If You Practice Hot Yoga, Here’s How to Prevent Dehydration

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Hot yoga students all share a few things in common. For starters, we share a passion for sweating. As yogis, we know that the more we give in each posture, the more we are guaranteed to sweat. Next, we are all in the habit of filling up those giant water bottles before each class, which brings us to our third commonality: hydration.
 
After each class, we are all in equal need of hydration.
 
Whether you practice hot yoga, or any other form of yoga, you need to take hydration as seriously as you take Downward Dog. Hydration is essential before, during, and after a hot yoga class.
 

As an easy rule of thumb, it is recommended that you drink half your body weight in ounces…every day.

 
For a hot yoga practice in particular, you should drink 1-1.5 liters of water before your practice. This amount will provide your body with enough fluids to carry you through an hour’s worth of sweating.
 

Here’s the Lowdown on Hot Yoga, Sweating, and Staying Properly Hydrated

Sweat is created from fluid in your blood. As your body secretes sweat, your blood thickens and your heart has to pump harder, stimulating positive chain reactions for your metabolism, immune system, and cardiovascular circulation. Hot yoga is a healthy way of making the body sweat by increasing its overall temperature.
 

 
Perspiration cleanses the body by bringing waste to the surface, acting as a natural detoxifier. This is why it’s important to shower after each hot yoga class to wash away all the toxins. This is also why hydration is so crucial. While sweating purges toxins, it also extracts key electrolytes from our bodies.
 
 

So How Do Hot Yogis Stay Hydrated?

Electrolytes.
 
Where can you find them? Sports drinks such as Gatorade have them, but also come with not-so-good-for you ingredients like artificial colors and excess sugar.
 
Here’s a healthier alternative. You can make your own electrolyte water by adding a pinch of salt and a wedge of lemon to your filtered water. It’s that simple!
 
Then there’s coconut water. With the five key electrolytes found in sports drinks, along with B-complex vitamins, potassium, and bioactive enzymes that boost metabolism, coconut water is an ideal alternative.
 
Coconut water is so similar to blood plasma that it can be used as intravenous fluid in emergency transfusions. Drinking a coconut water after class is a smart way to rebalance your natural level of hydration.
 

The Takeaway

Yoga students of all practices share the intention of getting the most out of our practice. Each of us embark on a continuous journey toward self-betterment; a betterment that begins by taking care of our bodies.
 
Just as our breath is the guide that carries us through each pose, our hydration should be the guide that carries us through each practice with healthy, hydrated bodies.
 
Want to learn more hot tips for hot yogis? Check out 10 Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Hot Yoga Practice
 
Live long, and hydrate!
 

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