Should I try Hot Yoga or not?

     Wether you've become an advent Hot Yoga practioner or you've never tried it before, surely you have heard about the benefits of stretching.  And yet, when we consider that when we were taking gym classes in school or trying out for team sports we generally would stretch for about ten minutes and immediately were thrown into whatever activity we were doing that day.  And the number of aches and injuries would almost always overwhelm us every time.  Now, I've been out of school for some time but I would venture to say that not much has changed since then.
     Many times I've heard people rave about Hot Yoga and say that it's great for stretching and flexibility.  And while they're right on the money, Hot Yoga offers far more than that.  Lets look at it this way: typically when you're doing yoga poses(asanas), most times you're either compressing or stretching your body.  During these compressions you're actually massaging internal organ and/or glands.  In other words you're stimulating parts of your body that typically you probably wouldn't unless you specifically when in to get a massage.  During your stretches, your legnthening muscles, stregthening your bones and everything that is attached to that particular area.  This promotes circulation and gets your blood moving.  It helps your body bring oxygenated blood to these areas along with nutrients.  Kind of important, right?
     On other occassions I've heard people say "Well, but Hot Yoga won't make you faster!"  "It won't help you lift heavy things, so you're not really getting stronger."  And then they go on to talk about their injuries while lifting weights or taking their bodies through excessive exercises.  Forget about it!  I'm always thinking, I'm 41 years old man.  I don't really care to be lifting heavy things.  I've practiced Hot Yoga for over a decade and while I'm not a power lifter, I can honestly say I'm pretty damm strong.  As far as being faster, what am I running from?  The best one I've heard is "If you only do Hot Yoga, you will only have a yoga body."  And?  A yoga body by the way is lean, flexible and natural.  It is a relaxed body because mentally you yourself have become relaxed and calm.  You automatically become knowledgeable your body and how it feels.  Your ego is left outside the door.  Your yoga exercises are focused on form and they're done without aggression.
     Now, I'm not saying that other exercises don't work.  They all do to some extent.  Some would argue that if you're doing something it's better then doing nothing and that's true.  So it all comes down to what the individual wants to achieve for themselves.  Absolutely!  Our challenge today is that Americans are getting heavier.  We're suffering from all kinds of diseases and our medication intake continues to rise.  And we continue to eat fast food like there's no tomorrow.
     My advice is that you to find a community where you're inspired to be consistent with your exercise and be very precise about what you need for yourself and why it's important.  If you're closer to my age, you're probably looking to have the ability to be more active, stay lean and feel more relaxed about your self.  Unless you're still grappling with your ego, I doubt you're still trying to look like you did when you were twenty years old.  If you've never tried Hot Yoga, look into it and try it.  You're gonna be surprised with the benefits it offers.  Guaranteed!

To your health & success,

Marco Gamez