Well
lovelies, I wouldn’t be a good friend to my friend Nisha if I didn’t tell you
about her new venture. Nisha and her business partner Jane have just
opened an amazing Hot Yoga and Pilates Studio in Manchester (UK). I’ve never
done hot yoga before, although I’ve done yoga (unknowingly for about 15 years or
so I did yoga when I was dancing - yoga moves are used for ballet/dance warm up) and I
started proper yoga classes about 10 years ago and I’ve been practising ever
since. So was actually quite excited when the girls finally the studio a
couple of weeks ago and invited me to my first HOT yoga class.
Nisha
is my oldest friend; we used to play together when we were children. As
you may guess from her name she is of Indian heritage (her father is Indian,
her mother English) and has practised yoga since being a child. She’s
actually my inspiration. She is THE hardest working, driven person I know
and she is a brilliant role model. She has trained all over the world and
is continually striving to learn more in order to pass the benefits on to her
clients. She first opened a Pilates studio a number of years ago in
our local town and has also been teaching yoga all over the North West
(including training some of the country’s hottest football and rugby stars –
including Everton) ever since.
So
now you have the background, let me tell you a bit about my first hot yoga
experience. I rocked up at the studio on Deansgate, not really knowing
what to expect. After being asked to take my shoes off (no shoes
are allowed past reception) I left my valuables in a little locker and
proceeded to the changes rooms … did a quick change, walked along the corridor
and into the ‘hot’ studio. Now, I know it is a ‘hot’ yoga studio, but I
don’t think I was quite prepared for quite how hot it was going to be … when I
walked in, I promptly turned round and walked back out, deciding to wait
outside until the class began (I wondered why there were so many people
standing outside when I walked past ... Duh).
Our
instructor was Suzie (and what a lovely person and great instructor!) I
had a really good chat with her after and asked tonnes of questions; she
explained all about the benefits and how to get the best out of the
classes. Well, I can honestly say that I’ve never sweated so much in my
entire life (which is a good thing!) and after about 10 minutes, I could really
feel my muscles opening up. I have to admit that it was really hard, but
good hard. The yoga moves weren’t too much and would have been easy to
follow if you haven’t done yoga before, but equally as powerful for the more
advanced … it was the hotness of the studio made a massive difference to my
practise.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish the class and had to come out after about
50 minutes because I was just too hot, but apparently that’s quite normal for
your first time – Suzie said that it can take a while for you to adjust to the
heat and it’s quite alright to step outside if you feel you have to (although
she did show me a great recovery position to try which opens up your lungs and
helps you to breath more openly). However, all things considered, I have
to say that I LOVED IT and I’ve already been back and managed the full hour.
What was most surprising was that for the next couple of days after each class,
my skin has been amazing. Apparently that’s another bonus from the
hotness of it all. All that sweating gets rid of the toxins.
Before I went I was slightly worried about being in a room
with so many sweaty people and the potential for germ transference, however,
the heating system they have at the Yoga Studio is unique to the UK … it heats
surfaces rather than the air and the carbon dioxide is sucked out and fresh air
pumped in, massively reducing the chance of any contamination … brilliant and
totally safe!
 |
| Hot and Sweaty at The Yoga Lounge, Manchester |
All
in all, it was a fantastic experience and one I can’t wait to try again.
If you haven’t tried yoga, especially hot yoga before, I strongly suggest that
you give it a go. It strengthens and elongates your muscles and makes you
much more subtle … If premier footballers think it has fantastic benefits, who
am I to argue!
In case you’re
interested, here are the studio’s details:
Until
next time lovelies … be fabulous!
Lots
of love
Jx
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