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" Hot yoga has been on my fitness to-do list for years. Truth be told, I stuck my toe in the water a few years ago and bailed (didn&amp;#x27;t finish a class I trialed). But, I decided it was time to give it another go. After all, I&amp;#x27;m a huge fan of yoga and I think saunas are heaven, so the combo has always sounded appealing to me. So, I gave it another whirl. One word: whoa.**** A quick primer on hot yoga for newcomers: It&amp;#x27;s the practice of yoga in an insanely hot room (100 degrees+). Here&amp;#x27;s an article about it from Time. Let me start by saying that I&amp;#x27;m not exactly in the tip-top shape of my life. I recently had a baby and am recovering from abdominal surgery (heck, I was just in the hospital a few weeks ago). Still, I was determined to try hot yoga (again), in hopes of falling in love with it and doing it a few times a week. So, I attended a late-night class at a studio near my home (and drank lots of water beforehand). Running a few minutes late (the baby wasn&amp;#x27;t cooperating before I left), I walked into the studio and thought, uh oh. Everybody had brought towels. Me? No towel, just a yoga mat. I berate myself for not remembering this important detail, then whisper to the woman next to me, &amp;quot;so do you really need a towel?&amp;quot; She looks at me like I may be slightly cuckoo and says, &amp;quot;um, yeah.&amp;quot; Fortunately they had one for rent at the front desk. OK, back at my mat, I realize my lateness as awarded me one of the worst spots in the studio: In the crowded back corner--right next to a heater that is pumping out insanely hot air directly on my face. I keep wanting to turn the thing off when no one is looking, but I resist. I can&amp;#x27;t see myself in the mirror, and am a little worried that I may end up having a run-in with the feet of the woman in front of me. As the class begins, I realize that the instructor--who seemed so sweet in the lobby--is actually a drill sergeant because she&amp;#x27;s one decibel away from shouting at us. (Remember our mean trainer vs. nice trainer discussion?) I tell myself to go with it and it works--her &amp;quot;harder, deeper, stronger&amp;quot; mantra (or something like that) seems to be working because I&amp;#x27;m suddenly dripping with sweat--and I mean dripping--and my legs are trembling with each pose. We reach what seems to be the end of class (no clocks on the wall), and I am relieved. What a workout. But no, it&amp;#x27;s the halfway mark the instructor tells us. We are permitted a few sips of water and are back at it. I start to get worried. The next few moments are a blur. I start to get a massive headache and then I feel dizzy--I&amp;#x27;m-about-to-faint dizzy. I know the signs, I&amp;#x27;ve fainted before. So I run for the door, back out in the lobby where it&amp;#x27;s not 110 degrees. Breathe in, breath out. I sat there for about 10 minutes and wondered, &amp;quot;is there such thing as death by yoga?&amp;quot; When I was sure I wasn&amp;#x27;t going to pass out, I drank some water and went back in for the final 15 minutes of class. When the 90-minute session ended, I felt like I&amp;#x27;d been through war and back. The other students were so supportive, patting me on the back and saying &amp;quot;great job&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;it&amp;#x27;s really tough your first time,&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;I fainted the first time I tried this.&amp;quot; That made me feel better. It was an incredibly intense workout, for sure--and a little frightening (I&amp;#x27;ve never felt like I might pass out from exercise!), but call me crazy, I&amp;#x27;m going again tomorrow night! I&amp;#x27;m hopeful that hot yoga--with time--will be something I can learn to love. I think it has the potential to be a great stress-reliever for me. Question for you all: Have you ever worked out so hard you almost fainted? Ever needed a &amp;quot;sick day&amp;quot; after a hard workout? And how about hot yoga? Have you guys tried it? Fans or not? P.S. Read about Glamour blogger Margarita&amp;#x27;s first hot yoga experience. Photo: iStock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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