Hot Yoga Leads To Healthy, Not Hurt

My first experience with yoga was a very basic restorative type practice while working as a college basketball coach in Poughkeepsie, NY at Marist College. With a ruptured disc in my lower back and the physical nature of my job, I was searching for anything that could help. The yoga practice did help my back feel better, improved my body alignment, and lowered my stress level.  

Three years ago here in Greensboro, I tried hot yoga for the first time. My first class, after about 30 minutes, I felt like I couldn't stay in the room a second longer which felt like the combination of claustrophobia and holding your breath under water for as long as you can. But I did, I couldn't quit my first time.But I did because I didn't want to quit the first time I tried it. Occasionally, I still have those moments when I literally physically and mentally feel like I can't stay in this room for another minute, but now, I push through them because I have a sense that those moments make me stronger and absolutely make me feel better afterwards and over the next couple days. 

My sleep after a practicing is always calm and without restlessness. I'm not sure that I would sleep that well if it wasn't for the freak-out-can't-stay-in- the-room-a-second-longer moments.

I find that hot yoga has the same beneficial qualities as basic yoga did, but at a higher level making me stronger while increasing my endurance. For me, the challenge of the practice is why I like it so much. In the past, with basketball, mountain biking, or even swimming, I would push myself to the point of injury. Because of my past injuries and the fear of new ones, I needed an activity that forced control and patience while making me feel like I was really working myself. 

When I push myself to make strides in my hot yoga practice, I am healthier for it not hurt. I'm confident that I'll be able to strive to be healthier and stronger for the rest of my life with hot yoga. I am a college strength and conditioning coach at UNCG now and work with the Men's Basketball team as well as both golf teams. Fitness is an important part of my life. 

I came to Revolution after running into someone with which I practiced at the first studio. He told me I had to try out Revolution Hot Yoga. When I saw that Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) was one of the teachers, it was an easy choice. After taking a class with her, I was sold. 

This is Chris Parson's yoga story.

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At Revolution Hot Yoga, It's About The Yoga

I took my first yoga class in my 20's at a gym.and attended on and off for a over a year until I stopped going to the gym altogether. After my oldest son was born, I took a "Mommy and Me" yoga class which I really enjoyed, but when he started crawling, I had to stop. 

Then three years ago after my third child, I tried hot yoga for the first time. Even before taking my first class.I purchased a 10 class pass because I wanted to commit enough so that it would be hard to back out of after just one class.  

At first, the classes were tough, and I wasn't very good, but I stuck with it for about a year. Eventually, the time commitment for a 90 minute class became too much, and I looked into a new yoga studio, Revolution Hot Yoga (RHY), that was closer to my home. When I saw the schedule, I got excited because the 60, 75, and 90 minute class options were exactly what I needed and I welcomed  the opportunity to practice under Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) again..Although I have started and stopped several times over my yoga life, I enjoy yoga and feel like I'm at a point in my life and at a studio where I'll be able to continue my practice regularly.

With three kids, my biggest challenge is finding time in my life to be consistent with my yoga practice. I started the year with the goal of getting to yoga twice a week, but I usually make it to one evening flow class weekly. Even with that, I've seen noticeable improvements in my well being. 

The skills I develop in my yoga practice carry over into many aspects of my life. I have more energy and eat healthier. I use my breath to help me focus and calm myself. Heart disease runs in my family and is something I've always been concerned about. Recently, I had my cholesterol tested, and my HDL, good cholesterol, is at a a level that is a negative risk factor for heart disease. At RHY, I feel that I'm part of a community that motivates me to make healthy choices. 

Currently, I'm participating in the green smoothie challenge and have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about it at first.  But with some encouragement and shared knowledge, I gave it a try. I'm happy to report that to my surprise, I really like it, and will continue after the challenge is over.

What I love most about hot yoga is that when I walk into the studio, I leave all my thoughts at the door and focus on the present. For me, that makes it better than any other workout I've ever done. That was as true for my first class as it is for the last class I took. 

When I first started practicing hot yoga, I had to focus with 100% concentration and a class was all about survival. In the Bikram classes, I found comfort in each class being the same routine because, to be honest, it was how I knew how far along in the class I was. I felt relief with each pose and success upon getting through the 90 minutes. 

When I started at RHY, I instantly loved the flow of the classes and the fact that no two classes are the same which forces me to stay in the moment instead of focusing on what's coming next. It wasn't about just getting through the class anymore. At Bikram, I enjoyed the challenge. At RHY, I enjoy the yoga. The instructors and members at RHY create an environment in which I feel comfortable and at ease. The only pressure I feel is that which I put on myself to do my best. 

Because my sons are getting older, I'm starting to find some balance in my life and am able to make time for my family, volunteer at my children's different schools and church, and only starting some hobbies, quilting and photography, but also improving my health through yoga.

This is Christin Morasco's yoga story.

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Practicing What You Preach

I've been physically active my whole life. Since I was 15 years old, I've been a weight lifter, and have played soccer and tennis my whole life. I ran track in college and as an adult, I continued running and added biking, mountain and road, to the mix. My motivation has always been my health.

I look at it this way: We are all given only one body and might as well take the best of care of it. Always, I want to be the healthiest my body can be.

As a physical education teacher, I preach what I practice which not many people get to say. I love that it's my job to motivate kids and people to want to be healthy. At the end of my PE classes, I use yoga sometimes when the kids are high strung to help them calm down, stretch out, and just take a moment for themselves during their day. When I show up for their class, the kids look at me as their break and release from having to do class work. I'm glad that I can provide that for them and that I"m at least trying to instill healthy practices that they might continue over their lifetimes.

In college, I was first introduced to yoga in a gym class which I thought was pretty much a waste of my time. Having always been interested in yoga,  I was curious about hot yoga and tried Revolution Hot Yoga last summer. In that first class, I thought I might die from the heat, but before long, I was acclimated to it. It's amazing what your body can do in a short time if you just try.

After each yoga class, I feel relaxed all over, and my mind is de-stressed. I even think I can stand up taller because my muscles have elongated back to where they should be.

As a full time working mother of a toddler with a husband who travels weekly, I'm often in a hurry to get to class. One time as I was running out of the door, I grabbed my yoga towel from the dryer (because who really has time to fold laundry these days....ever!?) and when I got to class I threw my towel on my mat - only to see not one but two pairs of underwear clinging to the towel. Embarrassing! Hopefully no one noticed. ;)

This is Jennifer Dreyer's yoga story.

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Yoga Is A practice, Not A Sport

In college, I took a Yoga/Thai Chi class to fulfill my PE requirement. The instructor was actually a Thai Chi master so his yoga background was limited, but I liked my introduction to yoga and took yoga classes at a nearby studio a few years later. While I enjoyed the classes, I wasn't ready to make the commitment to fit yoga regularly in my schedule and stopped. 

Fast forward many years, a friend reintroduced me to yoga, and I found a great instructor in Greensboro and practiced weekly with her for about three years. During this time, I fell in love with yoga and loved my practice. When the instructor left that location, I decided it was time to explore various studios and instructors in town because I knew I wanted to practice more frequently. After attending a few different classes at different places, I came across a special for one month of unlimited hot yoga classes. I figured that I could do anything for one month. 

My first hot yoga class, taught by Rebecca (Jordan-Turner), was quite an experience! By the time 90 minutes were finally over, I thought that was probably my first and last class - what an expensive class that would've been. Thankfully though, I went back (I'm not even sure why!) and ended up taking 10 classes in the month. 

A few weeks into my hot yoga practice, I heard something in the dialogue that struck me. The instructor said that this one pose could help with carpal tunnel and prevent or cure other wrist injuries. Hmmm… For years I'd had wrist pain from cartilage damage, but hadn't noticed it in a while. I thought, “Maybe this pose is helping, and I didn’t even realize it.” 

After my one month was over I realized that I had missed my last chiropractor appointment and had just forgotten to reschedule it.  Over two months had gone by since my last appointment.  In the past, that lapse would usually have meant regular headaches would start back up which I would need to rely on pain medicine for relief. Instead of rescheduling that appointment, I kept going to yoga.

In the beginning of my hot yoga practice, my mind wouldn’t quiet down during class. I was constantly thinking which makes the practice even harder.  Now, my mind is much quieter I find once I’m on my mat.  My mind still drifts, but I know that all I have to do is focus on the present moment and the pose I’m asking it to do right now, and it calms down.  Unfortunately, all the stresses outside the yoga room still exist, but for those minutes on my mat they disappear.   

I love that yoga is a practice and not a sport.  I love that I’m encouraged to work with the body I walked in with that day because every class is different which depends so much on what else is going on in my life. Some poses are easier than others every class while others feel good in one class and not so much in another. Rather than getting frustrated with myself, I try to evaluate why that might be.  This happening has definitely made me appreciate what I'm capable of doing in the postures - and even more so what I'm not capable of doing another day - and spurs an ongoing discussion of keeping my ego out of my practice countered by giving everything I've got to a posture. I’m humbled when I cannot do something today that I did yesterday.  

When I’m running and logging more miles week after week, I find that my muscles tighten up and coming to my mat helps stretch out those muscles that have been overworked.  I find that focusing on my breath and strengthening my muscles during hot yoga helps my running. In yoga, I've learned to balance being kind and accepting of my body’s limitations while simultaneously giving everything I have to each posture.  

My son is nine now. He and I have practiced yoga off and on at home since he was very young. He’s taken a few classes geared towards children and families. I love watching him experience new things and see him enjoying yoga.

When work or vacation takes me out of town, I try to find a yoga studio and take a class. It’s always so much fun to practice in a new environment with a new instructor. Those classes are often very challenging and exciting because I don’t know the series or the rhythm of the instructor’s class.  I always pick up something from those classes, a phrase or a different approach to a posture and now have yoga memories from different cities, but RHY is my yoga home.

This is Christine O'Brien's yoga story.

Go to RHY website