Greetings Huntington Beach Hot Yoga Family,

Hopefully everyone had a memorable holiday season and is ready for the beginning of the New Year! HBHY remained busy during the holiday season as many students truly depend on their yoga practice to deal with the craziness of the holidays. The staff would like to thank all of the students who were constantly bringing in baked goods because it has now given us even more reason to practice yoga!

HBHY would like to thank Allison Horack for her contributions to the studio as the General Manager. Allison decided to step down last month but will remain on as a Hot Power Flow instructor. We developed a great relationship over the past 9 months and I know her warmth will be missed at the studio.  Lindsey Hill, the studio's first manager in 2008, is the new General Manager. She left the studio in May 2009, married Joseph Hill and had their first son, Lucus, and now is happy to be back in our community. Welcome back Lindsey!

Please be aware of the schedule change starting on Monday January 3, 2011. Hot Power Flow will be offered at 11 AM and 3 PM Monday through Friday and Hot Yoga is now offered at 12:30 PM Monday through Friday.

The 30 - day challenge begins on Monday January 3, 2011. Please remember you can do either a Hot Yoga or Hot Power Flow class. If you miss a day, you are allowed to double up on any given day. (I think our very own Hot Yoga Instructor, Erica Schwartz, did three in a day to complete her challenge, no surprise there!).  Please sign up at the front desk and embark on your own personal revolution.

January and February are usually the busiest times of the year at HBHY as many people decide to get back into a regular exercise routine as part of a New Year's Resolution.  I was recently asked if I had any New Year's Resolutions and my answer was no.  I don't have time for one! I think my Hot Yoga practice has given me what yoga has always promised to deliver ~ a sense of balance. When I first began doing yoga I was highly motivated to be successful physically in the postures and was committed to that achievement and practiced five days a week for at least ten years. My mind had already decided what I was going to get out of class, a perfect posture. Looking back, I now can see how far my mind has opened and achieved a sense of balance. Therefore, I was able to recognize and receive through awareness the wonderful gifts of a dedicated practice. I think if I had done any other exercise for that long I would have burnt out.

I will never forget how much it made me think and feel better about myself at a young age. I depended on it emotionally because it seemed to lessen so many of the highs and lows of life and created a middle road for me. Yoga has so much more to offer than just the incredible physical benefits such as weight loss, which is what many students are seeking in the New Year.  I think you will see that though you may have come in for specific result as I once did, if you keep an open mind, you may experience the vast array of mental and emotional benefits it has to offer and will receive the true gifts of this ancient exercise.

Yoga is still one of my greatest teachers in life. If you have been gone for a while from your yoga practice, don't try to get it all back in one or two classes, please remember to take it one class, one posture, one breath at a time and stay open to what it may bring you!

While I traveled though India in 1999, I came across a painted wall in Varanasi with an inscription which still rings true for me today:

No Yoga, No Peace

Know Yoga, Know Peace

See you on your mat!

Jason Wilkerson

Owner, HB Hot Yoga