This year I set myself a goal to try Yoga, especially Hot Yoga,
for the first time. Little did I know that it would have such a profound effect
on everything in my life!
Jane is an avid Pilates student, and I knew that Yoga might
help a host of things including posture, balance and core strength. I had a
knee operation a few years ago and so there was some work to do to readdress
the strength in this part of my body.
When the Amazon Local offer for Barefoot Birmingham dropped
into our inboxes in the Summer, we knew this was our chance to finally try Hot
Yoga.
Barefoot Birmingham is a beautiful, unique and calm Yoga &
Wellbeing studio in the heart of Harborne, only a couple of miles from
Birmingham City Centre. The team pride themselves on offering a ‘big,
beautiful, warm, sweet-smelling studio’ to guests and it really stands out as a
clean and spacious place to visit, especially when you compare it to a brightly
lit, smelly environment that some gyms and hot yoga studios (that Jane has tried) can be sometimes.
Our first Hot Yoga session was incredibly hot, due to an
influx of new guests waving the Amazon Local offer! However in the weeks that
followed, we experienced perfect class sizes, pose-by-pose education and
inspiration from the instructors, our favourite being Nicola Rowan-Brooks, and with each session I could feel small improvements
in my strength and balance.
That was a great thing, feeling strong, especially when
normally you can hear me saying ‘my upper body strength is awful’ or ‘I’ve pulled
my back again, I need to have better core strength’ Both Hot Yoga and Dynamic Yoga
provided me with a solution to address these issues, while feeling like I was
enjoying myself!
I know it sounds too good to be true, but here’s the most
unexpected thing; it improved so much more than that. The time I spent in class
actually had a positive effect on my mood, my stress levels, my focus and my
clarity of thoughts. This year has been a whirlwind roller-coaster for us both
and we are coming up to a very busy finish to it, so my mind is currently like
this 24/7:
The meditation element in Hot Yoga aimed at stilling the
mind, was so valuable in calming my thoughts and crushing the swirl of worries,
things to do, things to remember, things I’ve promised, places I need to go,
people I need to visit, and that’s just the tip of the ice berg – I’m sure I’m
not alone! (Well, I know Jane is definitely the same!) When you start out in
your own business, it completely takes over your life, in a great way, but your
life and work becomes inseparable.
The overall experience of being a Barefooter was seamless,
you can book online, arrive 15 minutes before the class, and the studio even
provides showers, face wipes, tea, water and free yoga mats if you’re not ready
to buy one yet. One of my favourite touches has to be the sign on the wall as you leave the studio "Everything is Okay". They have a wealth of classes I’m yet to try including WeekendWind-Down Yoga by candlelight on a Friday evening.
You can find out everything
you need to know, become a member and view the class timetable here: www.barefootbirmingham.com
We hope you are inspired to give it a try, at
least once!
Katie x
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