EXERCISE; some of us love it but some of us also hate it.

The thing with exercise is that there are all different types - and most likely some sort of exercise to suit everyone.

For me, I’m a fan of yoga. Yoga is a more relaxed type of exercise which stretches and works the muscles. One of the main aspects of yoga is your breathing technique and working your core muscles to achieve certain stretches and yoga positions.

However, even though I do enjoy yoga and feel calmer after a class I’ve always felt that I haven’t really worked out hard enough - as with traditional yoga you don’t really get sweaty or get your heart rate up.

Enter a new type of yoga - hot yoga.

Hot yoga takes on the normal yoga positions except that you do it in a heated room. For those of you who can’t picture it, it’s kind of like doing yoga but in a sauna - only not as stuffy.

The idea with hot yoga is that it gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat. The room is heated to 40 degrees with a humidity of 40 per cent. This, experts say, enables people to have more flexibility than those who do the same poses at room temperature.

The heat forces the heart to beat faster, which advocates say provides a better cardiovascular workout and burns more calories.

I decided to give hot yoga a go at the new - and only - hot yoga studio in Newport, which officially opened its doors last week. Located in the Baneswell area of Newport, Hot Yoga Health has opened in the building which was previously Newport Central Surgery.

The building boasts an office, reception, changing rooms for both men and women, therapy rooms and one large studio.

Hot Yoga Health was started up by Geoff Latham, who says he became almost obsessed with hot yoga after trying it out in Bristol.

After teaming up with his daughters Suzie and Louise, the family decided to open up a studio in Newport.

“The idea came out of my daughters buying me a pass to go to a place in Bristol. I was reluctant to do it but I got hooked within two or three sessions I suppose,” said Geoff, 65.

“I live in Newport and had been trekking over to Bristol for the sessions for the past two and a half years.”

Geoff said hot yoga has brought him a variety of health benefits - including losing a stone and getting the all-clear from his diabetes.

“The health benefits I have gained in those two years are incredible really - loss of weight, skin improvement, posture, balance, mental health,” said Geoff.

“I was a type two diabetic and I’m not any more. I’m asthmatic and my medication for that has gone down dramatically.”

Geoff said he decided that he wanted to get involved in yoga instead of just taking part in classes and thought that Newport needed something like hot yoga.

Speaking of setting up in the old doctors surgery, Geoff said it is the ideal place for the studio.

He said: “We found the premises and got going with it. It ticks all the right boxes - it has parking, its minutes from the train station and bus station so its accessible for everyone.

“We’ve had to do a fair bit of work here - the studio was five doctors consultation rooms. It’s perfect now.”

After Geoff told me the benefits of hot yoga, well how can you resist giving it a try? Weight loss - check, clear skin - check, happiness - check, not having to run - check.

When I walked into the venue for my 12pm session on Wednesday, I must admit that I was slightly nervous.

I’m someone who is barely ever cold - that might be because I’m a northern girl - and I absolutely hate heat.

However, as I like yoga, I did want to try out the session to see how it is. I didn’t know if I would last for the full hour in the studio, but I was determined that I would try my best.

Geoff’s daughter Suzie introduced herself to me along with the instructor Frea Miles - who both immediately made me feel at ease. Frea told me that my goal for my first session was to acclimatize to the 40 degree heat and humidity, as well as do my best to stay in the room for the full session.

I was also given tips on what to do if I began to feel faint or nauseous. After signing up and getting ready, I grabbed a towel and headed into the studio to try and get used to the heat before the session started.

With the heat coming from the front of the room I decided it would probably be best for me to stand at the back - as well as the fact I’m not exactly the most flexible person ever.

The studio was a simple room with mirrors from the floor to the ceiling, which Frea told us was for each person to focus on their posture. But I must admit, I wasn’t overly keen on looking at my sweaty self in the mirror.

The session consisted of yoga positions, both standing and sitting - to both raise and lower the heart rate.

I was shocked at how sweaty I got (if you really want to know - it was the hair stuck to your head, bright red kind of sweaty) but afterwards I felt so relaxed and like I had taken part in a proper workout. My skin also felt a lot better and smoother (after the redness went away).

After getting changed and feeling a bit fresher, I chatted to Suzie.

She said the main aim of Hot Yoga Health is to make yoga accessible to everyone.

“We wanted to open this studio and bring people together,” she said.

“We aim to bring yoga to those people who need it the most - and getting through the stigma attached to yoga and it being seen as an elitist thing.

“It’s not about how flexible you are, you don’t need to worry about that. It’s a journey, both mentally and physically.”

The studio has regular sessions on across the week, with pay as you feel sessions on Fridays and an invitation only session on Saturdays for those who want to test out Hot Yoga but not do a full session.

For more on Hot Yoga Health, visit hotyogahealth.uk or why not pop in to chat to the staff there?