Yoga Is All About Acceptance

 Ever since having my third child about three years ago, I have begun to increasingly lose focus. Around the same time, I added hot yoga to my exercise routine after being introduced to it by a friend.  It wasn’t until I started practicing yoga that I realized how much I lacked focus likely due to a crazy life as a working mom of three very young and energetic kids, wife, daughter, homemaker, blah, blah, blah.

Honestly, I’m not sure how to describe my thoughts about that first class.  I remember feeling beyond hot and watching the clock counting the minutes the class had left.  I'd never sweated so much in my life but, strangely enough, I enjoyed it at the same time. After my first week, I was hooked.  I began consistently practicing at that studio for the next year, and my practice stayed mostly the same with the heat and stagnant air became my focus for most classes.  But, there was something about the yoga that kept me going back for more.  

At almost a year into my practice, I experienced two life-changing events.  I began doing yoga under the direction of Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) and injured my SI (sacroiliac) joint.  I've suffered many injuries over the last 25 years, all painful and some with lasting effects, but none took me out like the SI injury.  The constant pain and effect to my mind was completely debilitating.  

For the better part of my life I have been an extremely competitive person, placing high expectations on myself which can be stressful and often overwhelming. Because of these, I continued to practice consistently after the injury, often muscling my way through class in pain rather than listening to my body, not pushing my limits, and breathing, breathing, breathing.  

In class, I spent the entire 90 minutes in my head, freaking out about how much pain I was in. It's important to note that the pain was NOT from the yoga, it was from an injury that I wasn't respecting nor properly caring for.   However, I wasn't willing to rely on medication to get through the pain, and because the source of the injury was unknown, I had an intense fear of repeating it.  Everything in my life from relationships to day-to-day activities was negatively affected. I knew that I needed to address the situation, but I wasn't exactly sure how to do that. Something had to give.

Desperately looking for any solution, I began to try to get out of my head and focus on Rebecca’s teaching.  That one seemingly small decision changed my life and my practice completely.  "Slow down.  Do what you can do today.  This is a process."  I had heard these words over and over again, but they had not resonated with me until I incorporated them into my practice. 

With Rebecca's support, guidance, and acceptance, I was able to begin to accept my practice as it was THAT day, SI injury and all.  Once I got out of my head, I was able to feel the stages of a posture that I needed to go through with THIS body, to work into the postures at my natural pace, and shed all (well ok, almost all) of my expectations.  Wow!  The difference was mind blowing.  I began to seek out Rebecca's classes and stood right in the front voracious for her instruction.

Then about six months later, Rebecca left the studio.  I quickly sought her out and began a consistent practice in the temporary RHY studio last year.   At this point, still struggling with the painful SI injury, I had no choice but to take a step back and focus on the basics of my practice.  Rebecca and my fellow RHY yogis totally accepted and encouraged me and my practice: good days, bad days, sassy attitude days, or whatever kind of day I might be having.  Through their support, it finally started to hit home with me that, "Sure, my body hurts and can’t do what I want it to do, and so what?  So what?!" I was finding acceptance of myself. 

Beginning to accept my limitations as a result of injury was just the start as I am now working to accept many things about myself and my life that I have previously struggled with. I'm happy to say that my injury is healing, slowly but surely.  My presence, focus, acceptance, and breath on the mat is there (most days), and I am seeing the same benefits transfer off the mat into my life. Of course, some moments and days are better than others.  

This learning will be my lifelong journey, but one that began through yoga and the support of my RHY family.  Each and every one of my fellow yogis is a beautiful light in my life, an inspiration, and I am truly honored to be a part of this community.

This is Chelsea Firestone's yoga story.

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The Best Medicine

Being first introduced to yoga in 2011, I have a fairly short yoga life compared to some yogis in the studio. Unlike many others, hot yoga is the only type of yoga I've ever experienced.  I don’t know what it feels like to practice yoga without sweat dripping down my face and into my eyes. I imagine that normal yoga would be a bore!

Since that very first class, I have been addicted to hot yoga and can tell a tremendous difference when I don't practice for a period of time. Upon beginning yoga, my main goal was to just make it through a whole class without sitting down.  Now, I'm making the effort to go deeper into the postures.

My first yoga class was the most physically challenging thing I'd ever experienced in my life.  I think I sat down for half of the class and found my mobility limited. After leaving, I noticed that my skin felt so clean, and I slept like a baby that night. As I continued practicing, I began to see more positive physical changes in my body. 

Since an early age, I've had weight issues and chronic lower back problems.  Before yoga, running and playing tennis were my primary forms of exercise, but didn't help me maintain a healthy weight. Since starting yoga, I've lost around 40 pounds and have been able to keep it off. I've also not been back to the chiropractor since shortly after.  

Beyond the physical benefits, yoga has helped me maintain a balance in my mental health by alleviating anxiety. A regular yoga practice has guided me through difficult emotional challenges in the past years by keeping me centered and focused. Yoga is my physical and emotional medicine. 

In the year after starting yoga, my friends began asking me what I was doing to change my physical and mental state so much.  I gladly told them about hot yoga and encouraged them to come to a class with me.  Many were Muslim ladies, who for cultural and religious reasons were not able to attend a class in the presence of males. 

With Rebecca's (Jordan-Turner) help, we started a women’s only class that has been going since. I enjoy sharing my passion for yoga with these ladies and introducing them to an exercise that is not normally found in their home countries. Some of these same ladies have been coming back since 2012 and have gained many benefits from the practice. 

When Rebecca left my old studio, the women’s class was put on hold, and I gradually stopped practicing there as well.  I didn’t feel motivated and was getting bored doing the same series over and over again. When I heard about Revolution Hot Yoga (RHY), I was excited to get back into yoga and made it a top priority.  

I love how RHY caters to everyone’s needs. There are days when I want to slow down and check my technique, and others when I want to push myself by going to advanced classes which have taken my practice to a new level.  I now have muscles that I didn’t even know existed, and I am proud to show off my newly toned quads and biceps. Since practicing at RHY,  I've learned challenging postures that give me something to work towards. This year, I am focusing on learning the techniques and exciting new postures outside of the Bikram series such as dancing warrior, binds, and inversions (which I hope to be able to do soon!)  

Recently at RHY, I have also been learning how the postures create energy flow in our bodies.  I've noticed this especially in Camel pose, which I would say is my favorite posture because I can literally feel the movement of energy through my back, up my chest, opening my rib cage and heart.  It's just amazing how much energy one can receive from these postures. 

There are so many things that I love about hot yoga. Topping the list would simply be the sweat and the feeling that I'm getting a good workout. I always carry the thought in the back of my mind that, if I can make it through a hot yoga class, nothing else in my day can be more challenging! I also love the higher focus and energy I get after every class. 

I feel it is my duty to share the positive things in my life, and my dream is to bring this yoga to others. Because I'm known to be a world traveler, I would love to someday teach yoga in Latin America or the Middle East after acquiring certification. These regions aren't as familiar with yoga, and I want to spread what I've learned at RHY all over the world! 

This is Angie Kapely's yoga story.

Go to RHY website.

Love At First Sweat

For years, I had a casual relationship with yoga, attending classes randomly here and there.  In those early classes, I remember feeling lost with the fancy Sanskrit words and fast flowing sequences, but I still found them interesting and beneficial.  After class, I would get what I called a "yoga hangover" in which my tender shoulders and sore hamstrings would make themselves known while performing every day tasks.

In August of 2010 during a particularly difficult time in my life,  I decided that I needed to get to a yoga class ASAP.  Although I lived in New York City at the time, I was visiting Greensboro and searched online for available classes that day in the area.  I knew I needed a challenging experience so that ruled out all the gentle, restorative, level one classes.  Bikram Hot Yoga popped up and the next class was in two hours.

I had heard of Bikram and knew it was hot yoga, but that was all I knew.  Barb Libby taught the class that day, and I felt like every word she spoke was just for me.  I haven't seen her since that day, but I would like to have the chance to thank her for being part of what turned out to be a life changing event for me.

It was love at first sweat.  I was hooked after my first class.  In those early days, I practiced a lot.  I felt like I was on a vision quest.  I tried to convert everyone in my life to become a hot yogi.  I went back to New York and practiced hot yoga as much as I could.  Hot yoga quickly became part of my identity and an essential part of my life.  No matter where I went, I found a studio and practiced.

About the time I moved back to Greensboro, Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) started teaching at a studio where I was practicing. While her words and dialogue guided my yoga practice, she became my friend and mentor.  I knew that I would practice wherever she went; I knew that I would teach this yoga one day; and I knew that I wanted that journey to happen under her guidance and expertise.

I've seen this yoga change lives.  It changed mine.  People want to know the secret as to why this former angry punk kid now has buoyancy, centeredness, and calm.  It's no secret.  It's the yoga.  And I'm not shy about telling people either.  I want to bring this yoga to others because everyone deserves to feel this good.

My wonderful teachers at Yoga To The People in New York City, where I trained, follow the mantra below.  I thought I would share it with you.

There will be no correct clothes
There will be no proper payment
There will be no right answers
No glorified teachers
No ego no script no pedestals
No you're not good enough or rich enough
This yoga is for everyone
This sweating and breathing and becoming
This knowing glowing feeling
Is for the big small weak and strong
Able and crazy
Brothers sisters grandmothers
The mighty and the meek
Bones that creek
Those who seek
This power is for everyone
Yoga to the people
All bodies rise

This is Kate Burnet's Yoga story.
Kate is RHY's newest teacher.

Go to RHY Website

A Warm Community, A Hot Room, And A Cold Towel

My first experience with yoga was about 15 years ago when I attended a weekend workshop at Triad Yoga Institute (TYI) with my friend Julie Schwarz, who is now a yoga teacher in Denver. I have continued practicing there and at home since. I love to practice yoga when I travel, especially at the beach or leading a class for friends or family.  I consider TYI to be my yoga home and honor all the teachers there who have blessed my life with their advice and friendship.  And since I joined Revolution Hot Yoga  (RHY) in November,  I am now privileged to have two very special yoga homes!

My first experience with hot yoga, in December 2012, was terrible.  I went to a different studio and found myself completely lost, exhausted, dehydrated, and sick after the class. I vowed to NEVER attempt hot yoga again. My dear friend, Tammi Thurm, told me about RHY this past November, and I trusted her enough to give it a try. I absolutely loved the practice, all the teachers, and the vibe of the studio. I have been practicing there several times a week since.  

My schedule also includes at least one class a week at TYI, which I do with my husband, and a few days at the gym where I run on the treadmill and try to fit in some arm strengthening exercises. I had a brush with death a few years ago when a mystery illness almost shut down my heart, kidneys and lungs. Since then, I have worked hard to become strong and flexible, build my stamina, and make physical activity a priority.  

Yoga has been a part of my adult life for so long I can hardly remember when I wasn’t practicing.  It calms me, helps me with balance, gives me a space in time that isn’t about work or any other obligations, and helps ground me.  I have an addictive nature, and hot yoga has become my healthy addiction of choice. 

I'm always cold - I even wear socks in the summer - but have lived with a man for the past 25 years who prefers it to be 65 degrees year round.  The only time I am truly warm is in the shower, hot tub, or at RHY! 

I love how much further I can go in every pose in the heat, and I thrive on the endorphin rush that comes at the end of every class. It stays with me throughout my day and increases my quality of focus for everything else I do.  I'm blessed to have had my own marketing consulting firm for 23 years and to be able to work from home. This allows me to have flexible schedule and to often fit yoga in my day.  I believe the time I devote to yoga is an investment in the quality of service I provide my clients.  A lot of very positive things have happened to me professionally since I started hot yoga.

I don’t believe my enthusiasm and commitment to hot yoga would have occurred anywhere else. RHY is a community treasure. I believe that whether RHY is your only form of practice or a complement to a traditional non-hot practice, yoga has the power to change your life.  

Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) is a force of nature who truly cares about every person’s yoga experience and wants them to have the information they need to understand the poses and how they are accessible at any level of experience. Every teacher has that focus, and it's the culture of the studio.  Although the sequence and dialogue may be largely consistent, the attention to each student's body, appreciation of their fears, and joy shared as they finally nail that scary pose are gifts that each teacher compassionately and uniquely brings to every class.  

From the calm and nurturing ambiance of the studio to the much appreciated kindness of the cool lavender face towels given at the end of class, it's clear to me that adding RHY to your life is a positive step in taking better care of yourself.  Life is full of changes and having that constant of a warm and loving community, hot room, and cold towel goes a long way in helping embrace those changes with grace, optimism, and resilience. 

This is Pam Goldberg's yoga story.

Go to the RHY website.