Most mats are made out of a material called PVC. This is great because it sticks to the floor and doesn't slide. But, when you get perspiration on it, it becomes very slippery. If you have a PVC mat, make sure you have a yoga towel to wipe perspiration regularly. A more uncommonly used material, is bamboo. It's not as conventional, but you may want to consider for doing hot yoga.
I had never heard of this type of yoga before, so did a bit of a search and found that there was a studio nearby. Bikram Yoga is practised in a room heated to approximately 38 degrees C, goes for 90 minutes, with 26 poses which are practised in a certain sequence. Each pose is held for 20-30 seconds, is done twice and prepares your body for the next. During the class you will work every muscle pilates memphis and every system of your body. You will feel like you've had a great workout. I found that the heat was very healing and alleviated my knee pain both whilst in class and after.
Bikram yoga is also referred to as hot yoga. This type of yoga is practiced in a room where the temperature is increased to make the room very very warm. The thought is that this warmth is good for muscle flexibility and stretching your body tissue, which should result in a much better session.
#1 Good mind body haus mats are slip resistant. Meaning that whenever you sweat like crazy (whether or not your doing hot yoga), your still suppose to be able to stop yourself from sliding. If you have an old, cheap mat then this probably isn't the case. You probably start your session out OK, but by the time your half way through your mat is soaked and your sliding across the room ( a slight exaggeration).
In the 1980's, Dr. Dean Ornish linked hot yoga and physical health together when he suggested the practice of yoga for attaining a strong and healthy heart.
I bought the Power Yoga book and got to work. It was tough. In fact, I couldn't do much of it at all - both the flexibility moves nor many of the strength moves. I figured there must be something to the yoga.