Have you ever wondered why getting off the waitlist for a Yoga Sculpt CorePower class is nearly impossible? Yoga is a proven stress reliever and exercise that gets people out of bed, especially when mixed with heat, house music, and 5lb weights. But what is so “hot” about hot yoga that keeps us returning for more?
“Historically speaking, yoga postures were done with a more meditative intention,” USC Yoga Professor Jennifer Guinter said. “What I see in a lot of modern yoga studios, especially, but not always, hot yoga studios, is a heavier emphasis on physical fitness.”
According to Professor Guinter, there always have been — and likely always will be — a wide variety of approaches and practices that fall under what we broadly call “yoga.” Yoga scholar Mark Singleton coined the term “modern postural yoga,” which encompasses much of what is practiced in yoga studios, like Corepower.
Professor Guinter teaches as part of the Physical Education & Mind-Body Health (PEMBH) Department at USC, which focuses on promoting overall well-being through a combination of fitness and activity classes. Its offerings place a strong emphasis on building muscle strength and endurance, improving cardiovascular health, increasing flexibility, and educating on nutritional principles.
I wonder where Bikram Choudhury, the founder of modern hot yoga — Bikram Yoga— would stand in the debate of whether or not hot yoga is the “real thing?” The framework of his original practice may not have been set to John Summit remixes, but they did consist of a fixed sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises, practiced in a room precisely heated to 105°F (40.6°C) with 40% humidity. The high heat is intended to increase flexibility, promote detoxification through sweating, and improve circulation.
“From a physical standpoint, heat has its pros and cons: for people who are very stiff & inflexible, the heat helps individuals find increased flexibility more quickly, though that is short-term unless practiced regularly,” Guinter said. “A heated class also builds mental resilience, in enduring some amount of extra challenge.”
So, why choose — or avoid — hot yoga? According to The Yoga Journal, yoga’s ethical foundation rests on the five Yamas and five Niyamas, principles that guide yoga practitioners toward living with ease and integrity. Long before the West popularized yoga, through workouts like CorePower Yoga Sculpt classes and matching Alo outfits, these values formed the heart of traditional yoga culture, offering practitioners a philosophical framework for navigating life.
“Ahimsa is the first of the Yamas and Niyamas from the Yoga Sūtras for good reason: ‘above all else, do not harm,’” Guinter said. “It’s important for any practitioner to be self-aware and able to listen to their body, whether in a heated or an unheated class.”
Unfortunately, Western health culture has created the myth that the more we sweat, the healthier and detoxified we become. According to Guinter, sweating is to cool the body, and it is not necessary for detoxification. Our internal organs do this job fantastically, and don’t need external help from a hot room.
However, there is a sense of “shrinking” ourselves that is satisfying, especially to women, through media influence and unhealthy exercise and diet trends.
Some criticize hot yoga for its culture of encouraging students to push themselves beyond their limits and endure pain, which may not be safe or beneficial for everyone. Hot yoga is still yoga, beneficial in moderation for those who choose to participate. And when done with purpose, it is so much more than just a workout.
“My favorite description of Ahimsa is of a dynamic peacefulness prepared to meet all needs with loving openness,” says Charlotte Bell, a longtime Iyengar Yoga teacher and the author of ‘Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life.’ Iyengar Yoga especially focuses on practicing correct structural alignment, sequencing, and timing during a yoga flow. “There’s a suggestion of a state of balance that can evolve, that meets each situation in an open and accepting way.”
It is important to find the balance in CorePower, or any heated or non-heated yoga practice, for that matter.
“In yoga, it’s less about the workout and more about the awareness you find in your body. What does the practice do to your mood? Are you learning to trust yourself by exploring shapes?” said Marissa Rodriguez, a teacher at Soho Yoga in Hermosa Beach. “The nuggets of knowledge that you get from moving on your mat may help answer a question when you are off the mat. The practice is only sometimes in a hot room, but many times the practice goes well off your mat.”