Something New: Infrared Yoga

Yesterday I had the chance to try something new: infrared yoga.

I've been going to Hatha Yoga classes for about 9 months now. Held at my local rec centre. I started going last summer on Toonie Tuesdays because the class was only $2. It was stretching room only and you had to get there early if you wanted a spot. The class moved to Monday nights, pre-registration a month at a time, and costs $5 or $6 bucks a class now and well... the crowd has thinned. But I'm getting off topic. Sort of. Two things this intro should demonstrate: 1) I like yoga and 2) I'm cheap.

So a few months back when I discovered a Living Social offer for a free session at a new yoga studio in my community, I snatched it up. And forgot about it. Mostly. The voucher expired this weekend and looking at my workout calendar for the weekend, I realized yesterday that it was then or never. Checked the schedule and decided a Hatha/Core class was the best option and off I went.

Filling out the requisite forms & waivers, I observed that it smelled nice in there - some calming essential oil blend. When I was done with the paperwork, I was let in to the studio where a couple of other students were already chilling on their yoga mats. OK, chilling is the wrong word. It was warm in there. Warm and dark, with a few candles glowing. I was led through the room to the back and shown where the washrooms are and told to help myself to whatever props I wanted. Nice. I grabbed a block. Didn't use it - but nice to see a large supply of blocks, bands, bolsters, and balls to choose from. (And likely things that don't begin with B, although none come immediately to mind.)

My yoga experiences are relatively limited so I don't really have much to compare this to other than my usual Hatha class. It was equally gentle. I've had guest instructors enough to know that every instructor tends to have favorite poses. For example, my regular instructor Sandie (who is awesome) loves the downward dog. One night, a guest instructor had us doing a downward dog-plank-baby cobra over and over and over again. The instructor at yesterday's class - we'll call him Robert (because that's his name) - seemed to favour twists. Not a single downward dog. Lots and lots of twists.

So - how was it? Well... sweaty. A little claustrophobic feeling at times, from the heat, if I allowed myself to fixate on how warm it was. But all in all, I have to say hatha yoga in a heated infrared studio = incredibly relaxing. I don't think I'd make it a part of my regular fitness routine mostly because I'm cheap. But I do think this would be a good addition to one's wellness routine and what I'm thinking here is that if times are particularly stressful or you haven't had a good night's sleep in a while, then one of these classes would be a great antidote.

For those of you who are also cheap like me, and are disappointed to have missed the Living Social deal, fear not! According to the website, you can try a class for free.

That discovery prompted me to have a look at the other yoga studios in my community (there are 3 all together, which I could send me on a rant about limited businesses and lack of diversity but really, who reading this cares?). And it turns out that all of them allow you to try a class for free. I think that's great. Because 1) I like yoga and 2) I'm cheap.