Welcome to Erin's Hot Yoga Journey. I’ve recently started attending classes at Bikram Yoga Northwest (located in Varsity). They have three locations…the other two are located in Marda Loop and Midnapore respectively. Before the month of September is through, I’ll be attending classes at all three locations. We’ll wrap things up with a Hot Yoga Party on Saturday October 2nd-your only way “in” is to “win”! You can enter online… hit up kool1015.ca or you can win by listening to my midday show, 9am-3pm weekdays.
The day of my very first Hot Bikram Yoga Class, I was a big bundle of nerves. I’d been told to get myself very hydrated throughout the day-so I drank lots of water. I was also advised NOT to eat a heavy meal prior to the class. In fact, they recommend not eating anything an hour before. About 90 minutes prior, I had a small tin of tuna. A high protein snack is the smart way to go….cottage cheese, peanut butter, etc.
The yoga part of it didn’t scare me……it was the “heat” part of it that had me all worked up. The average room temperature during a Hot Yoga class averages 40° Celsius which is 104° Fahrenheit. HOT!! I was thankful to have our KooL Promotions Director Sonya with me for my first class. She had already attended four hot yoga classes-and was addicted! While patiently waiting outside the HOT yoga room, I met two young women who were also new to the hot yoga experience. They proceeded to tell me that their friend had attended the day before and “had to run out of the room in the middle of the class to puke”. Great. What they had failed to tell me was that their friend had had a huge meal right before their class. Remember?!... that’s a big “no-no”!
For my first class, Cheryl was my instructor (she’s awesome). I placed myself at the back of the class along with the other “newbies”. I immediately was put to ease when Cheryl welcomed all of the new hot yoga participants to the class and added “your challenge for today, is to stay in this room for 90 minutes… even if you don’t do any poses and just lay here, that’s all I ask”. Works for me!
In the middle of the class I did feel like “I can’t do this”… but I put the thought out of my head and soldiered on.
I’m proud to announce that in the end, I did in fact stay in the room for the full 90 minutes AND I attempted every single pose. I will also say, that hot yoga is intense… challenging BUT amazing. For me, it’s a workout for the body AND the mind. I admittedly surprised myself with the thought of being super excited about getting back in that hot room again.
I look forward to experiencing all the hot yoga benefits I keep hearing about… better sleeps, less anxiety, weight loss!! I’m also excited by the support of my co-workers. Our KooL Goodwill Ambassador Carlos (Me!) has already attended two hot yoga classes. KooL afternoon host, Zack will be joining me for a class next week… as well as our KooL Production Director, Rob! Strength in numbers!
Thanks for joining me on my journey… and don’t forget kool1015.ca to find out how you can join me for your Bikram Hot Yoga VIP Experience!
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