Hot Yoga of Bowling Green

HOT bodies...On way to balance, new yoga institute turning up the heat
February 20th, 2007

Daily News (Bowling Green, KY)
Hot bodies
On way to balance, new yoga institute turning up the heat

Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, aharvey@bgdailynews.com
Published: January 29, 2007

A mysterious sound came from behind the closed doors of Hot Yoga’s workout room on Thursday evening.

The sound of several people exhaling and inhaling – short breaths, in perfect rhythm – mimicked the sound of a freight train pushing forward to go faster. Instead of revving up their internal engines, however, the students were cooling their bodies after a 90-minute workout in a room heated to more than 100 degrees.

Afterwards, a few sweat-drenched students talked about their love of the latest – and possibly hottest – workout.

“It’s the hardest workout you’ll ever do. I have been a runner for 25 years, and I got into yoga for the stretching,” Jennifer Wentworth of Bowling Green said. “I tried it, and I love it. I’m hooked. You feel like you’re working every muscle in your body. You feel totally relaxed.”

Brandy Pippen and her friend, Emi Poppens, agreed that Hot Yoga works the whole body.
“I’ve taken yoga before, but not like this,” Pippen said. “Every class gets more challenging.”
Poppens said the class is challenging, yet relaxing. “I never had flexibility,” she said. “Now, I have flexibility and I feel calmer.”

Jordan Wade of Bowling Green also likes the relaxing aspects of Hot Yoga, particularly the aromatherapy of eucalyptus and spearmint that studio co-owner, director and certified Hatha yoga instructor Tony Bishop sometimes applies to each of the students to help relax them in the final pose of the class: “corpse pose,” in which students lie on their backs with palms facing upward and focus on their breathing. “I love it. It has really helped my stress with graduate school,” she said. “I’ve done yoga in the past and hated it. This is relaxing, but I can feel my muscles working.”

Open for nearly three weeks, Hot Yoga – located at 730 Fairview Ave., Suite C-2 – offers what is technically known as Hatha yoga, “Hatha” taken from words meaning “sun” and “moon.”
“It’s a mind, body and spirit balance. You’re not worshipping the sun or the moon. Yoga isn’t a religion,” Bishop said. “It’s like yin and yang. You have balance in your whole life. There are a lot of balancing postures.”

The 90-minute classes take place in a 1,500-square-foot room heated to 102 degrees. There are about 200 students registered in classes throughout the week, with the largest class so far being 30. You would think that so many sweat-soaked people in an enclosed room would cause a significant stink, but it doesn’t.

“We have an air cleaning system,” Bishop said. “It’s a very clean atmosphere, no bacteria.”
The room is heated for several reasons, Bishop said. The heat enhances blood circulation and expands the capillaries which weave around muscles. More blood delivered to the body increases the absorption of nutrients and elimination of toxins. Warmed muscles and yoga movement stimulate the lymphatic system and increase lymphatic drainage.

When blood passes through warm muscles, oxygen in the blood releases easier from the hemoglobin, and an increase in oxygen purifies the body. The room’s warmth causes the muscles to become more elastic, allowing a greater range of motion and making them less susceptible to injury.

“It’s not like being in a sauna, where there’s dry heat,” he said. “It’s moist heat. It’s good for the skin. It doesn’t dry out.” Hot Yoga works every part of the body, Bishop said.
“Even the internal organs are affected. The core of the body is heating up by the end of class, and you’re squeezing and moving every part of the body, inside and out,” he said. “You can take every kind of exercise, and this is sort of it. You burn 500 to 800 calories per class.”

Bishop knows about various types of exercise. He has been doing things such as pilates, kung fu and other types of yoga for about 15 years.

He and his wife, Anice, attended their first hot yoga class in Nashville about two years ago
“We felt there was a need to have hot yoga here,” he said.

It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision, though. Anice Bishop worked in banking, and Tony Bishop worked in newspaper advertising. The Christian couple sought God for answers.

“We prayed about this a long time before we did this,” said Anice Bishop, studio co-owner and general manager.

“We felt like we were led to do it, and here we are,” her husband added.

“Here” required Bishop to take 200 hours of intensive training – 100 yoga classes in four weeks – at Sunstone Yoga Schools in Dallas. He is now recognized by the Yoga Alliance with a Registered Yoga Teacher designation and has received extensive education in physiology in yoga applications, posture adjustments and customization of flow for group and individual instruction.

“I’m the only one that I know of who is certified in this area to do it,” he said. “You have to go to a school that specializes in Hatha yoga because you don’t want anyone to get hurt. If you’re training with anyone, make sure they are a certified registered yoga teacher.”

Lindsay Parson, employee wellness coordinator for Commonwealth Health Corp., stressed the need to consult a doctor before starting a workout. She has participated in hot yoga and sees the benefits.

“A lot of people try yoga and pilates and come out saying something is missing. Hot yoga is a different experience,” she said. “There’s a level of intensity. It’s challenging. It allows you to work the muscles and do exercise you normally wouldn’t do. It takes time for the body to acclimate to it.”

Bishop walked through a recent morning class and gently moved students’ feet, knees and shoulders to help them into correct postures so that they wouldn’t hurt themselves – and, at the same time, helped them find comfort at their own particular workout levels.

“You should appreciate your body the way it is today,” he said. “Every body is different.”

Mary Eubank of Glasgow stretches during a 90-minute session Friday at Hot Yoga. Hot Yoga students perform their exercises in a room that reaches temperatures more than 100 degrees, causing enhanced circulations and easier stretching.

Kathy Wise-Leonard stretches during a Hot Yoga session.

Instructor Tony Bishop leads a Hot Yoga session Friday.

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