Hot yoga is a relatively intense exercise regime favored by millions, including celebrities and athletes who have helped it garner a level of popularity. It usually involves a series of yoga poses conducted in temperatures of up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) and humidity of around 40 percent, intended to recreate the tropical clime of Kolkata, India. Previously known as Bikram yoga, it is now referred to as hot yoga due to a series of serious allegations against its founder. Despite this, its popularity continues and working out in the heat is said to be beneficial for both physical and mental health. While science is still catching up to some of the health claims made by hot yoga proponents, researchers have undertaken numerous studies investigating the health benefits of hot yoga. Improving Physical HealthHot yoga is known to improve flexibility in areas such as the lower back and shoulders. It can also help burn calories at a rate of around 460 calories for men and 330 for women, according to one study. Other research, however, suggests that calorie burn is the same as practicing yoga at room temperature. Similar to regular yoga, it can build bone density and may help improve sleep. There are also suggestions that it could help improve overall heart health and reduce risk of illnesses such as diabetes by reducing blood glucose levels. Mental Health BenefitsResearchers have found that the practice may also help improve mental health by reducing stress levels and possibly help tackle depression. An 8-week long study found that a little over one hot yoga class per week is associated with significantly greater reduction in depression symptoms amongst participants, for example. Maren Nyer, a clinical psychologist and director of yoga studies at Massachusetts General Hospital, led that particular study. Compared to non-heated yoga, the research is lagging quite far behind, she says, with only one other randomized control trial investigating the impact on depression. In Nyers view, hot yoga could be used as an add-on to traditional treatments, as a standalone treatment for more mild-to-moderate forms of depression, or for those waiting for mental health treatment. However, for more severe depression, she says that first line, evidence-based treatments should be utilized. Other research suggests that hot yoga can also positively influence stress, overall well-being and possibly anxiety, though this is also based on a limited number of studies.Read More: Does Yoga Really Detoxify the Body?The Importance of HeatMany of the mental health benefits may be tied to heat, much like visiting a sauna, she says. A previous study on whole body heating showed it can be an effective route to tackle depression. I think hot yoga is an interesting intervention, because it packs a powerful punch, Nyer says. You're combining the benefits of yoga, the heat, and mindfulness. Then you're combining the synergistic effect of moving and doing these postures while your body's hot. There are many potential benefits from hot yoga though some of these may be the same as regular yoga at room temperature. Further research is required, according to some, to delve deeper into the benefits and limitations. Some say that hot yoga could prompt the body to sweat out toxins. Its true that it can lead to the loss of as much as 1.5 to 2 liters of water due to sweat in a standard 90-minute session, but this sweat doesnt include toxins lurking in the body. This amount of water loss does, however, mean that staying hydrated before, during, and after any session is highly advised. Likewise, the suggestion that exercising in hot temperatures reduces the risk of injury is considered false and may, in some cases, make this more likely. Hot yoga also comes with a health warning as it may not be suitable for everyone. People with heart conditions, low blood pressure, or low blood sugar, and pregnant women are commonly advised to seek advice prior to starting hot yoga. This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article Sources:Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:National Library of Medicine. Bikram yoga training and physical fitness in healthy young adultsColorado State University. Researcher: Hot yoga yields fitness benefitsNational Library of Medicine. Improvements in glucose tolerance with Bikram Yoga in older obese adults: a pilot studyNational Library of Medicine. The Efficacy of Yoga as a Form of Treatment for DepressionNational Library of Medicine. A Randomized Controlled Trial of Community-Delivered Heated Hatha Yoga for Moderate-to-Severe DepressionNational Library of Medicine. Hot Yoga Leads to Greater Well-being: A Six-week Experience-sampling RCT in Healthy AdultsNational Library of Medicine. Whole-Body Hyperthermia for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical TrialSean Mowbray is a freelance writer based in Scotland. He covers the environment, archaeology, and general science topics. His work has also appeared in outlets such as Mongabay, New Scientist, Hakai Magazine, Ancient History Magazine, and others.

Suni Williams wasnt planning to participate in a spacewalk when she arrived aboard the International Space Station last yearbut she also wasnt planning her eight-day trip to turn into a ten-month tenure, either.At the time of writing, Williams and ISS crewmate, Nick Hague, are conducting NASAs first spacewalk in over a year. The pair are scheduled to spend roughly 6.5 hours in the vacuum of space, where they will work on a number of long overdue external repairs and equipment assessments.The duo will remove and replace a rate gyro assembly that helps provide orientation control for the station, install patches to cover damaged areas of light filters for an X-ray telescope called NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), and replace a reflector device used for navigational data on one of the international docking adapters, NASA explained in its spacewalk preview on Wednesday. The pair also will check access areas and connector tools that will be used for future maintenance work on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.Its been an unexpected stay for Williams and her original mission partner, Butch Wilmore. The pair launched aboard Boeings (much-delayed) Starliner spacecraft on June 5th, 2024, from NASAs Kennedy Space Force Station near Cape Canaveral, Florida. Shortly after docking with the ISS, however, mission engineers detected multiple issues with Starliners thrusters, putting the astronauts return timeline into question. The team ultimately decided to play it safe and remote pilot Boeings first commercial spaceship back to Earth, leaving Williams and Wilmore not stranded in the technical sense of the termbut very much lacking an immediate ride home.Williams and Hague are conducting multiple repairs outside the ISS. Credit: NASA After some ISS crew schedule reshuffling, NASA announced the pair would swap out for two of the astronauts previously scheduled for the agencys SpaceX Crew-9 turnover mission. That, too, has since been delayed, however. Williams and Wilmore are currently slated to finally make it back to Earth in late March or early April. In the meantime, the astronauts have kept busy aboard the ISS by assisting in a number of onboard experimentsas well as watering plants and fixing urine pumps.NASA initially expected to conduct its space walk last summer with astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Matt Dominick, but scrubbed the mission after one of them reported a spacesuit discomfort issue. A further examination determined the suits cooling loop had sprung a leak, which subsequently allowed water to drip into the airlock chamber. The issue has since been fixed, allowing todays spacewalk to proceed as originally intended. This marks the eighth spacewalk for Williams, who previously served aboard the ISS in 2006-2007.And those jealous on behalf of Williams Starliner partner, dont worryButch Wilmore is on the docket to exit the ISS during another spacewalk with Williams next week.The post Starliner astronaut conducts spacewalk while stuck aboard ISS appeared first on Popular Science.

NewsPlanetary ScienceA crumbling exoplanet spills its gutsAstronomers have determined the internal composition of a distant planet for the first time Disintegrating exoplanets, like the one illustrated here, spill their guts into space in a long cometlike tail.JPL-Caltech/NASABy Lisa Grossman6 seconds agoNATIONAL HARBOR, MD. For the first time, astronomers have taken a direct look at an exoplanets insides.An exoplanet about 800 light-years away is spilling its guts into space, and new observations with the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, have let astronomers read the entrails, astronomers report this week at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.If this is true, its super cool, says astronomer Mercedez Lpez-Morales of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, who was not involved in the new work. For the first time you can study directly what the interior of an exoplanet is made of. Thats exciting.

Nature, Published online: 16 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00148-6Researchers, governments and others can all play a part in ensuring climate policies remain in the interest of all.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has snapped a striking shot of the super-bright comet racing past our planet for the first time in 160,000 years, as it lit up the night skies across the globe.

Hi everyone! I hope you like these <3 About 50% of the assets used were purchased, while the other half, including the bottle, was created from scratch. You can find these visuals on official retailer websites submitted by /u/vzooooo [link] [comments]

Razer's upcoming Chroma-enabled docking station for handheld gaming devices, smartphones, and tablets is now available to preorder at Best Buy for $80. Preorders are also up for grabs directly from Razer ahead of the Handheld Dock Chroma's January 30 release. Razer Handheld Dock Chroma $80 The dock has a 6-in-1 I/O design and is equipped with a gigabit ethernet port, multiple USB connections, and HDMI out.This will allow you to hook up a handheld gaming PC like the Asus ROG Ally, the upcoming Lenovo Legion Go S, or Steam Deck and output the signal to your TV or monitor. Additionally, the dock features a 100W power passthrough for quick charging, a rugged aluminum design, and customizable RGB lighting. Preorder at Best Buy Preorder at Razer Razer Handheld Dock ChromaGallery Continue Reading at GameSpot

After numerous promotions offering a wide variety of upgrades and content, EA Sports FC 25 has finally revealed the biggest promo yet: Team of the Year (TOTY). This event celebrates the most influential and outstanding players in the game, allowing them to shine with the highest ratings and stats.

Time to suit up, members. The multiverse is about to get a whole lot cloudier as GeForce NOW opens a portal to the first season of hit game Marvel Rivals from NetEase Games.Members can now game in a new dimension with expanded support for virtual- and mixed-reality devices. This weeks GeForce NOW app update 2.0.70 begins rolling out compatibility for Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico 4 and 4 Ultra devices.Plus, no GFN Thursday is complete without new games. Get ready for seven new titles joining the cloud this week, including multiplayer online battle arena game SMITE 2.Invisible No MoreSink your teeth into the Fantastic Four.Eternal night falls for Marvel Rivals, the superhero, team-based player vs. player shooter that lets players assemble an ever-evolving all-star squad of Super Heroes and Super Villains battling with unique powers across a dynamic lineup of destructible maps from the Marvel Multiverse.The Fantastic Four will be playable in season one of the game. For Eternal Night Falls, Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic will be released in the first half of the season, followed by Human Torch and The Thing in the second. Season one will also feature three new maps, special events and an all-new Doom Match game mode.Stream it all with a GeForce NOW membership across devices, from an underpowered laptop, Mac devices, a Steam Deck or the supported platform of virtual- and mixed-reality devices.Head in the CloudsHeadset on, latency gone.The latest GeForce NOW app update is expanding cloud streaming capabilities to Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S, and Pico 4 and 4 Ultra virtual- and mixed-reality headsets starting this week.These newly supported devices will give members access to an extensive library of games to stream through GeForce NOW. Members can gain access by visiting play.geforcenow.com or via the Android-native client on the PICO store. The rollout will be complete on Tuesday, Jan. 21.Members will be able to transform their space into a personal gaming theater by playing, on massive virtual screens, their favorite PC games, such as the latest season of Marvel Rivals, Dragon Age and more. With access to NVIDIA technologies, including ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS on supported games, these devices now provide an enhanced visual experience with the highest frame rates and lowest latency.Here Comes The NewBecome a god and wage war.SMITE 2 is now free to play and has brought a huge update to mark the start of open beta. New god Aladdin joins, along with SMITE 1 fan favourites Geb, Agni, Mulan and Ullr bringing the total god roster to 45. Twenty of the gods now feature Aspects an optional spin on each gods ability kit that opens up even more strategic options. The 3v3 mode Joust has also arrived, featuring a brand-new, Arthurian-themed map. Assault and Duel game modes are also available. Finally, the Conquest mode brings a wealth of updates to the map, features and balance.Hyper Light Breaker (New release on Steam, Jan. 14)Aloft (New release on Steam, Jan. 15)Assetto Corsa EVO (New release on Steam, Jan. 16)Generation Zero (Xbox, available on PC Game Pass)HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2 Turbocharged (Xbox, available on PC Game Pass)SMITE 2 (Steam)Voidwrought (Steam)What are you planning to play this weekend? Let us know on X or in the comments below.Which role is your main? Tank Damage Support NVIDIA GeForce NOW (@NVIDIAGFN) January 15, 2025

Astro Bot took top honors at the 2024 Game Awards, and we couldnt be prouder of the little guy and his many friends. But Astro Bot doesnt exist in a vacuum Team Asobis award-winning hero comes from an illustrious legacy of PlayStation platformers spanning way back to the original PlayStation, from first-party studios and third-party developers and publishers alike.If youre looking to dig into the legacy of PlayStation platformers from the beginning to the current day, theres no better way to do it than with the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Classics Catalog. Heres a sampling of some noteworthy platformers you can play now.*A Hat in Time | 2017Play VideoThe collectathon subgenre of 3D platformer, emphasizing the hunt for hundreds of assorted doodads in sprawling levels, was quite popular around the turn of the millennium. A Hat in Time is a loving callback to those days spent scouring every nook and cranny, as players control Hat Kid in her quest to retrieve Time Pieces in a large and exceptionally silly cartoon world. Find Yarn Balls to make new hats and earn new powers, battle foes to gather Pons for upgrades, search for hidden Relics and Rift Tokens, and figure out what Mustache Girls whole deal is.Publisher: Humble Games | Developer: Gears for BreakfastApe Escape | 1999Ready for some monkey business? Science gone wrong has created a gang of hyper-intelligent monkeys causing chaos through time, and its your job to bring these too-smart simians back home. As one of the first game series to use the DualShock controllers dual-analog sticks to their full potential, Ape Escape lets you use careful movement and funky gadgets to sneak up on and nab these naughty simians. Be carefulyoull want to pay close attention to the apes helmets to gauge their mood before you approach.Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sony Interactive EntertainmentCeleste | 2018Play VideoAh, the humble dash: a truly beloved platformer maneuver. Indie-game pixel masterpiece Celeste elevates the act of using the simple dash to new levels to traverse huge screens packed with challenging hazards. Ground dashes, multidirectional mid-air dashes, dashes from a wall climb, items to grant multiple dashesyoull have loads of fun mastering the games fast movement to get around and snag all of its secrets. This is one mountain youll love to climb.Publisher: Maddy Makes Games | Developer: Maddy Makes GamesGravity Rush Remastered | 2016Play VideoGravity Rush is your game if you like your platforming with a dose of open-world adventuring and memorable world-building. Amnesiac Kat wakes up in the city of Hekseville in the middle of a disastrous storm, quickly discovering that her cat companion allows her to shift gravity. Shell use these skills to navigate Heksevilles stunning architecture, fight off mysterious monsters, and aid the populaceall while delving deep into the mysteries around her.Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sony Interactive EntertainmentJak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy | 2001This classic from Naughty Dog stars one of the most memorable platforming duos of the PS2 era. Jaks buddy Daxter has a problem: he fell into a mysterious pool when the duo snuck onto Misty Island, and now hes become small and very fuzzy. Now, the two are seeking out the Dark Sage Gol Asheron to fix things up and save the world in the process. Vibrant animations, colorful environments, and a then-revolutionary environment design that minimized load times keep Jak and Daxter feeling classic to this day.Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Naughty DogJumping Flash | 1995Day-one PlayStation fans will talk your ear off about just how cool Jumping Flash was and how it wowed them as a showcase of original PlayStation power but why not try to see what all the fuss was about? This unique first-person platformer starts Robbit, a mechanical rabbit who can jump really, really high. Explore surreal environments filled with bizarre foes, awesome weaponry, and plenty of floating platforms that give you space to hop up to absurd heights. There was nothing like it then, and its still a unique and fun game.Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Exact, UltraRayman Legends | 2013Play VideoWho says you need limbs to perform astounding feats of platforming? Rayman, Globox, Barbara, and the Goth Teensy have to deal with the aftermath of a century-long nap, rescuing the Teensies and once again saving the Glade of Dreams from evil forces. Besides gorgeous hand-drawn HD visuals, Rayman Legends offers up to four-player local co-op, so gather friends for a fantastic sidescrolling adventure.Publisher: Ubisoft | Developer: Ubisoft MontpellierRatchet & Clank: Rift Apart | 2021Play VideoHeres the other well-known duo of PlayStation platforming, whose adventures have continued into the current generation. Rift Apart uses the PS5s capabilities to give players the biggest and most graphically stunning Ratchet and Clank outing yet, with the new Rift Tether gadget allowing for very fast travel. Prepare for shooting, gadget-driven navigation, and interdimensional hijinks, and the introduction of Ratchets alternate-dimension lady Lombax counterpart, Rivet.Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: InsomniacSackboy: A Big Adventure | 2020Play VideoHe might be made of fabric, but Sackboys as tough as nails when it comes to adventure. Our stuffing-filled hero comes to rescue his fellow Sackpeople and Craftworld from the wicked Vex, and hes got a whole wealth of new skills to show off. Youll be rolling, diving, fluttering, and smacking foes around as you search for precious Dreamer Orbs. It wont be easy, and youll need some help along the way. Fortunately, you can play with up to three other adventurers in online and local co-op to surmount the toughest obstacles.Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sumo DigitalSly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus | 2002Whos the stealthy, suave thief with a family history of heisting and a bushy, ringed tail? Sly Cooper, thats who, and hes on a mission to get back the missing pages of the Thievius Raccoonushis familys book of secretsfrom the shady paws of the Fiendish Five. Platforming and stealth combine as you slink through the Fiendish Fives lairs, using Slys distinct sneaking and thieving abilities to avoid guards, security systems, and other traps to take back the precious pages.Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | Developer: Sucker PunchLooking for even more platforming fun? Check out this in-depth feature on some of the best 3D platformers on PlayStation.*The PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup may differ in certain regions.