In : http://www.yogitimes.com/review/yoga-live-academy-hot-yoga-bikram-studio-lisbon-portugal

Yoga Live Academy is located at 1B of António Pedro Street, in Anjos, Lisbon. When you open the door of Yoga Live Academy, a heat wave will invade your body and soul. The hot yoga rooms are kept to a warm temperature, sometimes up to 40 degrees celcius. With a dim light and a zen environment, it’s impossible not to breathe deep and allow yourself to be flooded with peace.

Hot Yoga teacher, Ana Salvador, explains that when Paulo Hayes brought this method to Portugal, he wanted to differentiate it from the Bikram method. “Bikram Yoga ends up being a brand. Paulo didn’t want to bring that brand (which demands a more strict practice) with him. He wanted teachers to have more freedom to adapt their own sequences to the class; from the energy, to the moon cycles, and days of the week, which is something that Bikram Yoga doesn’t allow,” explains Ana.

The classes start in Savasana, so that the body can get used to the high temperatures of the room. From Savasana, you will move in to a sequence of poses, that increase in intensity as practice rolls on, and finally ending with pranayama exercises to cool down the body. Throughout the class, room temperature increases gradually until heating, is turned off by the time of the final relaxation.

This practice brings countless benefits to the body. Due to the high temperatures in the room, the body sweats, eliminating toxins. The brain and the cell’s oxygenation increases, heart rate increases, and strength, as well as flexibility, improve. Concentration also improves, as the students learn to control their breathing. Ana Salvador assures that there’s no need to fear in practicing this method as it can be a very pleasant experience.

“There’s a lot of people practicing Hot Yoga in other countries, and when they’re in Portugal for vacation, they like to keep their practice going,” explains Ana. “There’s a big chunk of foreign students here, which creates a melting pot of cultures and experiences.

Yoga Live Academy also offers Hatha Yoga and Yogalates, a method that combines Yoga and Pilates. There is also, a room designed for aesthetic services and oriental therapies.