Hot Yoga?

I am currently attempting to get pregnant and am in the tww. A friend of mine invited me to join her at hot yoga. I am fairly active and my main excercise of choice is running. I average 15-20 miles a week, so I’m used to getting pretty hot and sweaty. I am not terribly flexible, though I do try to stretch, but I usually suck at it (I get antsy and just want to get going). Is there any difference between this and getting my temp up during hot yoga? I guess my ultimate question is, is this safe for trying to conceive or if I have already just conceived?

[name]Edit[/name]-I called the studio and they told me it’s fine as long as I am not already pregnant. I just wanted to see if any one else has done it while ttc.

You’re referring to Bikram yoga right? I’m a yoga instructor and I taught Bikram yoga classes around the time I got pregnant and for a while when I was pregnant. But I don’t know if it is medically safe, I just know I did it and everything worked out very well for me.

Good luck!

Yes, I believe that’s it. The studio is called Hot House Yoga. I just looked up Bikram yoga and it looks to be the same thing, although it doesn’t mention it by name on the website. Thanks for the insight. I think I will try it, but maybe after this tww is over.

I thought I’d chime in. I am an on-again, off-again Bikram Yoga practitioner. I’m currently off-again since I am 28 weeks pregnant. Stay away from it during your TWW. If you were someone who had been practicing for quite some time, you would be okay to take classes just as long as you stayed very, very hydrated and didn’t push yourself to the limit. [name]Even[/name] though you sound like you’re very athletic, it’s never a good idea to start a new workout routine when you’re pregnant, especially something so intense.

Yoga in general, but in my personal opinion, Bikram yoga specifically, can be a great addition to your own personal fertility protocol. For me, Bikram yoga was very helpful when I was trying to conceive. I started up my practice again late last summer after taking a several month break. I became pregnant in early Oct. The series of postures is fantastic for supporting blood flow to your lower abdomen and reproductive organs. There are several poses that specifically target reproductive organs and the spinal nerve roots that innervate those organs. Certain poses can also increase libido. I must say, though, not everyone agrees with me. Some health practitioners, especially natural health practitioners may tell you that hot yoga is a definite no-no if you’re trying to conceive because it can be too intense. Well, I think it depends upon your health, your constitution, and your own level of fitness because it absolutely resonates with me. I don’t think there’s another form of exercise like it (and, no, I promise I am not a Bikram yoga teacher, nor do I have any connection with a Bikram studio).

If you find yourself not pregnant this month, check out a class or two. It’s definitely not for everyone, but there’s a good chance that an athlete like you will find it a bit addictive. If you practice for a few months and become pregnant, then really listen to your body. Obviously first check with your OB or midwife, and if you get the go-ahead, then take it easy with the classes. The teachers can be really helpful and will modify the poses for pregnancy if your take them aside and let them know your condition. I was able to practice into about week 10 or 11, but I ended up feeling too awful, too lightheaded, and too nauseated by the heat and the yoga room smell to continue any more. Some women do practice throughout their pregnancy, but they are better women than I because I would die if I was practicing now :wink: I look forward to getting back to it next fall, however, to help get back my pre-pregnancy body.

[name]Hope[/name] that helps. I feel pretty passionate about Bikram yoga and its health benefits. It’s a controversial brand of yoga, and I would have to agree with a lot of the arguments against it and against the man Bikram himself, however, it does for my body what no other exercise can do so I remain a fan.

edit: I reread your post. I thought that you ran 15-20 miles AT [name]ONE[/name] time, that’s why I kept saying what an athlete you are. Still, 15-20 miles a week is great, too. [name]Just[/name] wanted to clear that up.

I’m a bit of a yoga guru and I teach it too. I haven’t done Bikram (hot yoga) in a few years and you are making me miss it! I had been doing it over a year pretty much 4-5 times a week when I became pregnant with my first set of twins. It’s a very intense class, but it was amazing! Some odd circumstances in that pregnancy made me unaware that I was pregnant until I was 8 weeks along so I continued the Bikram until that point. I did stop after that because around the same time I found out, I was extremely tired, nauseous, and barely able to keep up with day-to-day tasks and a host of other life changes were going on so I literally could not continue. I probably wouldn’t have because I didn’t know the safety of it. In my situation, someone who had been doing hot yoga for over a year and yoga poses in general for more than 10 yrs, I would now have no qualms about continuing to do Bikram while pregnant (if I were to get back into Bikram a few months before conceiving- but I don’t see that happening in my life now - I’ll stick to yoga in my basement! haha)

I doubt there is an correlation between doing Bikram in the first trimester and that pregnancy’s outcome, but it was my only pregnancy where I didn’t have blood pressure concerns, a pre-term birth, or basically any complications to speak of. I did yoga (not hot) throughout that pregnancy (but I did it throughout other pregnancies too). Basically just pointing out that I had no complications from practicing it while pregnant.

For someone new to yoga/Bikram, I’d have a few hesitations. Honestly, the first few sessions of hot yoga, you spend getting used to the temperature of the room and the positions. The positions are not terribly difficult if you have done any yoga before- they are nothing new. [name]Even[/name] with the hot temp, it will not raise your core body temp nor harm your baby-- but just exposing your body to that stress if you are not used to it could be a concern. It’s generally not a good idea to start a new exercise program right as you begin a pregnancy. It’s a liability for the yoga studio and I’m sure that is why they told you you cold not participate if you were pregnant (and a new student). With your running and stamina there, you may be fine. Perhaps if you don’t conceive this month (good luck though!! hope you do!), you could go to the classes and get a bit acclimated to see if it’s for you and then make a decision regarding if you’d personally want to continue during a pregnancy.

Sdsurfmama and crunchymama -Thank you for such a thoughtful responses! I can tell you both really have a passion for yoga. That is awesome! You both sound like my friend. She loves Bikram Yoga so much. She is always going on about how great it makes her feel and how great her skin looks. I had no idea how popular it was. I think I will try it after this tww is over. I could use a shake up in my routine and from the pictures I saw online the people who do this are crazy fit, lean, mean machines!

Sdsurfmama- I had no idea that yoga is beneficial to fertility. Running has always been my thing, so I never really looked into other stuff. I knew it was super popular, but I always just thought that running did the job so why change, you know? Btw, I WISH I ran 15-20 miles at a time. I think that would kill me! LOL

crunchymama -It’s good to hear that you and ottilie both practiced into your pregnancy an everything went fine. As soon as we started ttc I started looking at all kinds of normal stuff as hazardous to my health. Trying to get pregnant has turned me into some sort of weird risk averse crazy person. Normally I am very laid back. If there is not imminent death involved, I usually don’t bat an eyelid. LOL I know I am totally overreacting, but it’s like I can’t help it.