New hot yoga craze is packing people in (From This Is Wiltshire)

TWO sisters claim to be the first to have brought the newest fitness craze – hot yoga – to Swindon.

Instructors, Ella Guilding, 30, and Fleur Guilding, 26, have started classes for the regime, which involves practising hatha yoga in a pre-heated room.

The sisters, originally of Old Town , who founded the firm Ella and Fleur Hot Yoga, say the practice is already popular in big cities, such as London, and is more beneficial than exercising at room temperature as muscles stretch more easily.

Ella said: “We heat it up with industrial heaters. “We get the room to about 34 or 35 degrees. And we have a medium-sized room which we pack full of 15 to 18 people and we practise yoga for one hour and a half. We get really warm and sweaty.

“It’s in a hot room to begin with – a really, really hot room – so that your muscles get warm quite quickly. It’s kind of like a series of postures and breathing exercises that doesn’t change too much from time to time, so you can see the improvements in the body quite easily.

“The heat allows the body to stretch and compress more deeply. “It eases the muscles and joints, prevents injuries, and it’s really good for aiding healing of existing injuries as well.”

The sisters, former Commonweal pupils, used to dance at the Tanwood School of Performing Arts. Ella trained to teach yoga in India and Fleur trained in Thailand.

The pair started their hot yoga sessions in Swindon and Cheltenham about a month ago and have been overwhelmed with the interest so far.

“It’s been brilliant,” said Ella, who has also taught yoga in other towns, including London and Brighton. “We’ve packed out most of our classes. We are fully-booked already.

“They really love it, especially in England because it’s cold and a lot of yoga classes are held in cold gym studios and inside church halls, and when your body’s cold it’s not helpful for stretching.

“For a new business just starting it’s been a good response and we’re positive about it.

“Eventually, what we want to do is open our own purpose-built space.”

The classes are held at St Joseph’s Catholic College on Tuesdays at 8.15pm and Wednesdays at 6.30pm and 8.15pm, and at G5 Martial Arts and Wellbeing, on the Elgin Industrial Estate, on Wednesdays at noon.

The cost is £10 per class or £90 for 10 classes. You can find out about booking by messaging the girls on their Facebook page Ellaandfleurhotyoga.