Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), In the stress-filled days in which we live what better time to consider something a bit different as a possible antidote….. hot yoga.
Yoga is an ancient practice originating from India; it connects body, mind, and spirit promoting better mental and physical health, with the ultimate goal of achieving general well-being.
There are many different schools of yoga, that teach different styles, and most of these are all well-represented in Belgium; Brussels has many independent yoga studios and yoga classes.
But one of the most popular in recent years at the hot yoga sessions run by Feroze Khan and his brother Sameer.
After a slight hiatus, caused by the health pandemic, the pair have now again gone the sessions up and running at a gym on Avenue Louise in Brussels.
As many as 3,000 people have, in the past, given their hot yoga classes a go and the two brothers are now keen to raise awareness of the fact that the gym is open again.
Over the years, sweaty devotees of hot yoga include British socialite Pippa Middleton, soccer star David Beckham, and countless Olympians. It has even been used by the Buckingham Palace guards.
The general idea is that you bend yourself into positions you may never have thought possible in rooms heated up to 100.
This type of yoga features different “hot” yoga positions and breathing exercises – practiced in a raging temperature to mimic conditions in India.
Feroze Yoga, in particular, is a sequence of authentic 26 Hatha yoga postures combined with Pranayama and Kapalbhati breathing exercises
The combination of heat and exercise helps you to loosen up the muscles, sweat out toxins, and affect weight loss. The exercise can make bodies very sleek, sometimes very fast.
While practitioners may quibble about the best way to practice yoga, huge numbers of people have joined the hot yoga boom.
Feroze first opened his first studio in Brussels back in 2006 and ran a successful yoga business for some years. He sold the studio in 2015 to another owner who subsequently closed it down in July 2023.
Feroze has now taken over the lease again and opened his newly branded “Feroze Hot Yoga 2024.”
Feroze, who also regularly teaches hot yoga at the European Commission, himself has a colorful background.
He first toyed with the idea of becoming a Bollywood movie star or a famous Indian cricket player but ended up becoming a yoga teacher.
He has taught this potentially life-changing practice to “yogis” professionally for some 31 years with successful yoga studios in Frankfurt and the USA as well as Brussels.
Feroze told this site he has one mission in life: “to leverage my lifelong knowledge and mastery of yoga to bring health and healing around the world.”
His “unique” style of teaching yoga focuses on helping the practitioner “to know more about their mind and body.”
“It is,” he goes on, “all about reconnecting with your true inner self.”
The classes, he says, are particularly ideal for anyone suffering from stress, depression, fear, anxiety or tension.
So, why the need for such heat?
Feroze says, “In a warm room the muscles are soft, pliable, and easier to stretch, so you flow through the class without injury. In a cold room, the body is stiff and you can hurt yourself by pulling a muscle.”
“A good analogy is a blacksmith. When going to reshape metal, he heats it up so he can mold and shape it without breaking it.”
The yoga is practiced in a safe environment and he says by the end of each class practitioners “will have worked every part of your body while systematically oxygenating your body restoring your health to all body system.”
Classes, which start and end promptly on time, are held all day and last between 60 and 90 minutes. First-time students should arrive 20 minutes before class begins for registration.
During the class, the practitioner should practice stillness between postures and focus on only themselves in the mirror. They should respect the silence of the room by moving quietly and not talking.
People can do just one class but, to feel the full benefit, it is recommended to return for several sessions. A minimum of ten in the first 30 days is suggested.
A 90-minute yoga class is followed by a meet and greet with some traditional Indian food and chai.
Prices range from just €20 for one class to €340 for 20 sessions.
There is an opening offer – one week of hot yoga for €40 and a special 20-class card for €300. The “drop-in” class is €20.
