How to Hydrate for Class

If we could give one piece of advice to yogis everywhere, this is what it would be: Drink up! Before class, during class, after class, first thing when you wake up, throughout the day — whenever you can! Staying properly hydrated is important for everyone, but especially for hot yogis.

Everyone knows that dehydration is bad, but did you know that it strains the cardiovascular system and limits the body’s ability to cool itself down? We don’t know about you, but we definitely want our bodies to be able to cool themselves down during an intense Hot Power Fusion!

If you’re anything like us, you walk out of class dripping in sweat. That’s pretty typical. An average person sweats between 27-47 fluid ounces per hour. At that rate, it’s important to make sure that you’re properly hydrated before, during and after you take a yoga class.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind to achieve proper hydration:

Begin your yoga practice in a well-hydrated state

The time to start properly hydrating is about two hours before class begins. Try to drink about 20 ounces of fluids during the two hours before the start of class. If you’re taking an early morning class, try to properly hydrate before bed and then again first thing when you wake up in the morning.

Drink small amounts of fluids throughout class

It’s perfectly OK to take a water break during class. In fact, most of our instructors will actually remind you to do this before class begins. Try to drink small amounts of fluid throughout class. 3-8 oz. every 15 minutes is a good rule of thumb.

Consider trying an electrolyte replacement drink

Have you ever gotten a terrible muscle cramp during class that forced you to come out of a posture early? This is a fairly common occurrence that’s usually caused by a loss of electrolytes from sweating. If this is a common problem for you, consider adding an electrolyte mix to your drink.

Continue to rehydrate after class

Here’s a good piece of advice to follow: if you’re thirsty, then you’re probably dehydrated. The odds are pretty good that you’re going to be thirsty after class is over! Listen to your body and drink up after class to make sure that you replace the fluids that you lost by sweating.

Hydration dialed in? Now it's time to put it to the test. Find a class near you and show up ready to sweat!