Hot Yoga, for the brave ones
Bosveld recently went to one of Fatima Bhyat's Hot Yoga classes
Healthy living may seem like a struggle to many residents, but to Fatima Bhyat it is a lifestyle. Bosveld went to one of her Hot Yoga classes and fainting was a high possibility while doing the 26 poses and standing in a room that is almost 30 degrees hot.
What is Hot Yoga?
Bikram Choudhury is the founder of the Bikram Yoga (Hot Yoga) system which consists of 26 poses which are done in a period of 90 minutes.
Hot Yoga helps you burn more calories due to the heated environment and also helps with flexibility. It is also said that Hot Yoga has the benefit of releasing toxins by sweating. It is usually done in a room that has a temperature of 40 degrees.
Who is Fatima Bhyat?
Fatima (53) was born in South Africa but basically grew up in Canada after she moved there with her family because of ongoing political reasons in SA. Fatima is now a mother of four children and is well-known in town.
She said that yoga was not something she always liked doing, but it all started after her brother was in a car accident and he did yoga to help him heal.
It worked wonders.
She was only involved in spinning and running at that time.
After she moved back to South Africa she reminded herself that age is starting to creep up on her and that she needs a more relaxed type of exercise. That is why she started doing Yoga with friends who told her she must start giving classes.
After learning all the required knowledge of this practise, she was encouraged to open her own Hot Yoga studio. She is also still giving spinning classes and partakes in the Mokopane Athletic team.
Fatima believes that everyone of any age, gender or health status can do this exercise. She says that it may seem like a struggle in the beginning but after a few classes it will be something that you would want to do every day.
“Spinning and hot yoga definitely complements each other because spinning is something you can enjoy with others and it is a cardio practise while hot yoga is a practise where you are all on your own by training your mind to control your body to the best of it’s abilities”, she explained.
After the hot yoga moment with sweat dripping down my forehead I still felt energised.
While talking to Fatima she gave me one of her home-made smoothies, with all the green resources your body can need.
“I don’ t like drinking vitamins and minerals in pill form. It is much healthier getting it in by something that actually looks like food. We also do not use any sugar in the house, we replace it with honey, because sugar makes you hungry. Advice I would give to anyone would be to not eat any processed food. I even make my own tomato sauce”, she said with a laugh.
She is not only a remarkable hot yoga and spinning instructor but she is also the host of a book club where the members come together once a month to exchange books and also talk about what they can do to improve the community.
They read a broad range of books like the classics, books from South African authors like Rayda Jacob’s, autobiographies of South African activists, stories about women locally and abroad, books by Indian, Iranian and African authors and also any book that is trending on the shelves.
“On my bedside table at the moment is ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society’. It is a beautiful book set in the Channel Islands just after World War 2”.
For any information about her Hot Yoga classes, spinning lessons or book club you can contact her at 082 452 3452 or email her at fatimabhyat19@gmail.com.
