Facing the Heat: Nomadic Hot Yogi in LA

Entering the Yoga World can be quite an intimidating experience mainly because of its seemingly cult like following, but also because there are so many different styles and types of yoga to choose from. Some of you mask ask what the appeal of yoga is.... Really, whats the point? right?! Controlled breathing? Maintaining stillness? Stretching? If you’re not dripping with sweat and out of breath, then it doesn’t count as a workout.

I always try to walk into any new gym, yoga studio, bootcamp class ect. exuding an attitude like I am about to own whatever workout is thrown my way and with a certain level of confidence… but back in 2002 I decided to try hot yoga for the first time at the Funky Door Bikram studio in Berkeley CA. I was no stranger to the traditional yoga practice and I was in probably the best shape of my life… I thought to myself How hard could this hot yoga really be?

As I checked in at the front desk the ~~gate keeper~~ receptionist provided me a few verbal disclaimers to adhere to as I embarked on my hot yogic path:

1. Since this is your first class your ultimate goal is for you to stay in the room for the full 90 mins… don’t worry about doing every single just do everything you can but DO NOT leave the room

2. Be sure NOT to drink water at undesignated times. That’s all, now enjoy yourself!

Ok well, again… how hard can it be to follow those 2 simple directives for a 90 min hot yoga class?

But as I enter the room and head over to lay out my mat, I'm already covered in sweat…and I begin to panic. I've been here for less than five minutes. I sense this might not end well. Not to mention the almost putrid inescapable smell hanging over my head, that calls to mind something… im not exactly sure what… combined with a HOT wet sponge, yuck! I remember my body feeling so confused as to where it was and what in the heck was it going through. 10 minutes into the class and another newbie has already been reprimanded twice for drinking water during an undesignated time ... better him than me I thought to myself. And for the next 90 minutes I reveled in the 105 degree room… balancing on my right foot and holding my left foot with my left hand. I lean forward and point my right arm straight ahead, raising and stretching out my left leg behind me and above my head. Or that’s the idea anyway. I am wobbly and dizzy and I am supposed to be doing Standing Bow Pose…

{this is what standing bow pose is supposed to look like... cant say im a 100% mine is even close}

I am literally melting in my own sweat which had thrown a foggy haze over my vision. And then the 90 mins is up and we reach savasana, or corpse pose. I feel very “the part”like an extremely sweaty corpse myself. But, oh hallelujah, I've made it through my first Bikram yoga class in all its hot, 26-posture glory. And while I am totally suffering from heat-induced delirium, the athlete in me wants to come back for more...

Flash forward to 2012- I am again on a hot yoga kick and as expensive as it is, I plan to take this opportunity in dodging the costly dues that come along with the hot yoga experience and become a nomadic hot yogi in LA. What this means is that I plan to hop from studio to studio scooping up the monthly packages which each studio has to offer (typically $40-$50 introductory month) blogging about each along the way in the effort to find one I love and then stick! The 105 degree heat is said to help with flexibility and the cleansing process as the body flushes toxins from its system, as well as aid in being a stress reliever. I am currently an intro member of the Bikram Yoga Studio of Marina del Rey and while this is a bit of a trek for me, I am totally in love with this studio from the staff and their awesome steam room, right down the brand new carpet recently installed in the studio. I give this hot yoga studio 5 STARS! Below is a list of the additional studios I will be trying out and blogging about over the next several months. I hope you will follow my journey and eventually try one out yourself! Make sure to take your first class fully hydrated, lightly clothed and ready for the sweat-box… Namaste!

Hot8Yoga

1422 Second Street,
Santa Monica CA, 90401

Core Power Yoga

11819 Wilshire Blvd #214

Los Angeles, CA 90049

The Hot Yoga Center

1820 S Pacific Coast Hwy

Redondo Beach, CA 90207

Bikram Yoga Downtown LA

700 West 1st Street

Los Angeles,CA 90012

Earths Power Yoga