Yoga Is A Regular Ego Adjustment

I first tried yoga back in the 1970s in high school when a buddy and I heard about a class that was being offered and tried it. The class met once a week and was in a church basement. The instructor, a young Indian man, wore traditional Indian clothing, which was always orange, and a turban.  So, I would guess that he was a recent immigrant.. He always joked, "How do you know I have ears?  You've never seen them.  I could be like a snake."

I still have the handouts he gave us.  The papers, titled "Shankar Yoga Society," tell about the history, science, and awakening of the Kundalini.  The classes were around three hours long and started with breathing exercises, moved into postures, and ended with a meditation, but we kept focused on the breathe during the entire class.

For many years after, I think I kept an awareness of yoga, even though I didn't formally practice.  My earlier exposure to the practice helped me with breath and body awareness during my years as an actor.

I first tried hot yoga a few years ago after finishing grad school.  I went to Bikram a couple times and then to Hot Yoga Therapy in Kernersville.  Although I liked the sweating and the challenge of hot yoga, I got bored with the lack of instruction.  However, I started dating and later married a hot yoga teacher, Rebecca Jordan-Turner.  So, I became a regular practitioner at Revolution Hot Yoga.  I believe in her passion and enjoy the workout and sense of community of the studio.

When I started hot yoga, I was going to the gym routinely, but couldn't seem to lose a bit of fat around my gut. Once I started practicing regularly, that was gone within a couple months. Since hot yoga, my diet has gotten better, I drink a lot more water, and my flexibility has increased.  

I'm certainly much older than when I first tried yoga which requires that I be very forgiving of my knees.  Since practicing regularly, I have observed that my body can be quite different on a day to day basis.  I try to listen, adapt, and not expect to be able to do what I did yesterday.

As a children's librarian, I have to stay limber.  I'm constantly scanning low shelves, lifting books, walking, and sitting on the floor or kneeling.  It's important that I'm able to match the energy of my patrons and get them excited about books, and I find yoga keeps me young!

The hardest part of hot yoga, for me is getting to the studio.  Once I'm in the room I'm good to go.  It can be difficult to get there on days I don't want to go.  I still get frustrated when I see a newcomer be able to do postures that I can't manage yet, but I know that's just my ego.  So yoga gives me a regular ego adjustment as well.

This is Pete Turner doing his "balancing stick with a book" pose.

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Yoga Is All About Focus

When I was a teenager, I printed the instructions for a sun salutation series off of the internet, followed them every morning, and have been practicing yoga ever since.  While in high school and college, I practiced on my own, then sought out classes. I first experienced a Bikram studio when visiting a friend in Boston in 2009. 

From the start, I enjoyed hot yoga and was pretty amazed that my body was capable of producing so much sweat.  I always thought the Bikram dialogue was a little strange with all of the metaphors about Japanese Ham Sandwiches and Bengal Tigers.  They cracked me up.  I still don't know what "grab your arms each other" means.

Yoga has really helped me to cultivate a sense of patience and focus, both of which have proven crucial over the past six years in my life as a full-time graduate student. Through hot yoga, I've learned to get comfortable with my discomfort which I find applies to so much of life, but especially the stamina required for graduate-level coursework and research.

A lot of my school work, at this point, is dedicated to honing a research area that will produce a dissertation project.  I spend most of my time working independently, learning complex theories, and figuring out what they mean for my own work. I think there's overlap in the focus yoga and research require because both are about exploring your abilities and their limits, as well as being okay with being uncomfortable. 

Yoga has helped me feel grounded in the abilities I do have while appreciating that I also have lots of room to grow. Through yoga, I've learned how to harness my mental effort so that I can spend hours thinking about or exploring one subject without getting distracted or going off on tangents. 

The thing that I like most about hot yoga is that it requires my entire mental focus.  The thing I like least about hot yoga is that it requires my entire mental focus. :)

As a funny aside, the mental focus and physical stamina that I gained through my hot yoga practice convinced me I could sit for longer tattoos. I'm pretty creeped out by needles, but I just recently sat for a six hour tattoo.  I think my being able to endure that directly relates to learning to be comfortably uncomfortable on the mat!

I feel like I'm always learning new things through yoga, and I particularly appreciate the mind/body connection that it engenders. Lately, I've been trying to use my practice to think about the emotional aspects of my life I want to nurture, such as patience, generosity, and resilience. There have been times when I've thought of yoga as more of a physical workout, but more and more I'm shifting away from that to think of it as a holistically helpful practice. 

I met Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) when she was teaching at the Bikram studio in Greensboro and really enjoyed her teaching style there.  I was excited to support her independent studio  (Revolution Hot Yoga - RHY) because I've always felt that franchised yoga was ethically questionable.

I appreciate that RHY houses a diverse range of teaching styles under the common philosophy of being really body-positive and community centered. Also, the cool lavender facecloths at the end of class are the best!

This Carrie Hart's yoga story.

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Beginning Again

I first stumbled onto yoga more than 15 years ago when I saw a tiny ad in the newspaper for a beginning yoga class. I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason the announcement clicked with me, and I thought “I want to do that.” After some fact finding, I signed up.

All it took was one class - and a really good teacher (Terry Brown), - and I was hooked. The studio was a good place to learn about yoga because, while their primary style was Iyengar yoga, they offered classes featuring many different practice styles.  I favored Ashtanga because I liked the challenge and flow of the series and the natural heat my body produced.

My first experience with hot yoga was quite by accident. I'd travelled with my husband on a business trip and when exploring local yoga studios, I stumbled across Baron Baptiste’s studio in Boston which was where he was practicing at the time.  As luck would have it, I could attend a class that he was teaching. 

I had no idea the room would be heated above the body heat produced by the sheer volume of the many bodies there for his class. My husband, who went with me, only made it through 15 minutes of the class and was done. Even though I was drenched in sweat,  I not only completed the class, but loved it! That was my only experience with hot yoga until many years later.  Over time, I found other forms of exercise.

I have a stone paperweight on my desk with the words “Begin Again” engraved on it. That phrase perfectly describes my yoga practice, as well as so much of life. My yoga journey has been a series of starts and stops. My practice became very consistent for several years, but then life interfered like life has a way of doing which was ironic because that's the very time I needed yoga the most.

 A couple of years ago, a running friend invited me to a hot yoga class at the Bikram studio. I met Rebecca (Jordan-Turner) and Prana, the studio cat, who I figured wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t a good place. (Animals are smart like that!)  I survived that first 90 minute class went back again….and again….and again usually mading it to a hot yoga class at least weekly. I had “begun again!”

I noticed the Revolution Hot Yoga (RHY) sign during a Saturday morning run with three of my running buddies, and we decided to try their Sunday AM class the next day.   When I walked in the door, there was Rebecca!

Over the years, I've practiced at several different studios with many teachers. I believe that what's most important isn't the studio amenities, but the spirit and heart of the studio. The meaning of yoga is to unite or connect with ourselves, each other, and the world around us. RHY provides such an environment, and the feeling doesn't emanate from the physical structure, the heat, or the particular elements of a class. The spirit comes from the teachers and my fellow yogis there.

As I see it, the ultimate goal of yoga is not to increase flexibility and strength of the body. These are simply the results and benefits of a regular yoga practice, just like many other forms of exercise give you tangible, physical results. What I've come to understand is that the true goal of a regular yoga practice is self-realization and staying balanced and healthy. Yoga increases my mental and emotional flexibility and strength so that I can be a more fully present, genuine, and compassionate person.

With yoga as with life, the beauty of the practice is not about the results, but about the journey.  I'm honored to travel that journey with my fellow practitioners at RHY!

This is Susan Brady's yoga story.

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Yoga Love

Four years ago, my mind, body, and spirit were changed when I was introduced to yoga at a Bikram studio.  Feeling the effects of working in a high stress job and holding onto past hurts, I'd started losing my hair.  A friend invited me to a hot yoga class, and even though I hadn't worked out in more than four years, was heavier, and emotionally and physically exhausted, I went to that class on February 20, 2010 which changed me and my life forever. For that, I am grateful.  

The instructor that day, who is now a friend, told me "I believe in you" even though I couldn't reach my foot in a leg separating posture.  Those words were the catalyst for me to start believing in myself. 

In that first class, I kept thinking “WOW this is HOT!" and "Am I going to make it through the class?”  To my surprise, I did make it and came back for another class and another. By the third class in my first week, something magical happened.  I was feeling better than I'd ever felt in my entire life which prompted me to start practicing consistently. 

When I had practiced for more than a year, I felt a call from within, from God, to leave my corporate job as it no longer served me.  After working with a family owned business for 8 months, I opened my own business “Moore Time,” personal and virtual assistant services.  

After being on my own for only 2 months, I had a very serious car accident in which I broke and dislocated all 5 large bones in my right foot in addition to tearing ligaments.  My foot looked like a half moon, but I consider myself fortunate to come away with only that injury. I now have two plates, eight screws, and 4 bones fused together in that foot. I suffered broken blood vessels down both sides of my spine, but no injury to it. (I attribute this to yoga.)  

During the months of recovery, I had to rely on my upper body strength which was strong from yoga.  Returning to yoga in my cast as soon as I could , remarkably I didn't have one day of physical therapy.  I got my cast off and walked 3 weeks earlier than expected which I fully attribute to my yoga practice.  Do what your body can do in whatever state it is in until you can do more.  It's that simple.  Yoga healed me from the inside out.

My accident was January of 2013.  In October of 2013, I applied and was accepted to attend Yoga to the People (YTTP) hot yoga teacher training in New York City. While I am grateful to the Bikram yoga practice where I began my journey, I was happy to evolve to YTTP's Fire sequence and philosophy.  

I began taking fire classes in Charlotte and hated them at first.  Often, those are the classes our body needs the most.  Over time, I fell in love with the fire sequence and the philosophies of YTTP and knew this was the teacher training I wanted to attend. I graduated in March  2014.

After coming home, I was introduced to Revolution Hot Yoga from a fellow teacher trainee and fell in love with the studio and their philosophy which closely resembles the message I developed through my practice and training with YTTP.  Yoga is for everyBODY!  I am opening my own studio called yogaLove studios in Huntersville, NC built on this philosophy. 

YTTP is a unique yoga studio with the goal of recapturing what is considered to be the essence of yoga.  Simply put, yoga should be available to everyone.  In a time where yoga has become a trendy business getting a lot of attention, the fact that it is being priced out of many people’s reach financially is in direct conflict with  the spirit of yoga itself.  Can a yoga studio survive as a business while keeping its intention on providing yoga as a service first and foremost?  I think it can and am proving this true.   

Exactly what does “yoga for everyone” mean?  Yoga is an amazingly beneficial practice that strengthens, stretches, and de-stresses the body while focusing and decompressing the mind. I would like to see everyone have access to yoga regardless of economic conditions.  I've seen too much evidence everywhere that people simply can’t afford to do yoga on a regular basis. "Yoga is meant to help strengthen and stretch your arms and legs, not cost you one!" (from yttp.com)

There are always going to be  postures that you struggle with, but each class you do a little more.  (I have found and teach good modifications for the postures my body still isn’t ready to do in full expression.)  You find your way through the posture into the yoga.  Every class, I try to work on finding more and more stillness within my movements.  

We are all on a journey in this life, and yoga has been my passage way to myself.  Yoga continues to help me discover new things about myself and others.  Over the last four years of my yoga journey, my mind, body, and spirit have been through radical changes and the continue to evolve.   Finding my true inner self.  A place to make a choice to love myself where I am.  Acceptance of myself and others. Acceptance of the process.  Embracing the differences.  Embracing the journey.   

I will continue to remember where I have been, where I am, where I'm going and the people that have loved me, accepted me, and helped me right where I was along the way.  I want to share that love with others, my yogaLove which is the name of my studio: yogalovestudios.com

Note:  Lisa will be teaching four classes weekly this summer at RHY and is leading a Yoga For Larger Bodies workshop at RHY on June 14 from 12:00-5:00 which includes a class, demonstration of posture modifications, and discussion on loving yourself to improve yourself. Donations accepted. 

This is Lisa Moore's yoga story.

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Hot Yoga Has Become A Way Of Life

My love for hot yoga began a few years ago even though I had tried a class once before.  The earlier time, I didn't feel the connection with it that I do now.  Actually, I thought that whole thing was a bit strange. Little did I know that later, hot yoga would become a life changer for me. 

After a couple of years of trying several different forms of exercise and not really loving or committing to any of them, I began running. Having never been a runner, the sport was completely new to me, and I loved it.  I also enjoyed the benefits I got from running both mentally and physically. 

Then after experiencing a devastating death in our family, I didn't have the energy or drive to even consider running. Knowing that I needed something to help with stress relief, physical exercise, and quieting of my mind, I went back to Bikram yoga with a friend. Although I don't remember much about that class,  I remember that I loved it.  

I liked that for 90 minutes I didn't have to think. My brain turned off, and all I could do was focus on myself and the postures. I found the practice to be very meditative which was something I really needed. After that class, I was hooked! Everywhere I went, I told people about hot yoga and encouraged them try it.

Fast forward about a year. Thankfully, I met Rebecca Jordan-Turner and Jane Cable who I found to be special yoga teachers, unlike anyone else I'd encountered. When teaching, they cared about each person in the room and could monitor the whole room while still paying attention to an individual's needs. Both are tough yoga teachers, yet loving and encouraging. Taking their classes was and still is so inspiring to me! Of course, there was no question in my mind that I would be following Rebecca to her home studio and then to Revolution Hot Yoga (RHY).

I am so grateful to all of the teachers at RHY. It's a very special place, and I consider it my yoga home. Whenever I go out of town, I'll practice at the local hot yoga studio. Although each has it's own unique great things, there is still nowhere like RHY. 

RHY teaches the form and alignment that many studios tend to skip or do not spend enough time on. Also, I find the classes at RHY so helpful in learning to step away from my ego and just to accept myself where I am as I am. 

Yoga has given me SO many wonderful gifts, but I really believe that having strong teachers is key to this and am thankful for each teacher at RHY. Also, I am appreciative to the other yogis for creating such a loving and encouraging atmosphere.

Hot Yoga has become such a huge part of who I am and my lifestyle. It teaches me patience, acceptance, and being present.  Hot yoga gives me confidence, reminds me to breathe, and helps keep me humble.

I look forward to this life long yoga journey! Thank you RHY!

This is Rachel Benson's yoga story.  That's Rachel and her yoga assistant, Kylie.

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Yoga Helps Me Live In Realando

Unfortunately, I was the victim of a hit and run auto accident in 1980. Since that time, my right tibia-fibula has been bowed because the resulting fracture did not heal correctly. I also developed osteomyelitis, an infection in the bone, in that leg and had multiple surgeries over a span of four years ending with a successful surgery in 1984. 

By exercising regularly through the years, I manged to keep myself pretty healthy, but my habit of running on the roads didn't help my leg injury at all.  In 2008, I had to stop running due to severe arthritis in my right knee. Then, just normal, every day life caught up with my 50+ year old body, and I found myself on medication for blood pressure, cholesterol, and gout. 

Eventually, the pain in my knee became unbearable.  With the input of my surgeon and my family, I decided to have a total knee replacement which was performed in June of 2010. After physical therapy and what was seeming to be a slow recovery, I heard about Bikram Hot Yoga from my boss. After consulting my surgeon, I started hot yoga one steamy afternoon in August two months after the surgery.  I attribute hot yoga with helping me build muscle and strength in the new joint which resulted in having much more flexibility. Artificial, metal joints are never as flexible and strong as a natural joint, but mine is as good as it gets.  My surgeon was surprised at the range of mobility that my new artificial knee had!  

As I continued to practice regularly, my knee healed fully, and I was gradually able to quit taking all of my medications.  I had been on hypertension, cholesterol, and gout medication for over 12 years before starting yoga, and I have been off of everything for the last 4 years now. 

As I continued to practice hot yoga, I also realized many other health benefits.  I find that I don't get sick nor have I had to miss work because of illness for a long time. Yoga helps me relax, sleep better, and keeps my weight under control.  

I followed Rebecca Jordan-Turner to Revolution Hot Yoga (RHY).  My fellow yoga practitioners at RHY, the young and not so young, encourage and push me to go back, again and again.

I find each class to be a unique challenge. After every class, I am really hot and tired, but very, very happy to have made it through another one.  I definitely feel like I've accomplished something and start to feel rejuvenated by the time I get home after the 15 minute drive.

I tend to live in what I call "realando." To me, that means existing in the present moment, the right here and now. Yoga helps me handle the pains and troubles of realando everyday.

This is Sanjeev Deshmukh's yoga story.

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I Found Happiness In Yoga

When I was in high school, my mother gave me a yoga mat and a yoga/pilates tape for Christmas.  Initially, I would break it out occasionally but started practicing yoga with the tape regularly during my freshman year of college.  Never having been great at running, I had struggled to find a workout that suited me after leaving sports behind in high school. 

I found yoga to be very refreshing, and after doing the tape for a while, I started to see a nice tone and definition to my body. After a yoga session, I felt longer and leaner and really liked the low impact of a yoga workout compared to running or weight lifting.  Years later, I first sought out hot yoga after watching a television interview with a famous model who, when asked how she stayed in such great shape, replied, "Lots of hot yoga!".  After seeing that,I knew that I had to try it. 

The first time I went to a hot yoga class, I was overwhelmed.  Not knowing what to expect, I found it to be much hotter than I'd anticipated and thought it strange that you weren't supposed to talk.  During that first class, I became woozy, had to sit down a few times, and was embarrassed when called out for grabbing my water bottle before "party time."  However when I got home and peeled off my soaking wet clothes, I could already see an immediate change in my body.  My skin was brighter and tighter, and I slept great that night.  I knew that I had to keep going.

Although I've always maintained a healthy and active lifestyle exploring all different types of exercise, I struggled with body image in the past, but have finally come to a place where I feel good about myself as long as I know that I'm taking care of my body and mind.  I'd often became discouraged with other fitness regimes if I didn't like the way I felt during the workout or if I didn't feel like I was very good at it.  

When I tried to improve my running, I'd get disappointed when I'd shoot for six miles and only made four.  When I tried weight lifting at the encouragement of a family member, I wasn't thrilled with the resulting bulkiness or being sore for days after a session.  My jeans actually got tighter!.  What I love about yoga is that I'm building strength with my own body.  

For years before practicing hot yoga, I experienced a high amount of anxiety.  I'd become very anxious at work or with the details of everyday life and had related back pain and stomach issues. I'd tried medication but wasn't completely sold on the idea of taking a pill everyday as a solution.  Hot yoga has helped me tremendously to still my mind, cease the negative thoughts, and ease anxiety.  My back and stomach pain are almost non existent when I practice consistently. 

My yoga practice, which initially began as a great work out for physical benefits, has given me so much more than that.  It's become spiritual workout, like a therapy session.  In almost every class, I learn new things about myself and pick up quotes from the instructors that give me a whole new outlook on life.  I find it ironic that vanity brought me to hot yoga, but I can honestly say I have found true happiness in yoga. 

When I started hot yoga, I wasn't the happiest person.  I'd broken up with a long term boyfriend, wasn't crazy about my job, and was in a totally different place than I thought I would be in life, both professionally and personally.  Therefore at first even though I knew it was doing me good, I was slightly annoyed with the whole experience of hot yoga, mainly because I wasn't happy with myself.  It bugged me that you weren't supposed to talk during class or leave the hot room. I'd get aggravated with myself when I couldn't fully do all of the poses and would have to sit down when I became overheated.   I even got annoyed at other people breathing loudly around me. 

But after going for a while and loving the physical benefits, some of the spiritual aspects started to click with me.  I realized that you don't talk to allow you to focus on your inner self and thoughts. The most challenging and most beneficial part for me is quieting my mind and thoughts in class.  I can really sabotage my practice sometimes when I can't still my mind.  Yoga is equally demanding physically and mentally, and unless you can conquer the mental part, the heat and physicality of hot yoga can really take you down.  As soon as I am able to let go and focus, the postures come with ease. 

I've also learned the process of deep breathing in yoga and how necessary it is for relaxing and replenishing my body. Gradually, I learned that yoga isn't about perfecting all of the poses. It's about the journey to get to that point, which may or may not happen for years.  I never leave a hot yoga class feeling unfulfilled.  Every time I walk out I know that I've just done something good for my mind and have worked my ass off for 90 minutes.  That feels incredible - maybe even euphoric

I have been able to take all of the wonderful lessons I've realized in yoga and apply them to my life.  I've tried to stop comparing myself to others, have been able to leave a situation that wasn't positive for me, and have taken control of my life and happiness through setting new goals and seeing life as a journey.  Yoga truly has given me peace and happiness. 

This is Lindsey Staley's yoga story.

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