Hot Yoga Is My Active Recovery
Thrive student Nancy Baydoun is a lifelong athlete,
Thrive student Nancy Baydoun is a lifelong athlete, but it wasn’t until she regularly practiced hot yoga that she truly noticed how great her body could feel.
Nancy Baydoun has been a runner for most of her adult life. From sprints to marathons, she loves testing her endurance and pushing herself to new heights.
Eight years ago, however, she developed neuroma in her foot. This painful condition causes numbness and inflammation. “So basically, when I was walking, it felt like I was walking on needles,” says Nancy. “The recommendation was to have surgery and cut the nerves, and obviously, that's not something I was going to do because I'm too addicted to exercise. I wasn't willing to take that recovery option.”
Nancy chose to turn to hot yoga instead.
“I was nervous because I was not flexible. I mean, I was hard as a rock. I couldn't even touch my toes, but I was open to the experience, and I remember leaving feeling like I had my butt kicked, like, ‘Wow, this is a workout!’ but I didn't have any hard impacts on my body. So that's what made me fall in love with it, feeling like I was able to sweat. I still got a workout in, but it was low impact, and it was really, really hard.”
“I remember leaving feeling like I had my butt kicked, like, ‘Wow, this is a workout!’ but I didn’t have any hard impacts on my body.”
Like many Thrive students, Nancy went in looking for one thing but found so much more. That’s because, contrary to popular belief, yoga isn’t only about stretching. When athletes hold poses for extended periods, they’re training their endurance and improving their muscular stability, which is particularly valuable in sports that require sustained effort. For Nancy, within one month of regular practice, she had not only found relief from her neuroma, but she was also seeing dramatic improvements in her flexibility, strength, and overall physical and mental well-being.
Hot yoga’s warm environment increases blood circulation, which helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to tired muscles. Nancy has found that yoga's strength training and balance exercises have been transformative, enhancing her running and overall athletic performance.
“I have exercise-induced asthma, so being in the heat helped me open up my lungs. And being able to move with your breath is the foundation of athletes,” Nancy explains. “The controlled, deep breathing techniques, such as 80/20 breathing, actually help athletes increase their lung capacity and train their bodies to use oxygen more efficiently.” Nancy soon discovered that growing accustomed to the temperature in the hot yoga room also helped her when running outdoors in high heat and humidity.
Nancy, a fitness instructor herself, owns a fitness studio called Infinite Athlete Fitness, where she teaches various dynamic classes, including strength, conditioning, CrossFit, Pilates, and sculpting. Her overall fitness philosophy centers on the importance of combining different modalities—strength training, yoga, and cardio—to build a balanced, resilient, and injury-resistant body.
“Taking care of yourself and your health is so worth it. You’re never too busy for your health.”
“Taking care of yourself and your health is so worth it. You’re never too busy for your health.” By integrating hot yoga into their routine, Nancy believes that athletes can complement their traditional training with a practice that offers balance, restoration, and holistic support for both body and mind, adding, “Hot yoga is my active recovery.”
Nancy encourages friends and clients who are primarily gym-based exercisers to explore the benefits of yoga and other complementary fitness modalities. Hot yoga has the potential to elevate athletic performance and ensure longevity in any sport, in addition to improving mental clarity. She says, “I deeply appreciate Thrive Hot Yoga, its teachers, and the positive impact it has had on my life—it has truly been a transformative experience for me.”
For those new to hot yoga, Nancy suggests that they commit to 30 days of practice and highlights the importance of consistency. “You need to stick with it to see the long-term benefits—even if it feels challenging at first.” Nancy continues, “It’s important not to overthink it; schedule it as a non-negotiable, and focus on how great you feel afterward rather than how you feel in the moment.”
PRACTICE LIKE Nancy
On average, Nancy practices 4-5 times a week. Her favorite class is the Original Hot 90, but she also enjoys Inferno Hot Pilates to help strengthen her core. Discover what works best for you and establish your routine.
Check out our class schedule and click on the new student special if you haven't been to Thrive in 12 months.