Note for new students:
Please come fifteen minutes before class is scheduled so you have time to register and we can answer all of your questions prior to class. We suggest you wear light weight shorts and a light weight shirt or tank top. Please bring a beach towel, water, hand towel & a change of clothes for after class.

Classes Before Hours:
Doors open 30 minutes before class. Classes start on time and doors are locked when Boutique is closed.

HEAT. Heat is a major part of what makes this process work. At the start you may fell like you fell into a hot tub with your clothes on--not the most comfortable feeling. Heat is important, and it will become your friend. The way we live in this country tends to make our muscles tight and rigid -- like stress. Heat takes a lot of the trauma out of stretching, and allows you to stretch deeper in a shorter amount of time. That means you see results faster. Your muscles will be less sore the next day as well.

The second very important reason for heat is the removal of toxins from the body. You’ve heard the benefits of saunas, steam rooms, sweat lodges, etc. In yoga, you are massaging deep tissues, organs and glands. As you work, you may start to release “poisons” and “toxins” that have been stored in your body for a long time. The skin is the largest organ in the body and sweat is an excellent way to cleanse it. Make sure you take time to appreciate how soft your skin feels after class, and the soft glow of health you see on your face, and the faces of your classmates.

-Keeping the body from overheating (contrary to popular misconception)
-Protecting the muscles to allow for deeper stretching
-Detoxing the body (open pores to let toxins out)
-Thinning the blood to clear the circulatory system
-Increasing heart rate for better cardiovascular workout
-Improving strength by putting muscle tissue in optimal state for reorganization
-Reorganize the lipids (fat) in the muscular structure

HEAT INDEX

BENEFITS. The benefits you receive from a regular, devoted practice will vary depending on who you are, what you want out of your practice, what your history is and what you may be struggling with right now.The most frequently reported benefits is a pain free body, increased flexibility, increased strength, getting sick less often and an overall practice tend to spread out into all aspects of your life. Don’t be surprised id you notice big changes in your life as you continue your practice.

WATER. It is not unusual to feel nauseous or dizzy during your first class. Practicing yoga in a heated room reveals to us our present condition, and inspires us take much better care of ourselves.

Usually the problem is that we do not drink enough water for daily living, let alone for exercising in a heated room. Nutritionists tell us that we need 64-80 ounces of water a day to help the body function properly.

In the heated yoga room, your body needs adequate fund of water to allow perspiration to release heat from the body as you practice. So we estimate you need another 64-80 ounces (sometime during the day) to allow for your 90 minutes in the room. Once you are drinking enough water your body will tolerate the heat better and you will actually enjoy the heat.

If you feel disoriented or like you need a good nap after your first few classes, this is likely because your body has begun to cleanse itself as a result of the yoga practice. Don't be scared. After the first few classes this sensation will pass. The more you can relax as you give your 110% honest effort during class, the more energized you will feel throughout the class and throughout the rest of your day.

• What if I'm not flexible? You don't have to be flexible to start yoga. The heated practice room allows tight muscles to stretch with greater ease.

• Will I lose weight? Yes you can. With regular practice students find their bodies becoming significantly trimmer and toned. The added bonus is that Moksha Yoga improves the major systems of the body, increasing health and vitality, which is the best way to lose weight in the long term.

• When should I avoid doing hot yoga? Hot Yoga is great for most people, however it is contraindicated under the following circumstances.
  
• Pregnancy. Women in their first trimester of pregnancy, unless they have kept up a regular hot yoga practice for at least 6 months, are recommended to stay out of the heated room.
  
• Heart Disease. Those suffering from severe heart disease that limits cardiovascular activity should consult their doctor about being in a heated environment.
  
• Menstruating. It is perfectly safe to do hot yoga when menstruating. Inverted postures are normally the postures contraindicated for menstruation that are suggested to avoid.
  
  Hot yoga is very good for toning the reproductive system as it directly affects the reproductive organs and the endocrine glands--pituitary, pineal and thyroid gland in particular. The women's cycle becomes regular; complaints of irregularity and PMS decrease.
  
• High Blood Pressure. Unstable high blood pressure responds so quickly to diligent Yoga practice that doctors sometimes doubt their instruments. (This quick response of the blood pressure is one of the most telling demonstrations of Yoga's ability to regulate and synchronize body systems.) If you are tested about a week after starting Yoga, you may see a slight rise in pressure. Don't be alarmed. By the second week, that pressure will be normal or close to normal and will stay there as long as you maintain your yoga regimen.

  Consult your doctor, use common sense, and don't push hard in any of the poses the first three days. The poses in which high blood pressure patients must continue to exercise caution until their blood pressure checks out normally are these: the backward bending portion of Half Moon, the Standing Bow Pulling, Balancing Stick, Cobra, the third part of Locust, Full Locust and the Camel.

  Depending on the severity of your condition, the above should be done for a count of no more than five at first, building to ten counts only after two weeks. If you are supple enough to do the Fixed Firm fully the first few days, limit that to five counts as well. Be absolutely sure to rest between each set. It is also essential for heart patients to breathe normally during the postures. As for the Bow Pose, (on the floor) a beginner with high blood pressure must never perform the pose without a qualified teacher present.

  It is because these backward bending positions create pressure in the chest, and so on the heart, that high blood pressure patients must use caution. Do not eliminate them though--with the exception of Bow Pose. They are the very friends you need to control your ailment.

• Asthma. Without knowing the cause of your asthma, we can tell you that Hot Yoga will be good for you in several ways. It is done in a warm room which promotes relaxation of the muscles and nerves, and is the type of exercise that you can do with as little or as much intensity as appropriate for your needs.

  In other words, you can do each posture with less effort if you're concerned about overexertion triggering an attack, or you can sit down and rest whenever you need to during the class.

  It will relax your mind and help let go of tensions, toxins and negativity. It also strengthens your heart and lungs, improving your lung function. You will breathe easier and deeper than you ever have before.

• Arthritis / Gout. Yoga can help arthritis conditions. That is, it can relieve symptoms.

  Many people think arthritis occurs because of an overabundance of calcium in the body. But there is really no overabundance. The problem is that the calcium is deposited as a form of calcium phosphate in the joint-tissue, including the spine. At that point, the calcium phosphate deposit begins to build layers in the joint--spiky crystal formations like a cactus--until no room is left for the joint to pivot smoothly in its socket. And these spiny needly irritate the surrounding muscles and nerves, and the agony of arthritis begins.

  Rheumatism? It is closely related to arthritis. You have only to do your Yoga and you may be free of rheumatism. Gout is also a problem that attacks the joints. And again and again in my series of exercises, you find me addressing myself specifically to exercising the joints. If I seem to be reducing some of the oldest, most painful, and perplexing diseases to lack of exercise, you're right. But that is what they often seem to boil down to.

  Sadly, the theory seems to be that with advancing "age" one should "slow down," "take it easy," don't exert oneself or do too much exercise. And if you get something like arthritis, take it even easier, don't move, except to open your mouth to swallow the latest pill being offered as a cure. This advice is simply more nails for an earlier coffin. Exercise, meaning daily Yoga practice, maybe the answer you are seeking for your condition.

• Back Problems. What is happening, is that each vertebra of your back is compressing its cushion in a front wise direction. This goes on year after year until there is no resiliency left in the front of the cushions, while the two sides and back have grown weak and slack from disuse. In addition, lack of movement has made the bearings rusty and barnacles have developed. The result: backache, stiff neck, headache, and countless other complaints.

  The cure: exercise! Make the spine work so that resiliency and strength are restored to each cushion, so that the rust and barnacles are worn off the ball bearings, so that an X ray would show them smooth and round, sitting snugly on their fat, renewed cushions.

  If your chronic problem is something such as sciatic pain, lumbago, sore back muscles, whiplash, vertebrae out of line, shoulder trouble, radiating pains down the arms, tension headaches, swayback, spinal curvature, pinched nerves, or "something not quite right that the doctor said I ought to watch," stop watching. Act! Get to work on these exercises. Even those who have had spinal surgery should get to work--with their doctor's okay and a qualified teacher who can lead them in my particular series of exercises.

  People with slipped disc are often in such pain that Yoga seems further torture. However, in numerous slipped disc cases, determined Yoga can save the day. So endure the pain. But please note that those with slipped disc should also work under the supervision of a qualified instructor using my exact series of exercises and the safety rules laid down in the body of this book.

  As you can see, the best thing is to adopt a Yoga regimen before any of these troubles develop--for if you do, they probably won't develop.
  
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