PHOTOS: (TOP) VEER, (BOTTOM) MARTY BALDWIN
h e a l t h
b e t t e r
B H G asso cia te a rt d ire cto r A m y D a v is
D e e rin g b rave s th e heat to try ho t yo g a.
I had studied
yoga off and
on for a few
years before
I heard about
the version
called hot
yoga. And,
truthfully, I was looking for a change. I
loved the peace and relaxation that yoga
brought, but I never walked out of a class
feeling like I had worked o ut And since I
have limited time to spend exercising, its
important to me that every workout
counts. When I mentioned that to my
massage therapist, she suggested I try hot
yoga as a way to ramp up both my peace
and pulse levels.
When I walked into the studio for my
first class, I was struck by how scorching
hot the room was. I know what you’re
thinking—
duh
— but this was sauna-hot. I
found out later that the temperature is
kept around 100 degrees and that by the
end of the class, with all the extra body
heat in there, it can get up to 104.
Forty-five minutes later (important
point: Start out with no longer than 30- or
45-minute classes), I walked out a different
woman. My gym clothes were as soaked
as if I had been caught in a rainstorm, I
worked muscles I didn’t know I had even
though we did many familiar poses, and I
felt a peacefulness that almost seemed
at odds with the intensity of the class I
had just finished.
The heat definitely adds something. Its
presence forces you to focus on the air
entering your lungs. It sharpens your
mental state. It emphasizes the
movements you’re putting your body
through. It deepens the experience in a
way not otherwise possible. I was sold. I
signed up for a six-class series.
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YU M M Y EA R TH
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c l i f k i d s z - b a r s
Meant
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$5
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A N N IE ’S O R G A N IC
Bunny-shaped packs of
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$5
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6
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(14 0
calories peri-ounce
serving),
annies.com
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS OCTOBER
200
$
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Taste our
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Just spread some of
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