You’d think that during the UAE’s most scorching months, Abu Dhabi’s dedicated Bikram and hot yoga studio The Hot House would probably catch a bit of a breather with clients.
But the capital’s dedicated yogis still in town continue to pour in and let the sweat pour off in their regular classes held in intentionally heated temperatures.
The principle practice here is Bikram Yoga, a style founded in the early 1970s by Bikram Choudhury which sees students build strength, discipline and flexibility working through a set 26 yoga postures in a room heated to 40 °C (104 °F), ideally with a humidity of 40%.
Needless to say, things get sticky across the 90 minutes, but the effort is rewarded and practitioners leave feeling incredibly invigorated, detoxified and strong.
For obvious reasons it’s definitely an acquired taste and The Hot House has found other ways to ease people into Bikram and its baking conditions, be it through Bikram Express classes that run for 60 minutes or other styles of yoga, such as Ashtanga, Yin, Restorative, Moksha and Vinyasa.
If you can’t stand the heat, however – some people just find it a bit too stifling – they do offer classes without it, like the totally refreshing BODEGA Fit Flow we tried this week. Don’t be under any impressions that you won’t still sweat buckets though – this is yoga turned up a couple of notches.
Working up a sweat: BODEGA Fit Flow offers a thorough workout.
Taking after Germany’s popular new fitness concept BODEGA moves®, this Hot House class is designed to provide yogis with an added element of cardio many yoga styles don’t offer. Find your mudras and meditation elsewhere, BODEGA Fit Flow really gets you moving, and the focus of the flowy Vinyasa-meets-body weight training workout is on the functional strengthening of the whole musculature system and stabilisation of the locomotor system.
A BODEGA Fit Flow session may often start with a couple of sun salutations, but suddenly you will find yourself performing mountain climbers in the middle of a plank to chaturanga, or panting through squats and pulses while in chair pose, with lots of downward dog transitions to help you catch your breath, don’t worry.
It’s true there is a lot of asana to be recognised in each lively segment of this full-body workout, but there is no emphasis on really holding them for long, and no time to ponder how they make you feel.
That being said, not meditating and just moving at pace can be just as daunting if you’re used to a calmer exercise routine. One regular Hot House student turned to me after the session, practically wringing her towel, and said “Now you know why I call it Hell Yoga.
It’s great though”, and our lithe and vivacious instructor, Carola Notzon, even gave a tiny speech of gratitude to all of us for sticking it out (even if that sometimes meant just holding static poses while the rest of the class pushed on through the full routine).
Notzon tells us more about the boldness of BODEGA after our breathless first encounter. “It’s a new concept from Germany. The person who created it, Stefanie Rohr, is both a personal trainer and a yoga instructor and so she wanted to combine both things.
“BODEGA in this case means ‘Bodywork Meets Yoga’ and the goal is to strengthen the body from inside out to build yourself a nice, lean, strong structure. You do get a tough workout but just not in as intense an atmosphere as some of the other hard classes out there; there’s no stress here.
“We’re taking advantage of the physical part of yoga and adding some functional training on top of it.”
In each class you will work everything from inner thighs to back muscles in a series of ‘flows’, says Notzon, who is also German. “No class is the same and it’s very easy for me to make it harder or easier.
There are so many exercises we can throw in.”
So, who is going to love this class? Notzon says: “At The Hot House there appears to be a lot of clients with an athletic background, those who want to be pushed and because of that, I admit the sequence is a little bit on the tough side.
BODEGA Fit Flow is for everyone really (because I will always give options) but definitely for anyone who loves yoga but feels as if they are missing some additional strengthening and core work in the practice.
“We can’t forget that yoga is much more than just the physical, so much more, but BODEGA is the next step up on the physical side of things. And in turn it can help strengthen your practice – I mean, you need tons of strength for all the balancing poses, for example, it can be so challenging.”
All in all, fitness junkies who have had the daring in the past to say they find yoga boring, this is your shout-out, and you can thank studio founder Tasha Hawkins Meiring, who says: “We’re definitely open to introducing new, fun and motivating classes, especially different types of classes.”
What: BODEGA Fit Flow
Where: The Hot House, Al Zeina
When: Currently offered on Sundays at 17:00 (check in with the updated schedule each month)
Cost: Drop-ins are Dh80 but you are encouraged to take advantage of their various cheaper, flexible packages. They currently have a sale on unlimited three-month, six-month and 12-month class access – pay now and activate later.
Contact & info: www.thehothouseuae.com | 02 583 7753 | Facebook: Bikram Yoga Abu Dhabi
