality of the poses themselves (every muscle received a workout) and the spirituality of the meditation exercises. A total body package that rejuvenated me as a human being.

I won't lie to you, though. I kinda liked being all sweaty myself. But the last 15 minutes of the class nearly drove me to distraction. I was situated with a woman on one side of me, and an incredibly sweaty man on the other. Every time I opened my eyes, I could see a big pool of sweat on the floor beside the man's yoga mat, and my imagination ran rampant. I envisioned the pool of sweat creeping ever closer to my yoga space, similar to zombies invading New York. I was helpless to stop it, there was nothing I could do. (in reality, the sweat didn't migrate at all, but its mere presence was icky enough)











In the end, though, the pros far outweighed the cons.

Verdict = despite the icky sweaty factor, the feeling of complete rejuvenation I experienced the next morning makes hot yoga at Moksha an activity that I will continue partaking in at least 2-3 times per week