It's ridiculously hot in here (and so is my gingerbread latte)

I am not one of those yoga types by any stretch of the imagination. (Wow, I seriously didn't mean the pun there, I swear.)

I like high-impact sports and I don't like chanting. Plus, I absolutely refuse to spend $45 on a tank top just because it has a Buddha on it.

The only yoga I can put up with is Bikram's Yoga - the yoga for people that don't like yoga. It's like the Starbucks of the industry because it's the same 26 positions every time in the same 105 degree room with instructors that may change, but who basically say the same New Agey things in every class: "Bikram says 10 seconds in this position now will save you 10 years later on."

(Bikram, by the way, has made billions of dollars from this concept and he's franchised Bikram's across the world, sort of like Howard Shultz has made the latte mainstream.)

Both my mom and my sister are addicted to hot yoga - my mom once went THREE TIMES in one day for a total of almost five hours, counting the relaxation time at the end. My sister just completed two straight months of going to yoga EVERY SINGLE DAY and, by the way, she is a very busy person. (They live in San Diego if this wasn't obvious).

I, on the other hand, can only muster going once a week - I tried going twice in one week once and I almost died. Not really, but, seriously, are you really supposed to sweat that much? Is your body really supposed to twist that way and bend that much and stretch that far?

Lately, I've been wondering if this hot yoga thing is a little bit cultish. Case in point - I've been trying to get Steve to go with me. I say, "Come on, it's so good for you, you'll prevent injuries and it's great training for Denali."

Steve says, "Hell no. It sounds miserable."

And I say, "Well, sometimes you feel faint and nauseous and shaky but that's normal."

And then I think - wait, is that normal? Or is that me subscribing to the cult of Yoga, just like I subscribe to the cult of Starbucks and regularly pay $4.10 for a tall, non-fat, extra-hot gingerbread latte with an extra shot (when they're in season, of course.)

One of my friends recently told me she stopped going to yoga, because, well, it hurt. Like a lot. And not that good kind of hurt, that annoying kind of hurt. It was a hard decision, she said. Because everyone was like, This is so good for you. You HAVE to do it.

That reminds me of something. Oh, yeah - the '80s. Back then, aerobics were all the rage and no one would have dared wear Shambahala gear over a neon leotard. Did yoga even exist in the U.S back then? Or Howard Shultz?

Seriously, though. I think hot yoga can be really good for you, if it's good for you. If you're in pain constantly, well, it's probably not your thing. But if you leave feeling like you've had a full body massage and all your joints have been lubricated like I usually do, then it's probably okay.

And when in doubt, just ask Bikram. I'm sure he'll have some good advice.