Namaste: Not your typical hot yoga class at Planet Beach

GULFPORT -- There's an easy, relaxing way to burn 800 calories in 30 minutes.

But you have to work for it.

Hot Box Detox, Planet Beach Contempo Spa's newest service, lets users find their inner peace while engaging in yoga movements for half an hour -- inside of a box that is 120 degrees, said franchise owner Jeffrey Mayeaux.

The box opened on Dec. 4, and clients are already scheduling sessions throughout the week, he said.

The class isn't like a normal hot yoga session. The box, which is 9 feet by 7 feet, only holds three people.

But the intimate classes make for a good experience, Mayeaux said.

"You feel motivation from the person next to you," he said.

The instructors of Hot Box detox aren't physically in the room with you, either, because they're virtual.

But there are three leaders on the TV screen inside of the box, allowing participants to do beginner, intermediate, or advanced isometric movements.

"Andybody can do it," Mayeaux said.

And the space isn't a room with the heater turned up high.

Mayeaux said the box, which replaced the spa's sauna, uses an infared heat source to keep the room warm.

As the yoga class heats up, the sweat is pouring, the calories are burning and the toxins are excreting.

"Afterwards, you're cooling off and your body is still burning calories," he said.

During the week, 15 Hot Box Detox sessions are available each day. Fourteen spots are open on Saturday and Sunday.

Heather Fox of Gulfport is a Planet Beach member and said she has already been to Hot Box Detox several times.

"I like it because of the way it makes you feel afterwards -- loose, relaxed," she said.

Mayeaux said Planet Beach's version of hot yoga has been very successful in their New Orleans branches.

Many franchises are doing away with some of their traditional tanning beds to make room for multiple Hot Box Detox areas.

Hot Box Detox is included in the monthly Planet Beach Membership that costs $59, Mayeaux said.

Individual sessions without a membership are $20.

Non-members who just want to participate in Hox Box Detox can also purchase plans by one month, three months, six months or one year.

Mayeaux said meditation sessions are also offered inside the hot box.

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 7:40 PM with the headline "Namaste: Not your typical hot yoga class at Planet Beach ."