Tip of the Week: Learn to Love the Heat with Final Savasana

Great tip from lindsaydahl.com on one way to learn to love the heat in Bikram Yoga: 

 

Take a long final savasana

Your instincts will tell you to jump up and leave, the moment the teacher leaves the classroom. And if you’re like me, the thought of laying in a hot sweaty heap one more millisecond sounds like torture. Rest assured taking a long savasana after class will help you handle the heat in future classes. When teachers first told me this I filed it away in the “yoga teacher BS” category, but here’s how and why it works:

During class you’re working your ass off. You’re heart rate is up, the heat feels intense and you’re constantly moving. When you have time at the end of the class to relax, all of your body’s systems slowly go back to normal. This process is important for several reasons, but when it comes to the heat, you’re body has time to adjust in a way it can’t during class. When you’re in final savasana the process of adjusting to the heat happens ten fold. Think of it as a period for your body to absorb the muscle memory from the work you did in the postures AND a time for it to recalibrate to the heat.
It’s kind of like your body getting used to a hot bath. After those first few painful moments, your body eventually adjusts to the temperature of the water.

Stay in savasana for at least twenty deep, slow breaths. Your future self will thank you.