1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:09,040 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, I'm more in vogue. Bomb in today's episode 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: is another classic from our archives. One of the things 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: that a lot of us are missing these days are 5 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: gyms and fitness classes unfettered by the social distancing rules 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: and masks that are keeping us all safer until we 7 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: can get vaccinated. But when it is safe to be 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: indoors again, is hot yoga one of the things that 9 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: we should get back to, or is regular temperature yoga 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: just as good. Hey there, brain Stuff, Lauren boga bomb here. 11 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: Some like their yoga hot a hundred and five degrees 12 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,239 Speaker 1: fahrenheit or forty degrees celsius to be exact, but according 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,480 Speaker 1: to a study published in the journal Experimental Physiology, heat 14 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: might have nothing to do with the style's health benefits. 15 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: Yoga is an ancient Indian practice. It dates back thousands 16 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: of years. As William J. Brad describes in the Science 17 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: of Yoga The Risks of Rewards, Its roots lay in 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: quote an obscure cult steeped in magic and eroticism, but 19 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: the practice has evolved over time, reaching the West in 20 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: the mid nineteenth century and exploding in America during the 21 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties. Today, you'll find everything from spiritual yoga practices 22 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 1: that invoke Hindu traditions to secularized models that target everyone 23 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: from pro wrestling fans to death metal heads. And then 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,479 Speaker 1: there's hot yoga, most notably Bickram Yoga, founded by Calcutta 25 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: born Bickram Chottery in the nineteen seventies. Bickram Yoga centers 26 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: around twenty six poses or asanas performed in a precisely 27 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: heated forty to six humidity studio for around ninety minutes 28 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: of sweaty action. The official Bickram Yoga website claims that 29 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,759 Speaker 1: the heat helps you practice your postures optimally. But while 30 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: critics have previously raised concerns over elevated body temperatures, no 31 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: study has actually isolated the effects of heat in the practice. 32 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: That's according to the authors of the aforementioned study, carried 33 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: out at Texas State University and the University of Texas 34 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: at Austin. They brought in eighty study participants, ages forty 35 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: to sixty, all of whom had lived sedentary lifestyles for 36 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: at least six months following health screenings. They randomized the 37 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: participants into three groups. A thermonutral group, a heated group, 38 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,839 Speaker 1: and a control group for twelve weeks. The heated group 39 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: attended three Bikram yoga classes a week in a traditional 40 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: hot room, while the thermonutral group attended the same number 41 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: of classes only under you guessed at room temperature conditions 42 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: that's seventy three degrees farenheit or about twenty three degrees celsius. 43 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: The control group did nothing. In the end, a fifty 44 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: of the eighty two subjects completed the interventions and returned 45 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:36,080 Speaker 1: for follow up testing nineteen hot, fourteen thermo neutral, and 46 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: nineteen control. The researchers compared their findings and determined the 47 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: Bickram yoga can reduce changes in blood vessel lining linked 48 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: to heart disease, and that it can possibly delay the 49 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: buildup of arterial plaque, which can lead to heart attack 50 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: or stroke. But here's the kicker. The benefits were present 51 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 1: in both the heat and room temperature groups, indicating that 52 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: heated rooms that Bickram calls torture chambers don't actually make 53 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: a difference. That be said, many yoga practitioners do like 54 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: it hot and sweaty, even amid legal scandals surrounding its founder, 55 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: Big Room Yoga boasts studios around the world, and that's 56 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: in addition to various other non affiliated hot yoga styles. 57 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,959 Speaker 1: If these latest findings hold true, however, that hot room 58 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: might be no more essential to the practice than an 59 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: iPod shuffle full of the traditional Kurton music or cannibal corpse, 60 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:30,839 Speaker 1: take your pick. Today's episode was written by Robert Lamb 61 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: and produced by Tristan McNeil and Tyler Klang. For more 62 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: on this and lots of other hot topics, visit how 63 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Rain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. 64 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 65 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.