You asked: Is hot yoga good for you and for weight loss?

Illustration by Peter Umansky TIME

Hot dedicated yogis swear many benefits of the activity. Others roll their eyes and ask yourself: Is it safe to operate at 104 degrees? This is what the experts day

Start rummaging for hard science in Bikram yoga, or "hot", and you will notice something strange: Not much of it. "Given the popularity of this, it is very surprising that our study is one of the first efforts of the published research on the topic," says Dr. Brian L. Tracy, a scientist of the year in the Colorado State University.

Tracy and his team carried out two experiments, the physical effects of Bikram yoga, which is to fill a rigorous series of poses over 90 minutes in a heated room 104 or 105 degrees. The first experiment consisted of healthy (but sedentary) of young adults who have no experience with yoga. After eight weeks, 24 sessions of Bikram, Tracy said the study participants showed modest gains in strength and muscle control, as well as a significant improvement in the balance. You also get a slight decrease in body weight.

"To be honest, we were very surprised by the small size of the weight change, because if you're in the studio of Bikram feel like you are working really hard," says Tracy. "And remember, these are people who do not exercise regularly before the study. Expected a decline."

For follow-up experiment, Tracy hung experienced measure their heart rate yogis expenditure, body temperature and energy in a typical session of Bikram equipment. Help explain new data, some of the disappointing results of body weight: Even if the heart rate and Core Temp significantly increased (but not dangerous) during the 90-minute session or metabolic rate-the number of participants their bodies were burned calories or less comparable with those of people on foot.

"I think the immediate reaction is disappointment if you are a fan of Bikram," Tracy said, adding that if you have spent some time reading about online businesses, you can assume that you would be spilling up to 1,000 calories per session said. "But that is not the case," he said. His research shows that men burn an average of 460 calories while the women outside working around 330 "I think the heat and the difficulty of the postures are combined to change the perception of exercise intensity," says. In addition, part of the body receives a large unit, says Tracy. "Your heart rate is for the amount of work that you do. Fairly high to high."

Is this something to worry you, though? "Potentially," says Dr. Kim Allan Williams, president-elect of the American College of Cardiology. When hot, the heart pumps large amounts of blood in the blood vessels of the skin where, is through a process known as convection, sweat is produced. "And it's not really sweat, but the evaporation of sweat, which helps cool," he says. "The sweat evaporates not effective in these conditions," he added.

What does that have to do with the hot yoga? The humidity in Bikram Yoga studios are to be maintained at 40 percent. But in reality, Tracy said it's hard to know how often this is achieved or maintained. As the humidity rises and the heart to continue working to upgrade, welding minerals such as potassium and sodium, with H20, Williams said. "It's the same for athletes who in the middle of summer," he added. "You should be aware that the heat and humidity."

To protect both Tracy Williams and say hot yoga practitioners should be careful with their bodies. Dizziness, nausea, confusion, or muscle cramps during or after yoga practice are characters that you need to take a break. This is especially true for experienced yogis, their body is not accustomed to the rigors of hot yoga, says Tracy.

Williams also stresses the importance of hydration and replenishment of nutrients. "Can not I sweat a lot of minerals and replace them with water alone," he said. Dangerously low levels of potassium, sodium and other electrolytes contribute to these health risks with fear.

Unanswered questions about the long-term effects of hot yoga practice, or how people might react with heart defects or other health problems in difficult conditions, says Tracy.

Sweaty bodies aside, most fans also rent hot yoga mental and psychological benefits of activity. And a growing stack of research suggests the practice of yoga can not only help the hot varieties, relieve stress, while improving the management and regulation similar to meditation pain emotions.

"This is not something we directly examined, but I think there is an element of monitoring Bikram yoga class," says Emily Lindsay, studied the stress and mindfulness at Carnegie Mellon University. Focus your attention on the breath and body posture can be to anchor itself in the present and to promote diabetes care, says Lindsay. Yoga can give you moments of peace, without other distractions interrupt your typical mobile phone, e-mail or life. It is no exaggeration to state that these components yoga practitioners offer some psychological benefits, Lindsay said.

"Millions of people do, and there are only one or two stories about how Bikram change the lives of people," says Tracy. "So there must be something."