Hot yoga

2024/06/20

I listened to my friend Natsuyo’s hot yoga experience.

After she got transferred to a new department, she got totally behind

and was stressed out.

So, she started hot yoga to relieve stress.

I will write how hot yoga supported her to make a good balance

in her life and to adapt her new environment.

In the next post, I will share with you a broader view of the occupation

of hot yoga．

Natsuyo is in her mid-20s and works as a full-time occupational therapist.

After she worked in a rehabilitation department in a hospital, she got

transferred to a home visit department in the same organization.

In the rehab, she worked in the occupational therapy room.

That was her comfortable place.

She could easily get help from her colleagues. 

The biggest difference she got from moving to the home visiting department

was that she visits her clients at home to work for them.

The occupational therapy room was her home ground.

She knew it well and what to do there.

There were many colleague therapists from whom she could get help

whenever she needed it.

She worked there with peace of mind. 

In the visiting therapy department, however, she had to work in

a different way.

Natsuyo visited her clients at home by herself.

The clients’ home was the place where they lived and that was totally

different from the occupational therapy room in the hospital.

There was no colleague she could get help from.

She had to figure out on her own what she should do next.

While visiting four to five clients a day, she has been very nervous

and tense.

When Natsuyo returned to the office in the evening, she had a lot of

unfamiliar documentation to do.

Natsuyo should stay late to finish her work.

After Natsuyo went home, she continued thinking about her work.

She felt her body was stiff and she was stressed out physically and

mentally.

Natsuyo was totally exhausted.

At that time, she heard that hot yoga was a good way to refresh,

so she tried a hot yoga class close to her work.

An instructor was coaching a group of participants in a hot

and humid room. She joined in.

The participants moved their bodies slowly to make a pose.

This exercise was strenuous for Natsuyo and she sweated a lot.

She moved her body to make a pose as the instructor guided her.

The exercise worked like meditation.

She forgot things while she focuses on her breathing.

While she continued concentrating on her breathing in and breathing

out, she forgot things and refreshed her body and mind.

It has been a while since she moved her body fully and sweated a lot.

When she finished the class, she forgot her work and realized that

she felt relaxed.

She was satisfied and wanted to do the activity again.

Natsuyo was involved in doing hot yoga and went to the class four

times a week.

To be on time for the class, she had to finish her work on time.

She quit working endlessly.

To be on time, she prioritized her weekly schedule and planned

to progress her work from the morning.

She tried to communicate well with her colleagues to finish her work

on time.

Natsuyo resolved the stress she got in her new environment after

being transferred.

Now she can balance her private life and work life and keep up with

her weekly work.

She doesn’t feel tense while working with her clients.