Hot yoga classes in Tenerife
A heated space to soften and sweat.
Hot yoga is yoga in a heated studio, usually somewhere between 30 and 40 C. Some classes follow a fixed sequence of 26 postures in the Bikram tradition, others are flowing vinyasa or slower holds. Either way, you will sweat.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Hot yoga does for you
Heat makes your muscles feel warm and pliable sooner, so many people settle into shapes faster than in a cool studio. You sweat a lot, and the effort feels simple and physical: breathe, hold, drip. Plenty of people leave feeling wrung out in a good way, a little lighter and very ready for a shower. In a Berlin February, the warmth alone is a reason to go.
It suits you if
- you like a clear physical challenge
- you run cold and love the heat
- a sweaty hour clears your head
- you enjoy a fixed routine you can measure yourself against
Read the full guide to Hot yogaWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Classes run 60 to 90 minutes. A traditional 26-posture class lasts 90 minutes at around 40 C with added humidity, a mirrored front wall and a facilitator talking you through every posture from a set script. Other hot classes are cooler, often 30 to 37 C, with music and a flowing sequence that changes each time. Expect to sweat through your clothes, sip water between postures and rest lying down whenever you need. The door usually stays closed to keep the heat steady, so arriving late can mean not getting in.
Your first time
- Drink water through the day before class, not just a liter right before.
- Wear light, close-fitting clothes you don't mind soaking, and bring a large towel for your mat and a full water bottle.
- Eat lightly, two hours or more before class.
- Arrive 10 to 15 minutes early, tell the facilitator it is your first hot class, and ask where the slightly cooler spot is.
Good to know
- Check with a doctor first if you are pregnant, have a heart condition, blood pressure that runs high or low, or have ever reacted badly to heat.
- Heat can make you dizzy or nauseous, especially in your first few classes; lying down and resting is always allowed.
- Traditional 26-posture classes use a scripted monologue, bright lights and mirrors, which some people love and others find drill-like.
Where it comes from
Practicing in deliberate heat is a modern idea. Its most famous form comes from Bikram Choudhury, born in Calcutta in 1944, who built his sequence on the teachings of Bishnu Charan Ghosh, a Calcutta bodybuilder, yoga practitioner and younger brother of Paramahansa Yogananda. Choudhury moved to the United States in 1971 and opened his own school in Los Angeles in 1974.
His method was fixed: 26 postures (24 poses and two breathing exercises), 90 minutes, a studio heated to 105 F (40.6 C) at about 40 percent humidity, said to echo the climate of India. Facilitators learned a standardized script. By 2006 there were around 1,650 Bikram studios in at least 40 countries. Choudhury tried to claim copyright over the sequence, and in 2015 a United States appeals court ruled that a yoga sequence is a system that cannot be copyrighted.
Choudhury faced multiple civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and harassment, lost a judgment of around 7 million dollars to his former lawyer in 2016 and left the United States that year. After a 2019 documentary brought the allegations to a wide audience, many studios dropped his name and simply called what they did hot yoga.
Other heated styles grew alongside: Moksha Yoga (now Modo) from Canada in 2004, heated power and vinyasa classes in the United States, and studios that mix heat with yin or Pilates. In Berlin you find both the classic 26-posture format and warmer flowing classes, plus newer studios that heat with infrared panels instead of hot air.
Words you will hear
- Dialogue
- The set script a facilitator speaks in a traditional 26-posture class.
- Savasana
- Corpse pose: lying flat on your back to rest between and after postures.
- Pranayama
- Sanskrit for breath control; the 26-posture class opens with a standing deep breathing exercise.
- Kapalabhati
- Sanskrit for skull shining: short, sharp exhales through the nose, the last breathing exercise of the traditional class.