I love hot yoga

I just do. I can’t help it. Now there’s a style of Yoga for everyone. I’ve recently tried Restorative Yoga. All of seven minutes, lying on the floor completely supported and with an eye mask. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. I often feel like this right before I go to sleep to. I should probably look into that. Back to hot yoga.

Bikram Choudhary began teaching his infamous style of Yoga in the 1970s. Side note I feel old because it’s weird to write “1970s”. I initially wanted to write 70s but thought I needed to be more specific. Bikram Yoga is 26 specific postures, led twice, in 105 degrees. From what I heard of him, the man, he didn’t actually practice Yoga. Ahimsa, bramacharyia. Just watch the Netflix documentary.

My only experience with this style, mostly called 26 x 2 now, was in Longmont, CO. It was the last time I would see my paternal grandmother. The woman who I remember spending the majority of my thanksgivings and summers with in Kentucky, when I was younger. That’s where my dad is from. She moved to Colorado when my grandfather passed to be close to my uncle.

A great feature of the Mindbody Online network is you can find a yoga studio when you travel. Log into your Mindbody Connect app, as it was called then and put in the zip code. I searched Hot Yoga. I believe it was the only studio to populate within my time frame so I booked my class. 6am on a Wednesday morning, if I remember correctly.

When you travel, you should always try to visit local studios AND buy their swag. Support a small business. At this time, I knew nothing about Bikram Yoga. My only true experience was a client who continued to email Sol at the time looking for “26 x 2”. I had no idea what she meant and always directed her to our hot classes. It’s what I perceived she was looking for. It wasn’t and she was like an addict looking for a fix. Years later I understood.

When I arrived, I was greeted by the most authentic teacher. She said “do you know how to turn this thing on? - referring to the studio computer. It was a Mac and I was not helpful. Class began. A set sequence of 26 postures. The teacher spoke from a script. There was no downdog and triangle was called side angle.

I felt like a fish out of water in that practice and to this day I would say it’s not for me. However I very much appreciated how I felt the rest of the day. Cleansed and invigorated.

By this time I was teaching 3 - 4 classes per week. I always subbed if the opportunity arised. I was still really struggling with fitting in behind the scenes. There was a moment in 2018 where I felt so broken. I know that sounds dramatic but my personality is go go go. Ignore all do the signs and continue to give. It must have been a Thursday because I seem to have always had Thursdays off. I wanted to escape. So I decided to, and very out of character, sign up for a class at Down Dog Yoga in Bethesda. That’s Patty Ivey’s studio. I’m not sure what the drop in rate was at the time but I know I was pinching pennies. I loaded up the maps and found my way to Bethesda. I was greeted by Marcus Lee. I’ve met him before when he came to Sol as an assistant of Patty Ivey and then led a master class of his own. Marcus has the kindest eyes. And soul. When I checked in for his class that day, he said he remembered me. Was it true? I don’t know. He could have seen my email address. I don’t think I made that kind of impression however that moment meant the world to me. He saw me at a time I was fighting for that very thing. To be seen.

I left his class feeling I wasn’t swept off of my feet. I’ve thought long and hard about that. Fact of the matter Journey into Power, which he executed perfectly, isn’t meant to get you high. It’s meant to become a sustainable practice.

That moment. That class. They were both pennical moments in my yoga journey to get me here. And.

Marcus eventually left Down Dog Yoga to open his own studio. From what I understand there was some friction between him and Patty. That makes me sad. We should all be able to grow…

Many years later while finding my footing at Yogamour I took on the Sunday morning Hot Yoga class. I think this was in 2023. I had an opportunity to teach a 75 minutes hot flow but I still struggled with imposter syndrome. There was one Sunday morning that I had six students in class. I made a point to say each of their names in the closing. At this time I only remember two. Carl because he is still a regular on Sunday mornings. Not because of me but because of his schedule. And Andrea. Andrea came up to me shortly after to say something to the effect “I found you”. Turns out she was a regular member of DDY. She moved to Brunswick and haven’t found a yoga home. When you practice Baptiste Yoga, that’s what you practice. It’s not vinyasa. It’s not gentle or yin or restorative. When she took my class, it was what was missing for her. I’m assuming. She even got her husband to come one time but I was nervous and went way too fast and too much. It was a one and done. She was regular for a few years. She was ready to grow and step into teacher training. She looked into Yogamour’s program but thought it wasn’t the right fit. I agreed. Andrea helped me grow as a teacher. Her life shifted. She ended up taking a yoga teacher training at Pure Fire Yoga.

Did I mention Pure Fire is Marcus Lee’s studio. I’m only aware of the outlier story but what I feel is he worked really hard for that studio.

Andrea faded out as a student. It happens but that’s one that hurts. She means a lot to me. I agree that Pure Fire is where she belongs.

Post Covid, it’s hard to find a studio like Down Dog Yoga. Kimster, as Brody like to call her, has been my Yoga BFF for awhile. She’s my student, which is weird to say because she’s my friend. We met through Yoga. Somehow Kim agreed to take a handstand workshop at Pure Fire Yoga a couple years ago. It felt like it had been forever since I’d been to Bethesda it was so unfamiliar. Kim worked downtown so I trusted her sense and she drove. It was cold and we parked at a garage pretty far away. I remember seeing Marcus on the street and pointing him out to her. Marcus is a good looking man. It’s hard NOT to notice him.

There were a few times I made the trip down to PureFire trying to rekindle that magic throughout the years. Honestly, I really hate the floors. I know he’s invested a lot of money into them and it’s probably a safety thing but the material is too soft. It really messes with my balance. Perhaps it suppose to mimic practicing on the earth. I also felt Marcus wasn’t the same guy that made me felt seen. It’s nothing to say about him. It’s not his job to make me feel seen however those times I was driving to Bethesda, for awhile I felt like another number. Whatever I was there for the heat and the practice. I don’t know of anywhere else I could find that. Certainly not in Frederick.

The last few trips to PureFire have been different. First, they've raised their drop in rate. I tried to do a 5 class pass once but it expired before I got a chance to use all of the classes. The drop in rate is now $39. Add that to the travel, time, gas and parking, it's not just a class, it's an event! Marcus has gone out of his way to thank me for coming to class. He know where I'm driving from . That's the Marcus I remember from that first trip to DDY. Last Friday when I took his class I genuinely felt like he enjoyed teaching. That makes all of difference in the world for a class. If the teacher doesn't want to be there, it will show. During the hip opening sequence he put on "He Ma Durga" - Donna De Lory and all I could think about was the smell of Nag Champa incense and Be Present Yoga pants. Wow did that bring back memories! After class and I as I was headed out, he caught me to thank me for making the trip down. I felt brave enough to share my story about him from 2018. To think him. I also shared that I felt he enjoyed teaching. He received my share with an open heart.

I'm so grateful for the ability to practice Yoga. My body has changed over the years but whatever shape it's in, I know that there a place on my Yoga mat for me.

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