I began my yoga journey back in February of this year. I had taken a few yoga classes here or there previously but I always found them to be boring and felt they were useless. For some reason in February, I randomly decided to go a restorative class on a Sunday morning at a studio near my mom's house and everything changed. I remember thinking how amazing I felt during class as we flowed through various poses and how I really was able to put aside all of my stress during the practice. I could feel the positive effect the poses were having on my body and mind and I immediately decided to buy the 2 week unlimited pass intro offer they had.
I began practicing regularly and even attending heated power yoga classes with my boss at the time. The heated power yoga was even more addictive and I could feel myself getting stronger with each class I took (also knowing that I was burning 600+ calories in an hour was a great added benefit). I was splitting my time between western MA and southern CT so I was always trying new studios and classes (I've linked to some of my favorites at the bottom of this post). Having been a competitive dancer as a kid, I found going to yoga class similar to going to dance class as a kid. I looked forward to going to class to flow while also pushing myself to get better at the more advanced poses. Since moving to Boston, I haven't been going to yoga as much as I'd like and I also have been all over the place trying to get myself into a routine. Now that I'm finally feeling settled and I'm on a mission to do fitness that I enjoy, I went and purchased a monthly unlimited pass to CorePower.
I've taken a few CorePower classes before (they're very generous with the free weeks - I think I've gotten a total of 3!) and know that this is the type of yoga I want if I'm looking for a workout. In heated power yoga you burn a lot of calories and you can feel yourself getting stronger as you flow. I was in the best shape of my life when I was doing power yoga consistently, so I've decided to start my enjoyable fitness journey off with CorePower.
On Saturday morning I went to C2 which is a heated power yoga flow class. It's definitely an intense class but once you take their Yoga Sculpt it seems easy. I went to Yoga Sculpt last night and I honestly thought I was going to die. I was planning to go to the 7:15 class and I was hungry so I had a light early dinner around 5 so I'm not sure if that's what made the class harder or if it was just me pushing myself too hard but there were points where I thought I was going to pass out or puke. It was HOT in the room and in Sculpt you use two sets of weights (light & heavy) so it's a real intense workout.
I planned to go to CorePower again today but was feeling defeated after last night's class. However, my CorePower challenge is that while I have the monthly pass I'm going to try and go 4-5 times a week. I truly believe that CorePower is the best way to get myself back into shape and then I want to try starting up a BBG program again, So, per my personal challenge I went to Sculpt after work in the Seaport. To my surprise, they were doing a special class and had a live DJ so while class was still super intense, it was also a bit more fun than usual. Although it was also SUPER crowded, but they always seem to make it work. I took it a little easier on myself today, opting for the 3lb and 5lb weights in comparison to last night's 5lb & 8lb and was definitely feeling motivated again... I'm also sore! Which is a good thing... it's been a while! :)
Also - has anyone tried UNREAL chocolates? I've been seeing them all over Boston as they're a Boston based company and have been meaning to try them. CorePower had a display set up with samples so I made sure to take one on my way out. I took the M&Ms (I think they call them gems) and they (as well as all of Unreal's products) are 100% natural, no artificial ingredients. The M&Ms are actually dyed with vegetables which I thought was super cool and they were delicious. Definitely my new go to when I'm having a craving for some chocolate :).
CJ is working until 11:30 tonight and after my juice cleanse, I'm definitely way more into what I'm putting in my body, so I decided to grab a Sweet Green salad on my way home. (Pre-juice cleanse Kaitlyn totally would have ordered Chinese). I tried their seasonal Chicken & Brussel Sprout salad and it was delicious. It also had sweet potato in it which is my favorite. I had them leave out the walnuts and apples because I'm allergic to raw apples and went light on the dressing.
Has anyone seen any great results from doing CorePower or any other hot power yoga consistently?
Some of my favorite yoga spots below:
western Massachusetts:
https://www.serenityyogastudio.net
https://theyogashop.us
southern Connecticut:
https://yoga203.com
http://syjyoga.com
Boston:
https://www.corepoweryoga.com