Last week I did my first ever Hot Yoga session at Yogafurie, a new hot yoga studio in Ashley Down!

In case you didn’t know what ‘Hot Yoga’ is (I didn’t until a couple of weeks ago), it is Vinyasa yoga class performed in a 40° heated room.

One of the main advantages of hot yoga include burning a huge amount of calories: you can expect to burn between 600 – 900 calories in just one hot yoga session! Another advantage of hot yoga is that the heat helps your muscles to relax and you therefore become more flexible.

Situated on Ashley Down Road in Ashley Down, Yogafurie welcomes everyone, regardless of a person’s level of fitness. It offers hot yoga classes in the early morning, afternoon and evenings (here is the class timetable) so that everyone is able to come to the classes and is owned by Ed Wood, who is also the lead instructor.

I have to admit I was nervous on going to my first hot yoga session; I am not particularly fit and, aside from walking the school run every day, take no form of regular exercise and this was the first fitness-type class I had done for many years!

However, I needn’t have worried as my fears were unfounded. I was warmly welcomed by the receptionist and by Ed himself, who was to be leading the session and who explained all before the class started and made sure I was comfortable before the hot yoga class began.

The studios at Yogafurie are purpose-built, smart and modern. The hot yoga studio itself is decorated with artwork of the chakras and there is also a state of the art heater to maintain the room at a nice, toasty heat! The facilities at Yogafurie are also excellent and include lovely showers, changing rooms, social area and reception (which also sells healthy snacks).

Ed led the hot yoga session at a gentle pace, offering lots of instructions, advice and guidance throughout each yoga pose. He also encouraged all to take regular rests when needed and to go at a pace that felt comfortable to them.

For example, when working on a particular yoga position, there were often both harder and easier variations for people to choose from according to their levels of fitness and flexibility; therefore everyone was able to participate.

Ed is also very knowledgeable and openly shared his knowledge of yoga and its principles, as well as explaining the names of the different yoga positions and the effects on the different muscles of your body.

Although I felt tired following the hot yoga session, I felt absolutely fantastic; it is a wonderful feeling when you know you have worked your body hard, burned lots of calories and achieved one and a quarter hours of great exercise!

I would definitely recommend booking yourself on a hot yoga session at Yogafurie! If you would like to find out more about Yogafurie, please visit the Yogafurie website. You can also email info@yogafurie.com or phone Ed directly on 07807 789 875.

Enjoy!