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.