The first thing you’ll want to consider when structuring bikram yoga at home is how you can create an environment conducive to the flow. When designating a space to practice hot yoga, aim to find a room or quiet area that you can convert into a studio and modify to promote a feeling of calm and relaxation.
Jessica Fuller, instructor, and founder of The Hot Yoga Spot suggest painting the walls a soothing color, add a few paintings, a little waterfall, a plant, meditation pillows, candles, or a statue to enhance the space. She also recommends designating a focal point in the room upon which to center your Drishti or yogic gaze.
How you plan to heat your space is the next step. “Most people practicing at home find it is easiest to buy a small space heater to get the room to their desired temperature,” explains Fuller.
How to Get the Most Out of an At-Home Yoga Workout
Stay hydrated at all times. Drinking water before, during, and after a hot yoga sequence is critical. Take sips of water throughout your session and hydrate immediately following your workout.
Ease into the workouts. If you’re new to yoga in general or hot yoga specifically, allow your body time to adjust to the poses and the warmer environment. Kerpius recommends starting with a shorter practice (say, 20 to 30 minutes) to see how your body manages the heat. “As your body builds up the cardiovascular fitness and heat tolerance, you can add time,” she explains, up to 75 minutes.
Keep your space free of clutter. One of the many benefits of yoga is permitting yourself to free your mind and body of external stressors. This can be difficult to do if the space you’re practicing in at home is cluttered with furniture, work items, your kid’s toys, or any other visual distractions. If you can, try to designate a space just for yoga.
Consider using a mirror. Often a pose feels different than it looks, says Fuller, and a mirror can help you self-correct and fine-tune your practice. “Many people enjoy using a mirror to ensure proper alignment and positioning, while others prefer not to use a mirror so they can focus on the way their body feels in a pose instead of how it looks,” says Fuller.
It may also be easier to balance if you are looking at a fixed object like a light or a candle instead of yourself in the mirror. Spend a little time deciding what is right for you in your sacred space.
How to Set Up Your “Hot Room”
Can you do Bikram Yoga at home? Can you do Bikram Yoga without the heat? The answer is yes, absolutely.
For many years of practicing, we could not have imagined Bikram Yoga without the traditional “hot room”! However, thanks to our practice of adapting to the hot room, we have learned to adapt to many other challenges since 2020 began…including practicing Bikram Yoga anywhere and everywhere! And now so many of us can practice Bikram Yoga at home.
Having the ability to practice hot yoga at home can help eliminate excuses and provide an environment that is private, comfortable, and ready whenever you are.
Although the heat and the in-person group energy are profoundly helpful parts of this practice. Bikram Yoga is so good that it works even without those things! If you’re interested, check out the results of this study that showed similar improvements in blood vessel function among those. Especialy who practiced Bikram Yoga in a hot room and those who practiced it at “room temperature”.
- You can practice in any room – or outdoors! – at a range of temperatures. We recommend a temp of 75F as a minimum.
- However, if you are seeking a “hot room” experience, a small room is best, as it will maintain any added heat and humidity. Bikram Yoga is most beneficial in the range of 98F-105F with around 45% relative humidity.
- Get your mat set up and find a place for your live-streaming device. A phone or laptop with a camera and wi-fi is all you need. A tidy, simple space is nice, but it is not required! Be hydrated and on a relatively empty stomach, as you normally would be for yoga.
- Add a space heater and room humidifier if you can. Or run a hot shower in your bathroom to make some steam. This will help to increase vasodilation, cardiac output, and sweat! All of this increases Bikram Yoga’s benefits by amplifying the tourniquet effect in each posture. Again, the heat and humidity are not required, but definitely beneficial and worth it if you are able.
- A body-length mirror is helpful so that you can see your postures and make corrections. Some students even watch their standing postures in the live-stream video on their devices.
- Some students practice in small, more enclosed spaces. Others practice in larger rooms, porches, and sunny backyards.
- Some find it helpful to turn up the audio on their device so that the teacher’s voice fills the room.
if you are ready for the benefits of yoga, regardless of the small challenges and mental excuses
