Infrared classes in Tenerife
Gentle infrared warmth that relaxes the body.
Infrared classes take place in a studio warmed by infrared panels, which heat your body and the surfaces around you more than the air. The class itself is usually Pilates, yoga, barre or a slow stretch, just warmer. It feels more like sitting in sunshine than in a sauna.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Infrared does for you
The warmth lands directly on your skin, so you feel heated through without the thick, steamy air of a classic hot studio. Muscles tend to feel loose early on, and you sweat steadily rather than all at once. Many people find the air more comfortable to be in than humid heat. It is a gentle way into heated practice if 40 C hot yoga sounds like too much.
It suits you if
- you like warmth but find humid hot yoga too intense
- you want Pilates or yoga with a bit more sweat
- you are always cold in winter
- you enjoy a cozy, glowing studio
Read the full guide to InfraredWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Most classes run 45 to 60 minutes. Panels in the ceiling or walls radiate warmth, and the studio usually sits somewhere in the 30s Celsius, warm but not stifling; some spaces add red or amber lighting, others look like any other studio. The class follows its own format: mat Pilates, a yoga flow, barre or sculpt with light weights. You will sweat a fair amount, usually less than in a humid hot yoga class. Music is common and the pace depends on the format, so check whether you are booking a slow stretch or a strong burn.
Your first time
- Bring a water bottle and a small towel, and drink water during the day.
- Wear light, breathable clothes; extra layers come off fast.
- Check the class format before booking, since infrared covers anything from slow stretching to fast, high-repetition Pilates.
- Tell the facilitator if this is your first heated class, and step out for a minute if you feel lightheaded.
Good to know
- Check with a doctor first if you are pregnant, have a heart condition, blood pressure that runs high or low, or are sensitive to heat.
- Heat still dehydrates you, even when it feels milder than a sauna.
- Studios sometimes make big promises about infrared; enjoy it for the warmth and the class itself.
Where it comes from
Infrared was discovered in 1800 by William Herschel, a German-born astronomer working in England, who noticed that a thermometer placed beyond the red end of a prism's spectrum still warmed up. Infrared is the part of light you feel rather than see: the warmth of sun on your face, or of a stove across the kitchen.
Using that radiant heat on people came later. In 1891 the American physician John Harvey Kellogg built an electric light bath, a cabinet lined with incandescent bulbs, and showed it at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The idea caught on especially in Germany, where light bath institutes opened and Kaiser Wilhelm II had one installed. Infrared cabins came back from the 1970s, first in Japan and then across Europe, as a lower-temperature alternative to the Finnish sauna.
Heating a whole studio with infrared panels is newer still. Some hot yoga studios adopted panels instead of forced hot air, and in recent years infrared Pilates, barre and yoga have become a format of their own, often in compact, warmly lit studios. Berlin now has several infrared studios, typically offering mat Pilates, sculpt and yoga at temperatures in the 30s Celsius.
Words you will hear
- Far infrared
- The longer infrared wavelengths, felt as gentle radiant heat rather than seen.
- Panels
- Flat heaters on the ceiling or walls that radiate warmth toward you instead of blowing hot air.
- Mat Pilates
- Pilates on the floor without machines, a common format in infrared studios.
- Barre
- Ballet-inspired strength work with small, repeated movements, often at a waist-high rail.
- Sculpt
- A class format using light weights and many repetitions.