A Kinder, Gentler Version Of Myself

I can’t remember exactly when I was first introduced to yoga. For several years, I would take a class here and there and had a couple of Brian Kest Power Yoga DVDs that I would pull out every now and then, but I wasn't a regular practitioner. That is, until last May.

I was out of shape and living with my parents in Columbus, Ohio where I would crash between singing gigs. At the time, I was running several times a week but if I’m going to be completely honest, I hate running. Because I have asthma, it’s always a struggle to keep my breath going depending on the day and how active I have been.  If I stop running for a period of time, I have to put my lungs through training all over again which is no fun.

My sister talked about going to hot yoga and sparked my interest. Being a dancer in high school and college, I missed the way my body felt moving through space. After doing a little research I found a lot of information on Bikram Yoga, which a few of my singer friends swore by. But I couldn’t quite wrap my head around locking myself in a 105 degree room for 90 minutes. What kind of crazy did you have to be to do this?

Everything I read said that you needed to give it a few classes before you determine whether or not hot yoga is for you. I decided that if I was going to give Bikram yoga a try, I was going to make a commitment to myself to go five times a week for the first month. And so last May, I walked through the doors of Bikram Hot Yoga Columbus. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful the studio and teachers were. It was the perfect place for me to begin my practice. I spent that first class nauseous and dizzy and thinking to myself “What have I gotten myself into?” But I stuck to my guns and at the end of the first month, my body was changing and so was my life. I was hooked!

I moved back to Greensboro in November and immediately tried another yoga studio in town. The hot room smelled of mold and the staff was less than friendly. I went a handful of times, but something was off. It just never felt right. Having come from a wonderful studio with amazing teachers made going there even more difficult. I missed the community that I had become a part of and there was an air about this studio that was just off-putting. I can’t explain it exactly, but I was heart-broken because I was determined to continue my practice.

After hearing about Revolution Hot Yoga (RHY) from a friend, I signed up for an unlimited week. Following the first class, however, I was a little sad because it wasn't the Bikram yoga I'd come to love. But Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) was so lovely, and I was determined to give it a fair shake. I’m so glad I did. The teachers at RHY are all such kind, giving people, and after that first week, I felt like I’d known them a long time. 

Once my brain moved past the differences from the Bikram sequence, I found the Revolution Series to be challenging and inspiring. I feel like it will allow my practice to grow, and I'll never outgrow it because it’s never exactly the same from class to class. 

I like how strong and powerful I feel practicing hot yoga, and I've been able to do things I never imagined my body could do. One night when attending an Advanced Practice Club class with Rebecca and Emily (Rex), I found that my body was actually able to do a few handstands and headstands. I remember getting into a 90 degree handstand and thinking “I can’t believe my arms are strong enough to do this!” It was a great high!

Being a perfectionist by nature and extremely driven, any time I can’t do something “perfectly” or the way my mind thinks it should be done the voices in my head start to taunt me. After a recent car accident, I've had to take a step back from competition with myself. It's been and continues to be a journey to learn to accept where my body is that day and find peace with it, even if I could do it better yesterday, last week or last month. It’s a very grounding experience. 

A regular yoga practice has helped me in so many ways. I’m an opera singer and breathing is the baseline upon which a singer builds technique. Without breath, there is no singing. The Ujjayi or Pranayama breathing that is practiced in Bikram has helped me with this tremendously. My lung capacity has increased along with the ability to better regulate my breath. Additionally, practicing yoga has gotten rid of a lot of tension that I tend to carry in my back and shoulders, and the pain that used to follow me around from a dislocated hip when I was a dancer is completely gone. Learning to accept where I am on any given day has followed me into auditions, rehearsals, and performances. 

Yoga makes me a more balanced human, and I'm kinder, gentler version of myself when I'm practicing regularly. Yoga asks us to slow down, bring our focus inward, and quiet our minds.  I find that I can focus more steadily through the day by taking the time to care for my body in the hot room.

This is Stacy Dove's yoga story.

Go to RHY website