Hot 26 at Yogasource, Los Gatos

As the name suggests, Hot 26 is a yoga practice in a heated room, featuring a series of 26 postures delivered in the same order every class.  The class is designed to help you increase your flexibility while gaining strength. It also has a heavy focus on proper form to reduce the chance of injury from incorrect alignment.

TRAINER: JACKIE — Jackie was insightful and witty. She even made several people literally lol mid class.

SWEAT:  9/10 — Lots of sweating; it is hot yoga after all

LEVEL: All levels. Safe for beginners with challenges for advanced yogis.

TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS:

• Forever 26: It’s called Hot26 because there’s 26 postures — it’s the same 26 poses in the same order in every class, with every instructor.
• Bikram with a twist. Hot 26 features 26 postures that are performed only once instead of twice like the traditional practice. They are also held for shorter periods of time, whittling the workout down to 60 minutes, instead of the traditional 90-minutes.  
• Hydrated and happy – You will sweat a lot during this session, so make sure you drink plenty of water in the days leading up to your first class — and especially

MUSIC: There’s no music in this class. Instead, you’ll listen to the cues from Jackie as well as your own breath.

BRING: Your yoga mat, a mat towel, a sweat towel, and a water bottle. Bring a shower towel too if you plan on showering.

CLASSPASS: Yes

THE WORKOUT DETAILS

Class started with Jackie leading us through a standing  breathing series (or pranayama for all you fancy Sanskrit knowing yogis out there).  It’s how we grounded ourselves in our breath that would guide us through the rest of class.

After breathwork, we went on to do our standing series, which is where the class got a bit more intense. We did poses that included side bends, squat variations, forward bends, dancer’s pose, side angle, and more. This part can be difficult with the heat, so remember there’s never any shame in needing to take a child’s pose whenever needed.

After, we transitioned into mat work —  a few key asanas are boat, hero’s pose, rabbit, multiple savasanas, and a seated twist.

Throughout  each section of the class, Jackie recited inspirational quotes. She also tossed out a joke here and there which gave a little levity to an otherwise serious practice.

Finally,  class finished with “Breath of Fire,” which for Bikram newbies is a breathing exercise where you breath out short puffs of air at a rapid pace.  This is pretty specific to Bikram style yoga. After we said our namastes, we were feeling pretty zen.

Yogasource Los Gatos | 16185 Los Gatos Blvd | 408.402.YOGA | yogasourcelosgatos.com