Hot Yoga

Monday, June 20th 2005, 10:57 am

By: News On 6

Yoga has always had its practitioners, now the numbers are increasing as the population ages, and people look for ways to gain flexibility and fend off the affects of getting older. Now there's something new, hot yoga.

Oklahoma has only one hot yoga studio and it's in Tulsa. News on 6 reporter Rick Wells takes a look at what's so hot about hot yoga.

Greg McCann is leading the Monday morning Bikram Yoga class, named for the Yogi who developed the technique. 26 specific yoga positions done in sequence. Commonly called hot yoga, not because it's particularly hip or trendy, although it may be. It's conducted in a studio heated to well above 100 degrees, thermostat setting, 106, actual room temp, 108.

"That is what Bikram calls it welcome to my torture chamber." Teresa Taylor is a trained Bikram instructor too, but she's taking this class because she likes what it does for her. "It's like a massage from the inside out."

Marlene Martindale is a runner. It helps her running, she's more flexible, but she has four kids at home so this is therapy. "You start coming for the physical, for me I keep coming for the mental, I leave here I'm much nicer."

Lisa Weihaas is an athlete too and for her hot yoga has improved her ability to focus. "You develop mental focus, you saw it in the studio, if you .lose your focus for a second you fall over."

So good for athletes, what about the rest of us. UE Flannery has a construction and remodeling business he was looking for something to make him feel better, and he found this. "I just picked this out of the phone book." But it stuck; he likes what it does for him.

They asked me to participate, I chose to observe. I can tell you this, hot yoga is very hot! If you'd like to know more.

Yoga Quest has a web site. You can check it out it and find out about classes.