I tried Edinburgh's inflatable new hot yoga studio, and it made me glow through the Arctic blast

After a few laps of Edinburgh’s Fountain Park, it was a sandwich board that alerted me to its presence, in between Burger King and Heavenly Desserts. 

Head through the door, along the corridor and, voila, you’ve made it to the Capital’s newest studio and the 60th or so for this company - Europe’s largest yoga business - worldwide. The 11-year-old company which is based in Brixton and was founded by entrepreneurs Max Henderson and Nick Higgins, already has one other Scottish branch in the Axiom Art Building in Glasgow. 

Their USP is heat, served up in what looks like an upside-down bouncy castle.

This is the pod, and it fills a warehouse-sized space.  It looks slightly brooding from the outside, so I peek through its entrance.  It’s like the belly of a whale in there.

There is room for about 12 mats, and an instructor, who is stationed near the entrance.  Thanks to six silent Dyson fans, this space is heated to 37 degrees.  It’s also tinted purple - their signature hue - and scented with lavender, orange and lime, so there is no eau de sweaty armpit. 

They specialise in Vinyasa Flow, which involves linking poses together in sequences and synchronising movement and breath. 

As well as their standard Hotpod Flow class, there are Foundation Flow and Nurturing Flow sessions for newbies, or Dynamic Flow for bendy enthusiasts. 

Or, you could just do Rest & Restore, to stretch, meditate and allow your muscles to melt into gooey puddles. There are four or five timetabled classes a day.

Today, our Hotpod Flow class will be taken by Hot Pod Yoga founder, Nick, though he’ll be heading back to London soon and other local instructors, with yogi Naomi Watson at the helm, will be taking over. 

I am so happy to be in a hot space, as I’d walked here on a freezing evening and was chilled to the very core, like a baked Alaska. I had very reluctantly shed my puffer coat, hoodie, socks and shoes in the changing and storage area, where there are also showers, loos and a water tap. 

Once we’re inside the pod, we begin in child’s pose, gradually letting heat seep into our bones. 

Then there’s an hour of dynamic - but not too demanding - poses. 

We segue from warrior one, to two, then triangle, back to plank, chaturanga, upward dog, downward dog, and repeat.

Nick adds asanas, like a lizard pose, to stretch our hips, as well as bow pose and bridges. 

There are additional challenges, for those who choose to take them, like crow pose (nah, still can’t do it), and wheel pose (nope, not today), though at least my balancing tree pose is on point and warrior three is okay, if slightly wobbly.

It’s been a while since I last did hot yoga and I’d forgotten how much deeper you can stretch when your muscles are warm. 

All my clicky, niggly and tight bits have been released, and I feel unusually supple. 

I’m also a big fan of the grippy mats, which have tiny nodules on them, like the tongue of a cat.  Thus, there is no slipping or sliding.

Anyway, after nearly an hour of movement, we return to the child's pose. The heaters slowly power down, and I can feel my sweat evaporating like the angel’s share.

When I leave, I’m glowing. I feel hot and loose-limbed, as I exit beside Burger King. My icy core has temporarily melted.

Free taster classes are running from November 21-24 at Hotpod Yoga (Unit 2, 130D Dundee Street, Fountain Park, www.hotpodyoga.com)