January 14, 2016
I practice yoga at a Bikram Yoga studio on a regular basis so I typically wear next to nothing in class. My yoga costume consists of a pair of boy shorts, a sports bra and a headband to keep the hair out of my face. That’s it. It may not sound like much, but when I’m sweating my bootie off in a studio heated to 105 degrees for an hour and a half, the last thing I want to deal with is having wet clothes weigh me down during the duration of class.
I recently had a free pass for CorePower Yoga where they offer a couple different variations of yoga classes including a 60-minute hot yoga class. I’ve never taken anything other than a Bikram Yoga class and was curious to see what hot yoga was all about. I heard the hot yoga class at CorePower was similar to Bikram – in a heated studio and with similar postures, but class was only 60 minutes instead of 90 minutes. I was game to check out a few classes to get out of my Bikram routine.
Ever walk into a room and get the feeling everyone is looking at you? This is how I felt when I walked into my first Hot Power Fusion class. As I set up my mat in the front, left-hand corner of the studio, I noticed I was the only one in boy shorts and a sports bra. I instantly felt out of place. All of the other women in class were wearing a form of yoga pant, either capris or a full legging. None of the ladies were wearing just a sports bra either. They were wearing a long, form-fitted tank top that covered their mid section. It shouldn’t have been a big deal. I should’ve just let it go, but I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable and awkward all throughout class. I felt especially uncomfortable in my small boy shorts and sports bra doing all of the leg splits, countless Downward Facing Dogs and then getting on my back and putting my legs up in the air for the “core workout” portion that took place halfway through class. OMG!
In some studios, it’s perfectly normal to rock a pair of boy shorts and a sports bra. Other studios, a majority of the yogis practicing there might dress more on the conservative side…and rightfully so! I would’ve felt much more comfortable hanging out in Downward Dog wearing a pair of leggings or capris rather than a pair of short boy shorts.