Picture this – you walk into a 95-degree room and start sweating the second you walk in. You’re not in a sauna, you’re in a hot yoga class in which you will have to move your body and hold poses for the next 60-90 minutes.

It may sound unbearable to be in such a hot room for so long, but it’s actually the complete opposite. Hot yoga does wonders for the mind and body, especially for those who are trying to lose weight.

Whether you do a Bikram class or a vinyasa style, you’re in for a treat. All you have to do is open your mind to trying something new and commit to making it through your first class.

Remember, child’s pose is your friend and the hot yoga benefits are worth coming back for! Not convinced? Here are seven things you can expect from doing hot yoga.

1. Higher Heart Rate

As if the heat isn’t enough, moving through sun salutations and asana sequences is sure to get your heart rate going. Hot yoga makes you work. It increases your regular heart rate to reach a steady working pace for the duration of the class.

This is what makes you burn calories and in turn, burn fat. Plus, if you make hot yoga a part of your regular workout routine, your resting heart rate will go up, too.

A higher resting heart rate means you’ll feel more energy throughout the day and your metabolism will go up. Both of these results go hand in hand with losing weight.

2. Way More Sweat

If you haven’t already realized, you’re going to sweat a whole lot when you do hot yoga. It’s basically like sweating as much as you would during a regular workout and in a sauna at the same time.

In fact, many people look like they’ve just gotten out of the shower when they do hot yoga! They’re glistening with sweat all over, and while it may not be the best look, it feels amazing.

Walking out with so much sweat makes you feel like you’ve worked really hard, and the muscle soreness you experience reminds you that you have indeed. Not to mention, you sweat significantly more than any regular workout would make you do.

3. Detox Effects

Sweating while you exercise isn’t just a sign of how hard you’re working. It also provides amazing detox benefits for the body.

Yogis have a saying to “leave everything on the mat.” When you go to hot yoga, you’re able to leave last weekend’s drinking, yesterday’s french fries, and this morning’s coffee on the mat. Your body has the chance to literally let go of all the toxins flowing through it because your sweat is letting it all out.

This isn’t to say one hot yoga class is enough to get everything out. But, a regular hot yoga practice does much more for detoxing and weight loss than not doing yoga would.

4. Improved Muscle Strength

Another reason to do hot yoga is to build more strength in your body. You don’t need to build muscle in order to cut fat, but working on the former significantly improves the latter.

When you train your body to get stronger, it works harder throughout the day. This is because the protein degradation and synthesis processes speed up, the blood flow improves, and more energy is produced overall. All of these help fight fat.

It’s not rocket science, it’s the fundamental way your body works. Not many people realize this when they first start to lose weight. In time, you’ll feel the results happening in your body and see them in the mirror.

5. Increased Flexibility

At the same time you’re building muscles and detoxing the body, you’re also improving your flexibility. Sure, it’s cool to touch your toes or bend over without feeling pressure in your back. But what’s even cooler is to have a better range of motion.

Working on your flexibility in hot yoga provides better form when weightlifting. You become more aware of your body and notice how your range of motion should feel when you’re on the mat.

This translates into better posture throughout the day, more comfort in the muscles and joints overall, and an improved way of targeting muscles in the gym.

6. Stress Relief

Here’s something to think about: sometimes, the body builds fat – or holds onto it – because the mind is stressed. When your mind is constantly “on” and feeling frantic, it puts unnecessary pressure on the body.

Hot yoga allows you to let it all go. This is the other side of “leaving everything on the mat.” Yoga is just as much, if not more, mental as it is physical.

Through the postures and sequences, you learn to be more gentle with yourself and to release the things that no longer serve you. It’s a powerful transformation, with results that you can feel and see.

7. Room for Growth

The final benefit of doing hot yoga for weight loss is the room for growth it offers. Again, this is both in mind and body. In terms of cutting fat, the main benefit is the opportunity to challenge your body in different ways.

There are only so many motions you can do in the gym. On a yoga mat, though, you can progress from basic sequences and beginner arm balances to holding handstands and learning how to press up. Handstands aren’t the only posture worth working up to, either.

Yoga has all kinds of binds and balances that challenge the body. As your knowledge of the practice increases, you learn how to focus on the back and shoulders one day then the legs and abs the next. You’re given the tools to target your body in ways that weight lifting just can’t do.

Discover All the Hot Yoga Benefits for Yourself

It’s one thing to read about hot yoga benefits and another to realize everything the practice can offer you. From letting go of mental stressors to cutting fat and building strength, there are no limits to what you can learn on the mat.

All you have to do is take your first class and keep going back.

For more ways to lose fat in addition to doing hot yoga, click here.