Category Archives: Baptiste Yoga

Whatever Serves You Right

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I was catching up with my friend Grant, who’s also been coming to my classes at Village Green Yoga in Issaquah for the past year or so. He sheepishly looked at me and said, “I have to confess something. There was a Groupon for one month of hot yoga near my house. It was super cheap, so I bought it.” He looked at my face for a reaction and followed up quickly, “But I’m not gonna continue. It’s like an accident waiting to happen in there.”

I laughed, “My god, I thought you hurt a small cuddly animal or something.” I had been pretty vocal about hot yoga, so I think I know why Grant felt like he had to “confess” to me.

But, and this is a big but (now that I’ve made a big butt of myself for hot yoga fans out there), I also believe that there’s a time and place for everything. I told Grant, “Hey, as long as you’re getting something good out of it, then the yoga has done its job.”

I remember a homework from my 200-hr teacher training, where we were asked to think about what we want or expect from yoga, and then reflect on whether our current practice supported that. We don’t all want the same things in life, so it certainly follows that we don’t all want the same from the practice of our own choosing.

Often times, we have no idea why people do what they do. Let’s say you’ve been wanting to work out before work for as long as you can remember, but have never had the discipline, will power, or sleeping habits to do so. If there’s a yoga studio nearby offering classes at 5am. Well, regardless of your style preference, it may be that you sign up to have someone hold you accountable so you can create that habit.

Yoga classes serve different purposes for different people. Maybe someone is in hot yoga because it is just so friggin’ cold and miserable in Seattle right now. Or, maybe someone just really needs some structure and something predictable in their life, and the format gives them that. And of course there’s also the obvious reason that they just really love the style, the school, the teacher, the studio, the community, etc.

I am reminded of a post I wrote almost two years ago titled “Do What Feeds You“, where Stacy Lawson, the owner of Red Square Yoga, told me “I gotta do what feeds me, not what eats me up.” As long as we understand the pros and cons of whatever we’re doing, and we choose our actions deliberately, that is all we can do.

Seattle Yoga News – Breathe Hot Yoga Slated to Open in South Lake Union

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A couple weeks ago, I joked that “it’s gettin’ hot in hurr” when I wrote about Be Luminous, a new yoga studio opening in the Whole Foods complex in Denny Triangle in downtown Seattle. Little did I know how heated it really was going to be.

This afternoon I was talking to my friend Eric over at The Puget News and got the scoop that yet another yoga studio will be opening a mere block away from Be Luminous, called Breathe Hot Yoga. One would assume that the studios will not step on each other’s toes *too* much, since one’s Baptiste, and the other is Bikram. However, Urban Yoga Spa down the street and all their clinical white walls will be losing the monopoly on the downtown Seattle yoga scene. (Okay, those of you rolling your eyes, stop before you lose them in the back of your head :) )

It was interesting for me to find out that one of the brainchildren behind Breathe Hot Yoga turns out to be Ross Yearsley, who, before he was a software engineer, danced as a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet. He also graduated one year before me from the same program at the UW Information School. And at one point a couple years back, we both had our hands in then Seattle startup Blue Dot, which is now Faves.

Anyhow, the plot thickens as I learned that Breathe Hot Yoga plans to use only half the space for hot yoga, and the other half for functional training and other movement classes. Perhaps something like, yoga for newbies, or yoga techniques? Stay tuned, downtown Seattle. In the meantime, whether you’re getting your Chaturanga pants or English bulldog determination ready, remember Bikram Choudhury’s words of wisdom: ”Don’t throw up on the carpet, it’s new.”

Yoga studios in downtown Seattle

Yoga studios in downtown Seattle

Seattle Yoga News – New Studio in South Lake Union

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Seattle, are ya ready for more yoga? Well, are ya? (Hello there, inner Clint Eastwood).

This town may lack many things: better public transit, drivers who can merge to and from the freeway, and snow plows. What we do not lack, however, are coffee shops, “pleasure boats“, and–as I stated in my Yoga for Geeks post–yoga studios.

A new studio named Be Luminous, co-owned by Michel Eubank Spruance and Scott Francis, is slated to open at the end of 2009 in the Whole Foods complex on Westlake Ave in South Lake Union. (I’m guessing “SLUY – South Lake Union Yoga” and “SLUW – South Lake Union Wellness” were rejected in early rounds of brainstorming, eliminating any chances of someone saying “I’m taking the SLUT to the SLUW”.)

From the press release [pdf] from Vulcan Inc. (the company that owns the space):

Co-owned by Michel Eubank Spruance and Scott Francis, Be Luminous Yoga will offer Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga classes, which is a dynamic method of yoga that combines education, intuition and knowledge. This style is becoming one of the fastest growing forms of yoga in the world. The studio will also offer introductory yoga classes, classes for children and seniors, restorative yoga classes, workshops and more. This is the first yoga studio opened by Michel Eubank Spruance and Scott Francis but both have been teaching yoga for more than five years.

Be Luminous Yoga will begin its early morning classes at 6:15 a.m. with the last classes ending at 9:00 p.m. A minimum of five classes will be offered each day including noon classes for a lunchtime workout. Be Luminous Yoga members can join as a member with a monthly unlimited pass, a three month unlimited pass or an annual unlimited pass. Drop-in rates will also be available for individual classes.

“We plan to offer fun events and workshops including yoga events with live music, hip hop with yoga classes, a yoga run group and a yoga retreat in Costa Rica next year,” said Scott Francis, co-owner of Be Luminous Yoga. “Supporting the local community is also a main area of focus, and we hope to sponsor a local nonprofit organization every month.”

The studio will include a full tea area for guests to relax and mingle, men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers, as well as a small shopping boutique area with gifts, jewelry, yoga apparel, yoga props and mats, meditation props, and more. Store hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

It sure is gettin' hot in hurr (oh yes, pun fully intended, since there are LOTS of Baptiste yoga in Seattle, and it's done in a hot room)

It sure is gettin' hot in hurr (oh yes, pun fully intended, since there are lots of Baptiste yoga in Seattle, and it's done in a hot room)

Seattle Yoga News – Theft at Seattle Hot Yoga Studios

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Seattle is getting colder, gloomier by the hour, and the rain has come back to resume its throne. In addition to pumpkin-spiced lattes by the fire and hibernating, a warm or even hot yoga studio sounds incredibly enticing to a lot of us, like a cat being drawn to a pile of warm laundry.

It’s perhaps recognizing this trend that a couple thieves are making their rounds to Seattle hot yoga studios, where people trustingly leave their personal belongings out in the open. I’ve been told that the guy (and it’s been males so far) would complain of dizziness and not feeling well, totally common in hot yoga, and leave the room.

Once outside, while the unsuspecting students are working on their Japanese ham sandwich or English bulldog determination, the thief is free to roam through unattended purses and wallets in the lobby or changing rooms.

The silver lining in this is a lot of studio owners are calling and alerting each other, and descriptions of the thieves are being shared, so I believe studios are taking measures to prevent any further incidents. Forewarned is forearmed, and consider yourself forewarned if your belongings are out of sight at your yoga studio, hot or not.

We are all one does not mean my dinner, or bank account, is yours for the taking

We are all one does not mean my dinner, or bank account, is yours for the taking

Clearing Up the Ambiguity of Hot Yoga

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When asked if I teach Hot Yoga, I often answer with a question, is it Hot aka Bikram yoga, or is it Hatha yoga done in a heated room?

Hot as in Bikram

Bikram yoga is composed of 26 poses done in 105 degree heat. Some studios and teachers call it Hot Yoga mainly to avoid litigation and lawsuits from Bikram Choudhury, the creator of this specific yoga sequence. I described the details of this issue in my post Bikram Yoga – A Hot and Heavy Subject.

In some cases, people say Hot Yoga when referring to Bikram yoga because they enjoy the Bikram practice, but prefer to distance themselves from Bikram Choudhury and his controversial lifestyle and viewpoints. He’s drawn heat (har. har) by saying things such as “When in Rome, I must do as the Romans do. When in America, copyright and trademark”, “The whole Bikram class is one big brainwashing session”, and “Why are your legs spread? Women should not spread their legs any time, anywhere! Only in emergencies.” For more Bikram gems, check out YogaDawg’s Bikram quotable collection.

Hot as in Hatha

There is another type of yoga also called Hot Yoga, which is Hatha, specifically Vinyasa or Power Yoga, done in 80-95 degree Fahrenheit. This kind of Hot Yoga may involve a specific sequence, such as Baptiste Yoga, or a creative flowing sequence depending on the teacher (also sometimes called Flow Yoga). Some Ashtanga Vinyasa classes may also be done in a heated room.

There you have it, I hope this clears up the liberal use of “hot yoga” a bit. And to answer the question, no, I don’t teach any flavor of Hot Yoga. If the room is warm, that’s fine, but I’m not crazy about doing yoga in a scorching heat.