What to Wear to Hot Yoga + What You Need To Bring

I love to balance my running routine with a consistent yoga practice to help my body stretch and relax. Yoga is great for flexibility, muscle strength, energy, stress reduction and so much more. One type of yoga that I specifically love is Bikram yoga or hot yoga. I was skeptical at first, but decided to give it a try and have been hooked ever since because of the feeling it gives me when we finish a class.

What Is Hot Yoga?

Hot yoga can be very hot for some people with temperatures usually above 105 degrees Fahrenheit. As you can imagine, I always end up super sweaty during and after class and likely, you will be too. If you have never attended a hot yoga class, but plan to, it can be a struggle in deciding what clothes to wear and which outfits are appropriate for extreme sweat.

Since I’ve attended too many hot yoga classes to count, I thought I would share my tips on what to wear for class – whether you are a hot yoga newbie or you just need some inspiration for new work out clothes.

Let’s dive right in!

What to Wear to Hot Yoga + What You Need To Bring

I have a simple set of go-to outfits that I wear for my yoga practices. Obviously, each of us will have different preferences for clothing styles but these outfits have served me well during my hot yoga classes, and I hope they will serve you well, too. You can also find lots of yoga clothes on Lululemon or Amazon.

Yoga Pants or Yoga Shorts

I am a pretty avid yoga pant wearer, both in daily life and in yoga class. Even in hot yoga classes, I choose to wear yoga pants. Even though I am sweating like crazy during class, I find that wearing tight-fitting yoga pants is better for grip when I need to get into certain yoga poses. My favorite pants to wear for hot yoga classes are the Lululemon Align Pants.

I tried wearing yoga shorts once. While I was grateful for the exposed skin, I found that sweat made my legs super slippery and I just couldn’t nail my poses as well. If wearing pants during a hot yoga class makes you want to cry, then definitely check out these yoga shorts. Several of my classmates choose to wear shorts and have no problems! So your choice of bottoms is completely up to you, so go for comfort.

Sports Bra

For pretty obvious reasons, I recommend wearing a sports bra with moisture wicking fabric (do not wear cotton hot yoga clothing). These bras are perfect for any type of workout, yoga included. My favorite sweat-wicking sports bra is this On Performance Bra. Not only does this bra hold everything in place, but it helps make me a little less sweaty during my hot yoga classes and I mean it when I say every little bit helps, ladies! I like the slightly higher neckline too so things are falling out! Ahem.

Yoga Shirt or Tank Top

For sweaty reasons already mentioned, I prefer to wear tank tops to hot yoga classes. Tank tops give my arms more freedom of movement when attempting (and sometimes nailing) poses. Since my legs are usually covered up, I at least like wear moisture-wicking, lightweight tank tops like this to help make these sweat-sessions just a little less sweaty.

These quick-drying tanks are perfect for hot yoga practices since the fabric is specially designed to absorb sweat. And trust me, absorbent materials are absolute life-savers! I also prefer my tank tops a little more loose-fitting since it gives my torso a little more airflow and breathability. Loose-fitting tanks are also easier to whip off after class when you are covered in sweat.

What to Bring With You To Hot Yoga

Now that I’ve told you everything you should wear to your hot yoga class, I want to give you a thorough list of everything to BRING with you to hot yoga. You can thank me later!

Yoga Mat

I am very adamant about bringing my own yoga mat to class. And I really don’t like the idea of using the mats provided by the studio. I know I sweat in those hot yoga classes, so I don’t really want to use a yoga mat that other people have sweat on either. I’d rather just sweat on my own mat. Plus I love my mat, so I get excited to bring it and use it.

Yoga Towel

One great yoga hack is using a yoga mat towel. This is a good one. A yoga towel is perfect for those super sweaty hot yoga classes. The towel and mat combination creates friction that keeps your hands and feet from slipping during poses – unlike a simple yoga mat. This is perfect for helping you maintain your downward-facing dog without slipping from your sweat and landing on your face. I also suggest bringing a small hand towel to help keep the sweat out of your face.

Change Of Clothes

My favorite tip for hot yogi-goers is to pack a change of clothes. I personally hate wearing sweaty clothes any longer than I have to and I definitely don’t recommend driving home in wet clothes either. Yuck! I usually pack loose-fitting clothes so I can quickly throw them on after peeling off my sweaty yoga garments. I just feel more comfortable when I do this after practice and I think you will too!

Even if yoga studios don’t have a changing room, I will at least bring a dry top to throw on in the car.

Facial Wash

I always include face wash in my yoga bag. Besides loving the clean face feeling, one of the biggest reasons I bring face wash is to clean off the sweat. After hot yoga sessions (or any high-intensity workout) my face always has a layer of sweaty salt. I don’t know about you, but I prefer not having this sweat layer sitting on my face on the way home. Quickly cleaning your face will also help prevent breakouts.

I clean my face with the Beautycounter Foaming Cleaner immediately after class.  I LOVE this cleaner because it cleans my face thoroughly without stripping skin and leaving it feeling dry and awful. And you get a nice, clean face for the drive home which always feels refreshing.

I’d also recommended bringing a headband of some kind to hold your hair back if you have long hair since it gets very wet.

Water

This is a pretty easy tip. Stay hydrated and bring your full water bottle to class! Water is important for any workout, but you definitely need extra water for those hot yoga classes! I love bringing my own water bottle to have handy during practice. It’s super important to make sure your bottle is full at the start of class because you most definitely will be drinking it! Since it’s a hot yoga class with 105+ temperatures, you will be losing a lot of water during class by sweating. To make sure you don’t get dehydrated, it’s important to replace all the water (or sweat) your losing by drinking up! It’s also important to be drinking water before and after your class. I also usually put LMNT in my water bottle for some electrolytes.

What Not To Wear To Hot Yoga

• Cotton! You’ll be drenched! Make sure you’re wearing a material that will dry quickly.
• Flare yoga pants. The extra material will add more heat and may get in the way.
• Long sleeves. Stick to tanks or sports bras for the class itself.

If you’ve ever felt intimidated by hot yoga I hope this helps ease the worry. There will almost always be modifications for the harder poses (some of the poses like crow pose and king dancer pose are HARD and I can’t do all of them yet!) so there’s no need to fear if you’re new. As sweaty as it sounds, hot yoga is so much fun and it’s so good for you!

Let me know your hot yoga or Bikram experience below!

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