I've tried hot yoga once before and it was brutal but I was considering trying yoga again to help keep the body nice and loose. Is it worth it or is just doing normal yoga stretches at home suffice?

its worth it to be able to escape to that environment for an hour or two

its possible to get into that zone at home but it takes skill

The heat is great. You can relax and focus way more in it. Would recommend.

Plus all the ass is great for testing your ability to avoid distractions. Feelsgoodman completely ignoring that fine ass booty sitting in front of you as you focus on yourself. You can go after it after the class ends if you like.

So hot yoga is the way to go? Not just normal yoga?

I started going to yoga classes right before the pandemic happened, so stopped when everything shut down. I did regular and one semi hot class. I liked it. I don't like doing it at home to videos but did fine in the classes.

Yes for sure. Though it may be tough to acclimate yourself to at first. Try to go to a class with a male or old lady instructor srs, not a young sloot. Have had a crazy sloot instructor who cranks the heat up high as fuk. Then the men in the class start struggling as we naturally sit at a higher body temp and need to burn more energy to move our body as we weigh so much more and have more muscle. Then she puts a smug look on her face as if she beat you. Also the young women instructors don't seem to shut up, the older ladies (unless it's the studio owner) and men are able to just tell you what pose to do without constantly telling you about how "this will open up your 5th chakra" or some nonsense, so you can just focus on breathing and feeling.

I've got to yoga at a number of (largely commercial) gyms. I would say focused stretching is probably more impactful, but yoga is helpful for at least getting a baseline that hits most/all areas. I've had instructors really emphasize "remember to go at your *own* pace. No for real, your OWN pace" like they think I'm stretching too hard (fuk off).

You definitely can wind up pretty sweaty if you go hard though - I was a messy puddle my first time, so pacing yourself a bit can be worthwhile if you're at all concerned about your classmates'/instructor's opinions.

Have also gotten a decent amount of comments from female instructors overcompensating for me being male, stuff like much more instruction directed towards me or comments about my surprising hamstring flexibility.

Yoga takes many years to understand it. Once you get the hnnng of it you never go back. It is a gradual thing.
Going to classes is better because you get a lot of info that looks irrelevant at first but with practice it will make sense gradually.
Your first question. Classes are way better. Doing it on your own is unlikely to get you anywhere.
Second question. Hot Yoga. When the room is hot your body becomes more flexible. It is easier to reach for some poses or you can try other movements. Depends on the teacher.
One big difference is your body sweats a lot and it is suppose to get rid of toxins through your skin. I dont know the science of it but it feels good before going to sleep.
Hot or normal yoga try different classes and do what works for you. different teachers different approaches. Find a class you like or that it is convenient then a few months later you try another class and it makes so much more sense.
Tips
Don't eat before yoga go with an empty stomach.
Takes about 6 months to a year of practice to get better. Hang in there it is worth it.
Best view is from back of the room.
Don't feel akward if you are the only man in the room. They like it. Imagine you are one rooster inside a chicken house. Hnnnng

...

I've thought about going to one, but with work I barely have time to go to my crossfit gym.

It's only an hour out of a 24 hour day

It's a great way to meet people (they're very friendly and supportive no homo) /girls (had them adding me on insta lol) and get healthy at the same time. I love yoga, but I havnt done it since covid happened. My flexibility is also chit, so yoga was definitely helping me on that front.


It's extremely underrated.