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FORT WORTH, Aug. 20 - This summer, we've heard a lot about the dangers of excessive heat. Triple-digit temperatures can take their toll. But it's that kind of environment that's giving some North Texans better health than they've had in years. NBC 5's Deborah Ferguson explains hot yoga in this Healthwatch.
Pam Smitham has her hands full! She has seven kids: three-year-old jack is the youngest. Then there's Collin, Bubba, Claire, Sally, Frank, and the oldest, Craig at 15. Easy to understand why Pam had no time for herself.
"A mom who stays home with her kids and kind of has fallen into the habit of not really taking care of herself," she said.
So last spring, this 40-year-old mom decided to lose weight and get healthy.
"When I started yoga, I think I was down to 10," Pam said. "Today, these are a size 2!"
This is how Pam did it - Bikram Yoga.
Bikram is named after the Los Angeles man who founded it, and relies on 26 pre-determined positions designed to warm and stretch muscles.
"Warm" is the key here. The 90-minute class is done in a room heated to 105-degrees.
Regulars are used to it, but I had a bit of trouble adjusting to it. Everyone remembers their first time, Pam said, "I was the one that had the worst first class in Bikram Yoga history. I couldn't make it."
Bikram Yoga student Brad Walters said, "I had to sit down several times during the class because it's pretty tough."
Bikram Yoga-Dallas director Denice Deniger and her husband were trained by Bikram himself and own the North Dallas studio. Heat, she says, is the healing power.
She said, "The heat increases the blood circulation. Skin is the largest elimination organ in the body. You'd be surprised what comes out. But also get a safer, deeper stretch."
The excessive heat, though, does concern some medical professionals.
Dr. Benjamin Levine from the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine said, "I think that yoga by itself has some advantages. I think it does improve flexibility. It may facilitate relaxation. Those things are good goals in and of itself. Doing that in a hot environment, it's impossible to see how that would be beneficial."
And even in controlled situations like a class, it's still possible to get heat injury.
But there are many testimonials about the benefits of Bikram.
Brad Walters, 35, a former football player, came for the stretching and found a surprise. He said, "It increases your strength and flexibility. So, if you're looking to get pumped there are a couple of guys who've been doing this a long time that are ripped."
It gave 53-year-old Cindy McMillan much-needed stress relief, and something she didn't expect.
"I've gone from a 10 to six without changing my diet at all, she said. And I feel better than I've ever felt in the last 20 years, she said.
Weight loss did bring Pam Smitham, mother of seven, to Bikram. But with every stretch and twist, she says Bikram has made her a better person all around.
"I'm setting aside this time for me", Pam said. "And it's making me stronger and it's making me better. And it's carrying over into my life and making me better for my kids."
Instructor Denice Deniger says students must have had a physical within the last six months, and any one with health concerns needs clearance from a doctor.
The studio we went to is Bikram Yoga, 6333 E. Mockingbird Lane, 214-824-YOGA. For a list of area Bikram Yoga schools and more information about it, go to Yoga Dallas.com and Bikram Yoga.com