I tried a high-intensity interval training workout once in the heat and promised myself I would never do that to myself again. The panic that arose in me, feeling like I couldn’t breathe in the heat, is common among a lot of people doing heated workouts.

But, after watching people doing hot yoga on my TikTok feed, I wondered if I should give it another chance.

Hot yoga was popularized in the U.S. by Bikram Choudhury, an Indian American yogi. Bikram Yoga is his signature brand of hot yoga, which involves 26 different postures done in heated environments that can reach over 100 F. Choudhury himself has been in the hot seat lately, with several lawsuits filed against him, mainly revolving around sexual abuse. A 2019 Netflix documentary, “Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator,” tells that story.

I started my own hot yoga adventure at Hot Box Yoga, a studio in Manayunk, 15 minutes from the Hawk Hill campus. Hot Box Yoga offers private and group classes in a heated studio. There’s a student discount for $5 off a single class price, so I only paid $15 for a $20 class.

I was anxious because the minute I walked in the studio, it was already hot. I made sure to have a granola bar and some water before my class. I’d done some research beforehand, and the Mountain Yoga Sandy blog recommended hydrating before the class and eating something light, like fruit, oatmeal, toast or nuts. 

After a smooth check-in online, the instructor, Ava Samuel, asked if I had any questions and took me upstairs to the actual studio. 

While waiting for class to start, Samuel suggested lying down and relaxing. I lay with my eyes shut, focusing on my breathing and slowing it down. When class began, the lights were off. This helped alleviate some stress since it was darker. Maybe people could not see me messing up the positions. 

But Samuel had this advice: “Just jump in and try your best while giving your best.” 

We started with some light stretching, then moved into a quick-paced yoga rotation called “Chaturanga,” meaning pushup, down into a seal-like pose and into downward dog. This got my muscles moving, and a heated sweat built up.

Once the sweat started, it did not stop. From Chaturanga, we moved into the different warrior poses for 15 minutes, then the tree pose. After this, we did a guided meditation, and that was a wrap on class.

Sweating is a key part of the draw for many people. According to the yoga company Asivana Yoga, hot yogis sweat between 1-2 liters per hour during a hot yoga class. Also, on average, they can burn between 327-485 calories per class. 

Another St. Joe’s student, Mia Heim ’25, attended the class that day as well. She told me she has been doing hot yoga for three years and loves the “great sweat workout” she gets from attending the class twice a week.

“It clears my mind while also giving me the best cleanse, too,” Heim said.

Yoga instructor Kimberly Alt Brinser of ACAC Gym, based in West Chester, has been teaching yoga for 15 years. She was trained in hot yoga and loves the calming sensation it brings. Brinser is a friend of my mother. 

“The brain and organs are all connected through our bloodstream, and when emotional things or traumas happen to us, they get locked into the cellular tissue,” Brinser said. “The yoga will help break down that cellular tissue, and the heat will create sweat, so you’re not just removing toxins, but you’re also processing a lot of negativity that’s been locked into this tissue.”

I understood that. I left class feeling stretched out and sweated out — and relaxed. I can see myself doing it again. Moving slower and focusing on my breathing helped me not to panic in the heat, and the post-session feeling was a great reward.