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With my gym membership expiring today and us not leaving for Europe for another 1.5 weeks I decided a fun little fitness challenge was in order.
Enter my 7-day Hot Yoga Challenge.
A new yoga studio recently opened up in Kamloops and they have a killer deal for first-timers. 7 days of unlimited Hot Yoga for $20.
I’ve done Bikram yoga twice before and I’ll be honest: I wasn’t a fan.
But the thing that attracted me about this new studio is that it’s not just Bikram yoga - they do other kinds of yoga too. Also, the heated room that they do it in has this special climate control so that even though it is approximately 40 C (100 F) in the room it doesn’t feel like it. I think this is important for me to have a good experience as both times I went before the extreme heat made me a little nauseous.
So, what if I go today and hate it? Oh well. I’m going to go every day for the next seven days. This is going to require some time management as this means spending approximately 2.5 hours a day devoted to yoga - class is 90 minutes plus drive there/drive home and shower.
But I think I’m up for the challenge!
I’ve also heard - and experienced myself - that the more you do yoga the more you enjoy it. I know I won’t love it the first time, or even the first couple times, but maybe after seven days I will. And, if not, I guess it just wasn’t meant for me! On the good days I’m hoping to squeeze in running + yoga but since my shin has been bothering me a lot lately it might be a good idea to just take the next seven days off of running and focus on yoga.
So there we have it! There class schedule is fairly flexible. Since I’m done classes and only working three days a week right now on the days I work I’ll have to go to evening yoga and then on days I don’t work I’d prefer the morning yoga. I have anywhere from 2-3 classes a day to choose from so I’ll just have to make it work! Today marks Day 1 of the challenge, check back tomorrow to see what I thought of my first class.
I know Kelly is doing a very similar challenge in May, but if anyone wants to join me and do some sort of 7-day challenge I encourage you to! You could even do Yoga Downloads for 7-days or something! 
Also, if you want more timely updates about the challenge, follow me on Twitter, I’m sure I’ll tweet about it right after the first class today!
Has anyone else ever done a challenge like this - any advice? And do you love or hate hot yoga (if you’ve done it before)?
*Edited to add* - I will also be updating my Facebook Fan Page daily on how the Hot Yoga challenge is going so become a fan on Facebook if you want!
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Ooh sounds like a blast! And a whole week for $20 isn’t bad! I hope you love it…
I’ll be interested to hear what you think! And oh my gosh Europe in a week and a half!!! Where did the time go?!!
$20 for the week is such a great deal
For me I had the find the right studio to like yoga. I tried it a few times at different gyms and I just was not a fan at all- it wasn’t until I found the studio I go to now that I love it. I hope you like it at this studio and if not, at the very least it will be an awesome break from running and work so many different muscles. I think the combination of strength work and stretching is really great for runners.
I won’t be doing all 7 days with you (don’t want to burn myself out before May) but I will be doing yoga 3-4 times a week to prepare for my challenge in May…which I’m very scared about by the way so I’m hoping you love this experience so I’ll be a little less nervous haha.
20 bucks for 7 days of yoga, good deal.
I guess i find yoga sort of boring….well also because it’s a challenge for me to really focus on breathing and holding different poses. i like to keep going. Though i know it’d probably do wonders for me! looking forward to hearing about your experience!
this will be fun! great way to switch things up and keep it interesting
My hips/arms are ALWAYS sore after Bikram, running certainlly doesn’t hit every muscle - which you learn pretty quickly when you start XTraining in Any way! ha. keep us updated!
He he he… I was just poking fun at myself for doing “semi-hot” yoga.
Good luck! I’m sure it’ll be a great work out!
That is a pretty great deal that yoga studio is offering. I hope you enjoy the hot classes. I love yoga, but I’ve never taken hot yoga before. Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
I have never even tried yoga before!! I am behind the times
I’m told I really need to try hot yoga for my back pain - I’ve just always been too scared!! The pain = VERY limited flexibility - I tried the exercises my massage therapist gave me this week - I was supposed to do 3 sets of 10. I managed SIX before just about dying. So flexibility right now is not my strong point… but I am really curious as to whether it could help. Maybe if they had somewhere here with as good of a deal I’d give it a go for sure!
Don’t you love it when seemingly no-so-good events (re: gym membership expiring) opens doors you never would have peeked into otherwise? Sometimes, I need a good kick in the pants to switch things up. I really hope you enjoy yourself at yoga - 7 days straight is a real commitment!
That’s such a great deal! I went once and liked it a lot! I was sweating in places I didn’t even know that you could sweat in! I liked it because the teacher encouraged you to do only what you felt comfortable doing.
Good luck with your challenge! You’ll do great
i love hot vinyasa so much more than bikram. i think you’ll really enjoy this!
In high school I took a class where for one week we did Yoga. I hated it, but I’ve tried it on the Wii and it’s not too bad.
I’d try to go to classes taught by different teachers. I’ve done a 30 day challenge before and well, it was challenging! Like you said, a lot of it is time management, but you will definitely feel a difference! I’ll join you on this one, but mine won’t be a hot challenge. =)
Remember to take a big towel for your mat and a little hand towel to mop your brow! And water, drink lots of water! Lemme know how it goes.
H =)
I do want to start doing fitness challenges, because I can be very bad at making excuses not to exercise. (Case in point: I haven’t worked out since my race on Saturday. Yuck!) I think I might try some type of 3o-day challenge in May, since my semester will be just about done except for two final exams. You’ve just motivated me more to do it!
can’t wait to hear more about it! I haven’t done hot yoga yet since it’s super expensive where I am but I’m definitely considering trying it out here and there.
Good luck!
Oh, cool. I have never done yoga. I know, the shame. I tend to lose interest in non-cardio exercise. I’m not sure if hot yoga is for me, because even though I live in CA, I’m not good with the heat. But, it’s definitely something I’d like to try. Good luck! I like the idea of a 7 day challenge.
I hope you enjoy hot yoga, I think the more you practice the more you like it!
I’ve fallen in love with yoga, but there’s no place that does Bikram here so I’ve never tried it. I’m anxious to see how it goes for you!
I actually LOVE hot yoga, but I can totally see where you’re coming from on the nauseous thing. I think just be careful about not eating too soon before, and obviously HYDRATE like a mofo! Good luck!!
This is a great challenge Amber! I like how you’re really going to stick with it for a week no matter what and give it a true try. I need to get better at doing that, because it’s so true.. you usually don’t like things the first time you do them.. or at least I don’t : )
This is awesome! I love yoga, so much. I’ve never tried hot yoga before - I get dizzy extremely easily (low blood pressure, low blood sugar) so the idea kind of scares me, but good ol regular yoga is amazing. I own My Fitness Coach for Wii, and I do yoga with ‘Maya’ (the Wii instructor) as often as possible. I actually skipped my morning run for morning yoga today and I felt great, a swap I’m definitely going to do more often. So rejuvenating!
I bet you are getting SO SO SO excited for Europe! I cant wait to see your pictures!
Oh cool! I’ve never done hot yoga, or any yoga for that matter, but I really want to. I think I’ll try to follow along by using the yoga download. Maybe.
I’m not really a big fan of yoga at all, but I’d be really keen to hear your experience of this 7 day thing - what a great bargain!
go hot yoga! i’ve never tried the bikram, but i hear it’s wonderful. i do the easier stuff.
I have tried to like yoga… but I just don’t. I think I should probably try another instructor before giving up on it. Or maybe I need to do a challenge that forces me to try it more than 1-2 times! I was doing it weekly for awhile there, but did not care for the instructor at all!
$20 for unlimited classes is an amazing deal!!
I haven’t done a yoga challenge, but last year I declared June a ‘june-athon’ and challenged myself to run nearly every day. I think i needed up running like 21 days or something like that? Which was good for me because I went from barely running to running 5-6 days a week!
I purchased a package of classes to a Bikram yoga studio and haven’t been in ages. You’re motivating me to get back in that hot room this weekend. Thanks!
my one and only attempt at yoga ended with me sitting on my butt in my living room laughing hysterically at myself.. it won’t be repeated in public probably EVER ha.
I guess it’s a little late for me to do this challenge now but I’d definitely like to possibly do it in like 2 weeks or so lol
I think it’s a great challenge too because 7 days of yoga is much more doable than a month… A lot of the challenges out there can sometimes be a little scary!
Anyways I’m very happy that you’re enjoying it