Trying the Heat: Staff members try Hot Yoga

Christian Gooley and I have always heard about Power Life Yoga Barre Fitness in Corinth Square. We never knew what it was like or even really what it was, but we have heard lots of girls talk about it – so we decided to try it. Not only did we decide to try Power Life, we went one step further and decided to try Hot Yoga: the hardest class they offer according to senior Lily Simmons. We thought an hour-long class would be a breeze compared to weights class. We were wrong. It was grueling.

We walked into the studio and immediately felt the 99-degree burning heat. The only thing I could hear was the soft, calming music and the deep breathing of the 20 other people in the class.

It felt awkward sitting there, not moving a muscle like the other people in the class. With every word we whispered to each other, it felt like everyone in the class was glaring at us. I guess talking and yoga don’t go hand-in-hand.

The instructor began the class slowly and offered everyone assistance with the poses. Whether we wanted it or not, we definitely needed it. After all, we’d never done yoga before. We had no clue what a chavastna is.

She told us we had 34 poses to complete. 34 isn’t too bad I thought to myself. I couldn’t imagine the room getting hotter. I felt my shirt drenched with sweat, sticking to my body, and we were only 5 minutes in.

Utkatasana. Prasarita Dandasana. Tadasana. Like what does that even mean? To be honest I don’t care. They all hurt. None of them felt good. With each pose I only thought about how the minutes were passing and how I was closer to escaping this hot prison. It hurt so bad that I was just waiting for it to be over. I looked around the room and watched people doing headstands with their feet extended in the air, needless to say I didn’t want to attempt that.

My yoga mat was greasy and there were still 18 poses to complete. I could see the puddle of sweat pooling on my mat. It was so sweaty that every pose was even more difficult than it already was. With every movement my mat squeaked. I felt like I was disturbing everybody–not only was I making noise, but I also just felt out of place. I didn’t belong in yoga.

When we reached the Halasana, I finally relaxed a little more. We laid on our stomachs and backs and slightly raised our heads or our feet. I was exhausted. Laying down on the mat as the class was winding down was very relaxing. I think it was the only thing I enjoyed.

Finally, the class was over. We smelled so bad that I couldn’t get the yoga mat smell out of my hands for another couple hours. 

At least for me, it was an interesting experience. Will I attempt hot yoga again? Probably not. Will I be willing to take another class at Power Life? Hell yes. 

I hate the routine of yoga, but I believe there can be benefits to a workout class. For me at least, it needs to be a less quiet environment. If anybody wants to take a HIIT training class with me, I’m in.