Of course we are all busy. Ask anyone you meet, and they will tell you this. “I am SO busy, I barely have time to think!” Even my 90 year old grandma says it. So how on earth can we justify spending our precious time on something so “non-productive” as practicing yoga?
Here’s how, and here are four other common fallacies that we often hear from those who hesitate to take up a yoga practice:
1. Yoga doesn’t TAKE time, it GIVES time. “But how” you ask “those darn classes are 90 minutes long, and then I have to shower and travel home, that’s masses of time out of my day?” Well they give us time, because they make us more effective at everything else we do. When our mind is calm and balanced, we can function optimally with all our other tasks, both at work and in our home life. When our bodies are healthy, like a fine-tuned machine they won’t break down and cause delays. We don’t need to take sick days off work. We will sleep well at night and wake up refreshed, ready to take on the challenges of the day. A real waste of time is when we are not well enough to do our daily tasks, because we haven’t been taking care of ourselves.
2. “I’m not flexible enough to do yoga, I can’t even touch my toes.” Yeah, that old chestnut… it’s pretty funny really, a bit like saying “I’m too stinky to take a shower”. Though what people really mean is probably more along the lines of “I think I will feel really out of place around lots of young, skinny, flexible, white women….” And of course this COULD be true, but not at The Hot Room Leeds. Our community is so diverse, no one ever really feels out of place. We’ve had students of 80 plus years old with double hip replacements, who couldn’t do too many of the postures but still had a good time stretching and getting sweaty with the group. It’s not unusual to hear more than five languages spoken in the changing rooms, and our studio has long been popular with the LGBT community. So no one ever needs to feel like “the odd one out” and your general level of fitness or flexibility won’t ever be judged or sneered at.
3. “Yoga is gentle stretching, I’m a professional athlete and I need something more challenging” This is a good one! No one every really says this one out loud, but this attitude does exist. And we are never mean, even when this person looks around and spots the 70 year old granny next to them at the start of class, and all but roll their eyes. This one usually takes care of itself, around 15-20 minutes into the Original Hot Yoga class, when you can see the thought “Holy cr*p this is hot!” form behind their eyes. Hot yoga is challenging, but it’s a challenge that can be taken on – and overcome – by anyone who has the right mental attitude. It is really challenging, even to those who are supremely fit and skilful in other sports. But with a calm mind and calm breath, and by not letting ego get in the way (so take a break when you need to) anyone can make it through class in one piece.
4. “Yoga is mostly for women” This one is not so common anymore. More and more men are realizing the benefits of adding yoga to their fitness routine, especially if they regularly practice high-impact sports like running, cycling, rugby and football. And the pugilistic sportsmen (and women) have a long standing love of hot yoga. So much so that for a while, Tuesday nights at the studio became known as “fighter night” because the back row was always packed full of muscle bound boxers . In many of our classes there’s a 50/50 men to women rate, so as they say, the proof is in the pudding.
5. “Hot yoga is too expensive” Ah yes of course, being in Yorkshire, the old “Ouw much!?” is bound to come up… And yes, it IS a little pricier than non-heated yoga (for obvious reasons). But when you’ve been practicing regularly for a couple of weeks, you’ll start to understand why. That feeling of lightness, happiness and radiant well-being when you step out of class. You’ll start to think “Holy, moly, if someone could bottle this feeling and sell it? Just wow!” And it’s not just right after class, it’s throughout the next day, and the next. That feeling of being able to take on any challenge, and overcome it. And actually, EVERYONE can afford to practice with us. For those who have more time than money, we offer our Karma Programme, whereby those of smaller means can help out at the studio, in exchange for free yoga. Because we believe that everyone deserves to feel amazing inside and out, no matter what budget they are on.
Still not convinced? We always say that yoga is 1% theory and 99% practice, so the best thing is to come an try and see for yourself. If you are new to the studio, we offer 50% off your first month, so that’s £35 for one month of unlimited hot yoga and pilates. Less than the price of a coffee a day – and much healthier!