While you may already practice yoga, it can be done within a hot tub and has its own unique benefits. Hot tub yoga is a practice anyone can take advantage of and provides wonders for reducing pain and improving your range of motion.
Hot Tub Yoga Benefits
A healthy lifestyle can be supplemented by using a hot tub. After all, hydrotherapy and meditation in a spa provide health benefits to everyone including improved circulation and muscle recovery.
Hot tub yoga is great for beginners who may find it difficult to balance or stretch their muscles. The buoyancy of hot tubs makes balancing a breeze and maintaining your form easier. The heat from water warms up the muscles, suppresses pain, and comforts joints.
In many ways, yoga and hot tub use share many of the same benefits. Both can lower blood pressure and help with insomnia while treating lower back pain and arthritis. After a long day at work, or when you need to time to calm and ground yourself, hot tub yoga can be the perfect answer.
How to Perform Hot Tub Yoga
Hot tub yoga starts from a place of comfort. Let go of all your worries, thoughts and distractions. Imagine the water is washing away all your problems and nothing can bother you while you’re in your spa. Become one with the water by:
Back Exercises
In the standing position, extend your arms out and keep your back straight. Slowly twist your torso to one side, pointing your arm further and further behind you until stretched, but also comfortable. Keep your feet planted firmly. Return, facing forwards and repeat the exercise on the other side.
Hamstring Exercise
While in the sitting position, extend your leg outwards. With an arm from the same side of the extended leg, try to reach your toes to the extent of your comfort. Hold for about 10 seconds, focusing on your breathing. Lower your leg and repeat with the other side of your body.
Glute Exercise
In the sitting position, bring your knees up to your chest and fold each hand under each knee. Slowly let your legs float to the surface of the water and extend further if possible. You should feel tension in your glutes and your knees should be held firmly against your chest. Hold this position for 10 seconds and bring your legs back down.
Shoulder Exercise
Place your left hand on your right shoulder and place your right hand on your left elbow. Hold your left elbow against your body gently with your right hand and raise your left arm upwards in a scooping motion. Hold this position for about 5 to 10 seconds and repeat with the other side.
Another exercise is to reach one of your hands above your head and behind your back, as though you’re trying to feel down the length of your neck and spine. Using your other free hand, hold the elbow of the stretching hand and lean slowly towards the free hand. Hold this position for 5 seconds and repeat with the other side.
Chest Exercise
In the standing position, extend both arms out and behind you slightly as though you’re about to wrap someone in a big hug. Raise both arms up at the same time behind you slowly. Imagine there’s a wall behind you and the back of both hands are touching the wall as they rise. Raise both arms as high as they can go, or until both hands touch.
These hot tub yoga exercises are a great way to warm up each joint and muscle. Your body should feel limber, loose, and relaxed by the end of a session. Hot tub yoga is for everyone and can be used regularly as a pre-workout stretch.
With a quick hop in a hot tub, you’ll be ready for anything.
