From "House" Yogi Chris!

Thank You Chris for sharing! We love to here from you!

The Hot Yoga House in Goodlettsville, TN

by Chris Kruger on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 9:13pm

I have been going to The Hot Yoga House since January 2nd so I am just coming up on the end of my second month. I went into the experience with few expectations but many hopes. I had researched yoga as a practice and had a little information and a lot of desire to get back into balance and shape. I found that a lot of yoga practices focused on a group of poses that would help you come back to an internal balance. Then there is hot yoga that adds heat and humidity to help to loosen the muscles and open the internals through the breaths. Since this is fairly new to this area and sounded perfect for what I wanted this was what I signed up for in my new year’s changes.

My first class I felt pretty clumsy, way out of physical shape and definitely challenged. The first class was very slow and was geared toward the first time student. This was a great thing given how much I was thinking at the start of the first 75 minute class "What in the world have I gotten myself into." But as minutes passed, and the heat kicked in, I found myself relaxing and just trying to flow to the best of my ability with the poses I was being offered. Now I did fall out of my poses often as my body protested emphatically about being told to get into poses I had never experienced but I continued at my own pace through class and soon we were lying on the mat in our final position for the day. I walked out of there feeling like a pencil with rubber bands for arms and legs but in my head I was clear. At this point it was clear that this was something that had in 75 short minutes become a part of my life I wanted to continue.

So now we get to some of the key things that make The Hot Yoga House so much different and a place I love and highly recommend. One of the keys to growth in any exercise program is cardio. You must get the heart rate up to burn calories. This is done through both slow and quick transition movements that allow the heart rate to get to an accelerated rate. There are also deliberately slow points in the sets that allow the heart rate to come back down before it is raised again. Now for those of you who like to count calories, we are talking 600 to 1000 calories burned per workout.

Now let’s talk about a key factor that allows The Hot Yoga House to excel over many others. When trying to build muscle one of the key components that will allow for optimal muscle regeneration is called muscle confusion. Any of you who have caught the Power 90X commercial on a Saturday or Sunday morning have heard that this is one of the keys to their system also. This is where The Hot Yoga House excels. I my time there I have been to 25+/- classes and have yet to go to two classes that were identical or, for that matter, even close to one another. Every class is difference and leads you though different poses and focuses (i.e. core strength, flexibility, stretching, etc.) but at the end of the class it is all the same. A feeling of release.

Here is another key to building muscle that is only recently getting notice, balance. Balance is also a key in allowing the muscles to grow or rejuvenate whatever you goal. This is also a key component to yoga in any form. As are muscles are re-taught to support the way they were designed to, they allow us to balance better. This balance will help you with so much of your daily life or your workouts if that is more your focus. In your daily life, it will help you walk easier, go up steps easier, sit up straighter and so many other things. We often forget how much balance plays a part in our lives. If you are a "gym rat", it is balance that allows you to do you lifts correctly, to attack both side of the body evenly, run faster, play racket ball better and the list continues here too.

Now for my last benefit, though this is just my view, flexibility. Few other workout practices work on flexibility as a core part of the system. Most other leave you feeling tight and in need of a sauna of hot tub. Not here. Any yoga practice will allow for you to gain flexibility through repetitions and movements designed to stretch muscles and open joints. Now imagine you are doing these same things in a sauna. Now you have hot yoga. You muscles get warm and in doing so are able to gain flexibility much quicker. I must say that in the short time I have been doing this my flexibility has drastically improved. I can now stand in "Tree" just fine where as when I started I could barely pull my foot up over my knee.

So now that I have tossed out my spiel, let me tell you about results. I have been doing hot yoga and The Hot Yoga House now for nearly 2 months. I have lost 19 pounds, have gained core strength in both my stomach and back, I stand up straighter, I can now stand unassisted and lift my leg to put on a sock or shoe, I run faster and longer and I am happier. Now most of you know I am Mr. Happy anyhow and ever so annoying at 7:00 am but I truly am happier now that I have been in years. I could not have done any of this without my friends and instructors at "The House". Now as I get ready for the next great challenge in this journey, I am looking forward to going in, laying out my mat, having some fun with my friends and enjoying one of the places I call home, THE HOT YOGA HOUSE in Goodlettsville, TN.

How Does Your Yoga Grow?

Have you ever come up against a yoga asana that confronts you and challenges you in a way you're not sure you can take? I have.

Last summer, my world felt like it was spinning out of control, and I was wearing myself out doing everything I could to keep it together. Every time I found myself moving into Pigeon, my hips would open up pretty well, so far so good, I could begin to walk my hands out, still feeling ok, but if I tried to let go and rest, I went into a panic. I couldn't breathe. My heart started racing, and I was immediately overcome with terror. At first, I reacted in fear and would instantly come up out of it, come to a place where I could breathe again and feel in control. Pigeon was not my favorite asana, and for some reason, it sure felt like we did a lot of it last summer.

One day later in the season, I found myself in Pigeon yet again. This time, as my pulse quickened and I felt the familiar sensation of not being able to breathe, something inside me asked if I could be present for just a moment, if I could try to sit with those feelings of being out of control, if I could intentionally breathe, even if it was shallow at first, and honestly assess the situation. Doing so, I found that I actually had no trouble taking an inhalation, but it was nearly impossible for me to let go of an exhalation. Mentally drifting over all the circumstances in my life that felt on the brink of disaster, all those situations I was straining to maintain my death grip of control over, it hit me. I was terrified of letting go of anything - even my breath - because I had come to rely so heavily on this semblance of control I had conjured up to process my life. But I don't have any control, not really. Whatever is to happen will happen, and I can struggle and fret and kick against the unknown future, or I can choose to live in the present, accepting whatever comes with gratitude, and continue to breathe.

That day, I began to let go. Focusing intently on my exhalations, I determined to release the strangle hold I had on my breath, and off my mat, I felt myself beginning to release those situations and circumstances that caused me such fear and pain. Letting go of my exhalations, I could simultaneously let go of my desperate need for control, and as I released my false sense of entitlement over the way things turned out, I found it easier and easier to exhale. These days, I can not only rest in Pigeon, I have become better at taking life as it comes. Although I still have a long way to go, and there continue to be new asanas that arise to confront and challenge me, I am grateful for the mental and spiritual benefits I gained from what I thought was a purely physical asana.

So how about you? Have you confronted a greater life issue through a challenging asana? Are you experiencing something like this right now? Please share in the comments.

Traffic, Arthritis and yoga

What's up with that title? What do traffic, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and yoga have to do with one another? Well let me try to link them together in my simple little mind.

Practicing YOGA....what does that mean to you? Is it coming to your mat and working thru a series of asanas that aren't a lot of fun but you do it because you feel amazing afterwards? or does it mean something very foreign to you and scary? Guess what...the asana practice of YOGA that you do on your mat doesn't really mean a bunch....nope it doesn't matter what you physically do or not do on that mat (isn't that a relief for some of you) What IS important is what you learn as you move thru your asana, what are you listening to, what do you take hold of and let go of.........this is where the traffic comes in.........

Traffic is very real to you isn't it? I love sitting on I-65 waiting to get somewhere, maybe a yoga class and the cars aren't moving. What can I do? Get frustrated, honk my horn, try to weave around and get more angry! What if I just took a deep breath and realized that everything is perfect, it's happening exactly how's it suppose to be so maybe I can just enjoy the scenery, pray, be still, be grateful because there's nothing I can do about it. IT took me a long time to get to that place and let's be honest it's not always there, but since I've been "practicing yoga" I try to take a step back and see what I can learn from any mountain or CAR in my path.....this is where the RA comes in.......

So I've had RA for about 13 years. My fingers and my toes are mostly affected but I have to tell you that the simple PHYSICAL asana of yoga changed my life with my RA. I have been able to keep the function for the most part (I'm not gonna lie the HEAT is the biggie). I've been pretty comfortable in my practice, I've tried to concentrate on the flexibility of my fingers and toes knowing that one day I may have joint deformities that could inhibit my movement. Sometimes the joints in my toes flare so to stand and try to balance is very painful, and other days there isn't any. Over the last two months my joints have started to change, they have continued to swell and asanas that were very "simple" for me before have become very painful, even a downdog or simply standing in tadasana. NOW I could roll up my mat and say well if I can't do those basic simple things then what kind of "yoga" practice can I have or much less teach my students. BUT I can choose to listen to my body, be grateful I can still get up every morning, I can share my story, keep moving and find NEW ways to get the blood flowing to heal my mind and body..........Get it...THIS is where it all comes together!

If I choose to bring my frustrations about my RA onto my mat and push thru pain what am I building and making stronger? PAIN and FRUSTRATION

If I choose to bring that traffic tie up that made me late into my asana practice then what am I making stronger? ANGER

If I choose to make my yoga practice all about the physical asana and get discouraged because balance or standing in tadasana is a challege what am I making stronger? DISCOURAGEMENT

BUT what If I choose to breathe, to listen to my mind/body, and to follow it's direction, to remain calm when things get challenging, to be grateful and happy for what I have, what am I making stronger? GRATEFULNESS, HAPPINESS, PEACEFULNESS, STRENGTH

WOW I am thinking THOSE are the things we want to make our world and lives better and stronger and happier!


That's where it all comes together.....whatever you choose to build on the mat that's what is going to get stronger.

You can feel the physical when you do 108 chaturangas (ha ha) the mental is harder to "see" but where the true magic happens!




It's all a practice....life...yoga...patience...stillness....happiness....gratitude..... come to your mat!