Want to slim down? It's important to address your stress.

Hot yoga is a style of yoga that is practiced in a heated environment. Some often hear "hot yoga" and immediately think of Bikram yoga, but that's not the only type of hot yoga that exists. Bikram yoga was developed by yoga master Bikram Choudhury, founder of the Yoga College of India in Beverly Hills. However, only classes endorsed by Choudhury are able to use the name Bikram Yoga.

Traditionally, hot yoga is practiced in a heated room. Ideally, the room will be heated to between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit (35 and 40.5 degrees Celsius) with 40 percent humidity. Classes last approximately 90 minutes and consist of a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises.

The reasons behind the intense heat in a hot yoga session are twofold. First, excessive sweating is believed to be a method of cleansing the body of toxins. Second, the increased heat in the muscles is thought to improve flexibility.

Hot yoga is fairly widespread and popular, but it's also controversial. Practitioners could suffer from dizziness, dehydration or heat stroke during a hot yoga class. Some experts feel that regular participants are risking injury if they push themselves too hard.

Those interested in trying hot yoga should remember to bring their own yoga mat because of the excessive sweating that the practice involves. Second, it's necessary to drink plenty of water before a hot yoga session because of the risk of dehydration.

More Yoga Terms Defined from That's Fit:
Ashtanga Yoga
Hatha Yoga
Kundalini Yoga
Power Yoga
Prenatal Yoga
Strengthen With Yoga
Vinyasa Yoga
Yoga Benefits
Yoga Journal
Yoga for Weight Loss
Flow Yoga

Flow yoga is a type of yoga that connects your movements to your breathing. In flow yoga, the yoga postures or "asanas" flow smoothly from one yoga position to the next on either an inhalation or an exhalation.

Flow Yoga is also called Vinyasa Yoga, which means "breath-synchronized movement." The thought is that the controlled breathing that accompanies the yoga positions in Flow Yoga cleanses the body and creates energy. This philosophy is the basis for other popular yoga styles like Ashtanga Yoga and Power Yoga.

But unlike the predetermined sequences of Ashtanga Yoga, there is no single set of rules or philosophy governing Flow Yoga.
Instructors have the freedom to create unique experiences by linking yoga positions according to their personalities and the needs or mood of the class. This makes Flow Yoga a great option for both beginners and experienced yogis alike.

Jon Gosselin, the embattled father of eight, who is most often seen hanging with girlfriend Hailey Glassman, wearing Ed Hardy t-shirts and smoking, has been on a spiritual quest as of late. And it looks like yoga is the lastest stop on his path to inner peace. In the video above, from Us Weekly, you can see the 32-year-old reality star trying his hand at a few basic poses.

Michelle Demus, Programming Director at Manhattan's Pure Yoga, looked at the snapshots of Gosselin and told the magazine that his body seems "closed off" and "holds a lot of tension."

Gosselin admitted last month that "I have allowed myself to become somewhat severed from my own moral anchor and be carried away by the challenges of fame." He added that he yearned to "reconnect with my deeper, more spiritual, more altruistic self."

What do you think? Could yoga really help Jon Gosselin ditch his bad-dad ways, or is this just another publicity stunt?

If you're looking for a way to get more energy while toning your body, look no further. The Five Tibetan Rites are a series of yoga moves that will revitalize you while building muscle. These rites are believed to work by stimulating and balancing energy centers in our bodies called chakras that correspond to each of our endocrine glands.

This week we're giving away the DVD that details all five moves! Will you be the lucky That's Fit reader? You've got to be in it to win it so be sure and enter before 5 p.m. ET on Friday, November 6, 2009. To enter, just head over to the original giveaway post and enter a comment about how yoga has impacted your life.

If you want to build strength but are intimidated by weights, try yoga.

Obsession with youth is not only the plague of modern society. In the 1930s, a retired British army officer stumbled upon a remote monastery in the Himalayas where the monks were rumored to have found the fountain of youth. Amazed by their age-defying health and energy, he attributed their vitality to a series of yoga-like postures they practiced daily – as had generations of monks for thousands of years. These Five Tibetan Rites are believed to work by stimulating and balancing energy centers in our bodies called chakras that correspond to each of our endocrine glands. "They're like electricity transformers, receiving and regulating energy and transmitting it throughout the body," explains Sydney-based Carolinda Witt, who's been teaching the rites for more than seven years.

Witt says practicing The Five Rites is like flicking these energy switches to ON. And they're easy to do. In fact, she's made modifications that focus on breathing and building core strength so you don't have to be a veteran yogini to get yourself, well, turned on. Plus, it's yoga, so you'll create a leaner, stronger body! Start with three repetitions of each posture daily and in order. Add two per week until you're doing 21 in about 10 minutes. When you finish each move, pause and take three energy breaths. The directions are below.

Rite #1: Spinning
Harmonizes chakra spin rates. Improves balance, focus and coordination.

Rite #2: Modified Leg Raise
Strengthens and tones the core, hips, lower back, legs and neck.

More Yoga Terms Defined from That's Fit:
Ashtana Yoga
Hatha Yoga
Kundalini Yoga
Power Yoga
Prenatal Yoga

Keep track of the latest in diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Not only will AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit ask fitness-related questions and share the best responses with you, we'll scour the Twittersphere for the latest buzz on everything from good eats to exercise routines gone bad.

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Hopping on the treadmill and sweating it out on the elliptical are things of the past for many of Twitter's fittest tweeters. They've put traditional workouts on the back burner and are trying something new. Check out which exercise waters they've tested.

I like to call flexibility training -- or stretching -- the ugly stepsister of the exercise world because everyone seems to overlook it until it's too late. Eventually you strain or sprain something or you're so stiff from step class that you want to cry. I teach yoga and Pilates, and my favorite party trick is stretching my left heel over my head and feeding myself a little snack between my toes. I know, I know, it grosses out my husband, too. For many people, however, stretching does not come easily. But being limber is not just about impressing (or horrifying) people at cocktail parties, is an essential part of being truly fit.

Three general things make up your flexibility potential:

• Age (younger folks are more flexible)
• Gender (women are typically more supple)
• Climate (Muscles are far more pliant in warmer temperatures)

Below are the five stretches everybody can practice a few times a week. Stretching after any other workout will soothe all of your major muscle groups in less than 10 minutes. I'd also like to give a shout-out to the practice of yoga. Since 15 million or so people began practicing yoga in the last decade, flexibility training has finally become as important to fitness as cardiovascular training and strength training. Yoga is the ultimate, full-body stretch, for sure, and some studies show that stretching makes your body much stronger, too.

We at That's Fit and AOL Health know you've got a lot going on in your lives besides staying in great shape, and we realize that more than just diet and exercise goes into feeling your best every day. That's why we're sharing some of the exciting reporting going on at AOL Health.

At That's Fit and AOL Health we certainly love yoga (for weight-loss, to improve sex and more!), but Dr. Oz gave us one more reason to harness our inner-yogis: Loosening your muscles through yoga may mean you're less likely to injure yourself in your other fitness activities. Find 24 more health tips from Dr. Oz.

Got a case of the Monday afternoon slumps? Continue reading to find out why toast could help improve your sleep.

Ahh, the late-night fridge and cupboard rounds...Tempting though they may be, midnight snacks could hurt your chances of catching some Zzzs.

Sometimes yoga takes a backseat to Pilates when it comes to strength-training. We know yoga can work wonders as a relaxation method, but it's no one-trick pony. There are many different types of yoga to choose from. Hatha yoga, for example, is generally used to describe a gentler, relaxing, beginner-level practice while kundalini yoga focuses on meditation and spiritual practices. In contrast, power yoga can help condition and strengthen the body while also increasing flexibility. Here we give you a mini-yoga routine to the lower body, core muscles and upper body -- all in one shot. Try using it as a complement to your normal resistance-training routine.

Trying to lose weight? Incorporate yoga into your routine to help accelerate weight loss.

Ashtanga yoga (also spelled Astanga) is a traditional style of yoga practiced across the world and popularized by celebrities like Madonna and Sting. Vigorous and physical, the practice of Ashtanga yoga challenges the participant's strength, flexibility, breathing techniques and concentration. Literally translated, Ashtanga means "eight limbs," and refers to each person's eight spiritual channels. The traditional practice of Ashtanga yoga was translated from an ancient text called the Yoga Korunta by Prattabhi Jois in 1958.

A typical Ashtanga yoga session moves through a series of postures (asanas) which are linked together through movement and breathing techniques, allowing for a flowing structure to the practice. Ashtanga yoga typically begins with a number of sun salutations -- there are two different types, A and B -- and many of the movements are linked together by a vinyasa, a flowing movement meant to generate energy and cleanse the body. Traditional Ashtanga yoga can involve 75 different postures, including standing poses, seated poses, inversions and backbends, and can last up to two hours. Throughout the practice, participants use a deep breathing technique called Ujjayi breath, which channels air through the back of the throat.

Ashtanga yoga is best practiced in a teacher-led environment, but because of its structured approach it can be done independently by experienced yogis. Ashtanga yoga is the basis for power yoga, a fast-moving athletic variation of the traditional practice.

More Yoga Terms Defined from That's Fit:
Power Yoga
Kundalini Yoga
Hatha Yoga