IT’S the hottest fitness trend around – literally.

Hot yoga sees participants working up a sweat as they work out in rooms heated to a balmy 47 degrees Celsius – that’s 107 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is one of the classes offered at Shape Up Studios in Lymington, which opened last year and specialises in group exercise.

I haven’t done yoga since I was a teenager and don’t think of myself as being very flexible so I didn’t know how I would get on when I joined Mandy Hamson’s hour and a half class on a Thursday morning.

Mandy put my mind at ease, explaining that it doesn’t matter how flexible you are – you do the exercise to your own ability. Plus, the heat helps you to be more flexible.

“Because your muscles are warm you can stretch more deeply and the temperature also gets your heart rate going so it offers an extra challenge,” she said.

She added that it’s important to have water with you to sip and to simply sit down for a few minutes if you feel dizzy.

Mandy said that one of the other benefits is that because it makes you sweat a lot it also offers a good detox.

I have to admit, I found the class quite taxing. Even just keeping my hands glued together above my head made my arms tired, and the next day my arms were so sore it was hard to chop up vegetables!

But I did manage to do all of the class and felt that I had had a great workout. It combined strength, balance and flexibility and as I looked round at how elegant and bendy everyone else was I could see the benefits of doing it regularly.

One of the studio’s heaters was broken so the class was not as hot as usual but I think that made it easier for me, as I did find it pretty warm.

As I’m not a yoga regular, it’s difficult to know if I was stretching more deeply than I would have been able to otherwise but I was able to have a decent shot at most of the moves.

Controlled breathing is an important part of yoga and focusing on my breath helped make the class relaxing as well as invigorating.

I was also interested to note that Mandy told us that certain positions would improve the appearance of our skin.

Certainly its celebrity fans Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, George Clooney, Madonna and Matthew McConaughey look good!

With so many potential benefits, it’s easy to see why Mandy’s classes are so popular and more and more people are deciding to feel the heat.

  •  For more information about Mandy Hamson’s hot yoga classes, visit shapeupstudios.co.uk