If you’re a yoga practitioner, you might’ve scratched your head at recent headlines suggesting hot yoga is just as effective as room temperature yoga when it comes to your health. But Stacy Hunter, study author, says people should be careful what they read into the findings.
That’s because Hunter’s study only focused on Bikram yoga, a popular yoga technique which consists of 26 yoga poses performed at a balmy 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The study — which emerged out of previous trial work — is touted as the first to focus on the effects of heat in Bikram yoga, discovering that the heated environment didn’t matter in terms of improving people’s vascular health.
“I think with this particular trial, you do have to be careful with extending these findings to all forms of yoga,” says Hunter, a Texas State University assistant professor. She is also the research director for the non-profit organization Pure Action, Inc., which helped fund the trial and aims “to bring the ancient benefits of yoga to mainstream medicine through scientific research, global education and community outreach,” according to its website.
Yoga practices can vary in terms of postures and types of muscular contractions involved, among other aspects. For example, Vinyasa yoga involves more continuous movement compared to Bikram’s isometric practice, i.e. getting into a posture and holding yourself there. That discrepancy alone can account for differential adaptations, she says. Hunter decided to focus on hot yoga and its effects on vascular health, in part thinking a more vigorous style of yoga would provide a greater physiological stimulus and definitely cause some greater changes in outcome variables..
The study did find benefits, concluding:
— Bikram yoga can limit changes in blood vessel lining that contribute to heart disease development and advancement.
— It could stop atherosclerosis progression, a condition where plaque gathers in arteries that can lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Hunter hopes future studies include a wider array of participants. Her study started out with 80 people but only about 50 actually completed it, and they were split between three groups (heated, room temperature and control group). The study went on for 12 weeks, and participants were told to go to three Bikram yoga classes each week.
She also wants studies to focus on the effects of hot yoga on various populations, since all her participants were relatively healthy. She says that there isn’t much research out there regarding the effects of yoga in general, let alone Bikram yoga, on people with cardiovascular disease.
Available research on hot yoga‘s health effects suggests there are pros and cons, from the possibility it may be good for your heart to questioning whether those with preexisting conditions like asthma or pregnancy should be practicing it, The Washington Post reports. For example, a pregnant mom with a higher core temperature could mean endangering her fetus.
As for what kind of yoga you should look to practice? Hunter says do whatever is comfortable for you.
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