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Dec 23
Love0

Myrtle Delgado Describes Sterling as Fun and Life-Changing

By Testimonial

When Myrtle Delgado took her first class at Sterling Hot Yoga & Wellness two years ago, she admits it wasn’t at all what she expected.

“Wow, this yoga thing is really hard!,” she said thought at the time. “I think I was expecting to just suffer through an hour of some boring stretches.”

But the changes in her life that Myrtle has experienced in the two years since is anything but boring. 

“If someone had told me a year ago that doing the classes at Sterling Hot Yoga was going to make a real impact on my daily life, I’d have been skeptical,” she said. “But, that was when I was largely a runner and felt any workout wasn’t really complete if running wasn’t involved. Now a full year into Sterling classes, call me a convert!”

Physically, Myrtle was looking for relief from long-standing sciatica and hamstring issues, which she attributed to her routine of “basically all running and NO stretching,” and it got to the point she was in physical therapy for it. 

“Over the past year this has all but disappeared which I have to attribute to the continued practice of varied yoga classes,” she said. “True, I’d cut down and almost out all running, but that was only because I realized I could feel totally spent and yet rejuvenated—simultaneously—with these classes and without the painful aftermath!”

Myrtle is a dedicated regular at Sterling, most often in Iron Hour and Inferno Hot Pilates, which are great ways to build core strength. But she also takes yoga and yin, both of which improve flexibility. 

She attributes all of the classes with the benefits she’s experienced from a regular practice, including better flexibility, less stress, an overall feeling of calm and faster recovery with running. But she’s been most surprised by one thing. “I can now find a stillness that I never recognized,” she said. “I’m still working at this, but I am proud of my progress!”

Myrtle said she loves that there is always something happening at Sterling, such as the “fun, motivating” challenges like bingo that help her stay consistent, or the “perks” of free sushi offered once a month after the Happy Hour Yoga With Friends class.

While those are great reasons to come back and practice regularly, Myrtle is most drawn to the studio for one thing: the people. And they made an impact from the first day she walked into the studio.

“Sterling immediately felt warm (no pun intended) to me and welcoming,” she said. “No one ever made me feel that I shouldn’t be there regardless of my complete lack of experience. In fact, I found the complete opposite with kind words and encouragement.”

That continued sense of belonging and of course the ongoing challenges of each class keep her coming back.

“It is really addictive to walk in the room and immediately relax in that heat!,” she said. “But more than that every single class is a challenge in its own unique way, and I love the people—the teachers and students are filled with a positive energy—I always leave invigorated (and sometimes pretty sore), and I just love it!”

Yoga is more than practicing postures on your mat, and Myrtle said she realized that during a recent surgery experience. 

“My ‘aha’ moment from a mental standpoint was from an oral surgery I recently had which lasted almost three hours,” she said. “In the past, I’m pretty sure I would’ve opted for the anti-anxiety medications offered (as pretty much anytime I drool or have a dental procedure it make me nervous), but instead I was able to close my eyes, focus on breathing and body position, and got through it calm and relaxed (of course having a fantastic surgeon also helped!).”

How does Myrtle sum up her experience at Sterling?

“All this to say that the classes are challenging but also fun and fabulous on multiple levels and really can have a significant impact on your life,” she said. “As one of our instructors Mandi likes to say “how you do anything is how you do everything,” which I do believe. So ask me today about Sterling—I say pass the punch, I’m all in!”

To experience what Myrtle said she’s experienced, she encouraged first-timers to just be willing to try classes at Sterling, and it may take more than one class to find something that clicks.

“You must try it to feel the difference it can make,” she said. “There are so many positive benefits both physically and mentally, and the beauty of Sterling is that if you don’t particularly care for one type of class there are plenty of others that are all so different to try as well!”

Ready to give yoga and Pilates a try? We offer a great new student special of just $30 for your first month. For a dollar a day, you can start to experience just a few of the life-changing benefits. What a deal! Sign up here!

 

Dec 30
Love0

Taka Kibby Seeks Flexibility, But Finds More With Hot Yoga

By Testimonial

Hot Yoga Benefits Customer Satisfaction Client Testimonial

When she first discovered hot yoga at SHYW after someone recommended it to her six years ago, she didn’t like it at first. “It was hot and steamy and smelly,” she said.

But after practicing at SHYW regularly since then, Taka described the practice as “addictive.”

“My body appreciates it,” she said.

Initially, her goal when she started her yoga practice was to gain and retain flexibility. But Taka said she’s experienced even more benefits than that.

“I don’t get sick like catching a cold,” she said, “I’m more focused, and I know how to find a peace within myself.”

Now Taka would say it’s what she wasn’t looking for that keeps her coming back to her mat. Among those reasons, she listed “to meditate, to keep me in shape, to detox and to get total body therapy.”

Everyone who’s tried—and loved—hot yoga has often not always felt that way about it. But the difference is they tried and kept trying.

That’s Taka’s advice to new students interested in trying hot yoga for the first time. “Give yourself an opportunity to try to find yourself and peace within,” she said, “and you will find strength, flexibility and relaxation.”

Just because you try doesn’t always mean it’s easy. Even for Taka, who practices consistently, some days can be a struggle, but pushing through that is what makes yoga worth it.

“Every practice is different—some days are more of a struggle than others,” she said. “It is up to you to make it happen, for better or worse. But those days that you make it for a class are better than the days you missed.”

Taka encouraged first-timers to try hot yoga at SHYW because the staff will make it easy. “All the staff at Sterling is very friendly, open-minded and helpful,” she said. “They will make you feel welcome.”

Interested in trying hot yoga? Sign up here for our $39 introductory special and take unlimited classes in your first 30 days. The best deal in town!

Nov 25
Love0

Scott Singleterry Finds One Challenge Leads to Another

By Testimonial

Scott Singleterry Testimonial Hot Yoga Benefits Sterling Hot Yoga Mobile AL

In his early 20s, Scott Singleterry immersed himself in running. Pushing himself through training and running long distances, sprints and hills became routine.

“As I was starting this journey, I became interested in breathing techniques that would help to excel my practice,” he said. “This led to reading and researching that would eventually transfer my regular practice from running to yoga,”

Seven years ago, Scott’s yoga practice began with a book on asana. He specifically searched for ways to open his hip flexors and take pressure off his knees.

That was before his father introduced him to Bikram Hot Yoga Mobile, now Sterling Hot Yoga & Wellness. “Before I ever thought about having a regular yoga practice, my father introduced me to the founder of Sterling Hot Yoga, Lucille Allen Moran,” Scott said.

Thanks to her dynamic personality and inspirational influence, “Sterling was an easy choice,” he said.

In the six years since that he has been practicing at Sterling Hot Yoga & Wellness, Scott has not only immersed himself in the original hot yoga practice, but also he completed Sterling Hot Yoga Works Teacher Training in Summer 2015.

“Sterling has been a solid foundation that has allowed me to grow in ways that I certainly didn’t expect, but in ways that make me grateful for each new moment of expansion,” he said, reflecting on his journey.

“This has become much more than a fitness routine for me,” Scott said. “It opens my mind and spirit. I remember thinking early on after one of the 90-minute classes that it didn’t matter what else happened out in the world that day, I had just conquered my own world in the hot room.”

Scott said he is reminded that he can’t control everything that happens, but that he simply has to take one day at a time and “just breathe, everything else is optional.”

It didn’t take long for Scott to fall in love with the traditional 90-minute original hot yoga sequence of 26 postures and two breathing exercises—the only style of yoga offered when he first started practicing at the studio.

“I had done the long runs, I had done the weight lifting, and though I experienced benefits from these styles of fitness, it’s hard to describe the feeling I had as I laid in savasana after kapalbhati (the final breathing exercise),” he said. “I felt exhausted, rejuvenated, invigorated, all at the same time. It was a link to discovery of something that shall continue to help me grow for many decades to come.”

One of the most surprising lessons Scott has taken away from yoga, among the “too many to count,” is the power of control over distractions and the acceptance of change.

“Life is strange sometimes, hard sometimes, confusing sometimes. Yoga is a break from these distractions of me getting in my own way. It allows me to stop, take inventory of where I’m at that day, pause, and just breathe,” he said. “I have learned that change is the only constant, and as long as I am open to my awareness of myself in the moment, I can make these changes more intentionally to propel me in the direction of where I desire that I am.”

Scott encouraged others who are thinking about beginning a yoga practice at Sterling Hot Yoga & Wellness to just do it! “You are stronger than you know physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually,” he said. “Awaken yourself to your full potential. You can!’

Experience the power of mind-body connection through yoga like Scott has with our new member introductory special. It’s just $30 for 30 days of unlimited practice. Sign up here!

 

Jun 12
Love0

Get Ready for the Alchemy Challenge!

By Announcement
alchemy challenge, sterling hot yoga, body composition testing

Alchemy is the forerunner to modern chemistry.

Sterling Hot Yoga is billed as a ‘foundry for change.’

A regular practice can bring about physical, mental and emotional changes, and many of our students’ personal stories and experiences have reinforced that.

So to build on that idea of change, Sterling Hot Yoga Mobile is organizing an alchemy challenge.

What does that mean? Well, the definition of alchemy is “transforming a substance into great value; an elixir of life!”

When you practice Sterling Hot Yoga, you are chemically transforming your body and mind into something greater, better, stronger and, yes, you are creating an elixir of life!

So with that in mind, we are introducing the Alchemy challenge. Here’s how it works:

1.  Before your challenge begins, you will schedule a one-on-one meeting for a baseline analysis which will include:

  • Basic Nutrition Counseling
  • Basic Yoga Therapy Consultation
  • Body Composition Analysis, including: percentage of body weight that is fat; percentage of body weight that is muscle; and calculation of ideal weight.

2.  You will commit to the following schedule each week for four weeks:

  • Two Iron Hour Classes AND
  • Two Gold 90 OR Sterling 60 classes

3.  You will complete an exercise and nutrition diary to track eating and moving habits and general health (feelings, thoughts, sleep patterns, moods, etc.)

4.  After four weeks, you’ll meet again to review your nutrition diary and recalculate your body composition for comparison.

Body composition testing in Mobile can cost upwards of $200 for one test. At SHY Mobile, two consultations will cost you only $79 (in addition to your membership) for those on autopay and $109 for those on an introductory, comeback special or other non-autopay package.

If you want to do a second month of Alchemy, the price for a third meeting is $49 (in addition to your class package).

Space is limited – so sign up now for your transformation!

Jun 11
Love0

Samantha Finds Self-Acceptance On and Off the Mat

By News

samantha physical acceptance determination sterling hot yoga benefitsMany students try Sterling Hot Yoga for the physical changes they hope to see—a trimmer waistline, toned arms and legs, and improved balance, strength and flexibility.

But an even more profound change, in many ways, that comes with a hot yoga practice comes from within.

Samantha Wells knows that firsthand. She started practicing at Sterling Hot Yoga Mobile just a few weeks before the 30-Day Spring Challenge began, having never tried hot yoga before.

“I avoided it like the plague,” she said of the heat.

Putting those former notions of hot yoga aside, she quickly committed to completing a 20-class goal to keep her newfound practice consistent and relied on her teammates to help hold her accountable.

What Samantha found on—and off—the mat was not what she expected.

Through sweat, patience and determination, she found a physical acceptance she didn’t realize she needed.

“The things I struggled with, I didn’t realize it,” she said. “But apparently I am. I didn’t realize it was an issue until it got better.”

About halfway through the challenge, Samantha posted this incredibly emotional account of her personal breakthrough on Facebook:

“This is me. This body is mine. It may not be what society tells us is ‘beautiful,’ but I am learning to love it,” she wrote. “What most people can’t see when looking at this picture is this body feels so much better than it did two months ago, it looks better than it did two months ago and it’s mine. And I’m proud of that.

“As I type this, tears are in my eyes. I’m afraid not everyone will see this body the way I have come to, but with everything I have I’m posting this so that other people can start to see their bodies as beautiful, too.”

Samantha’s new perspective on hot yoga was reinforced when she recently revisited her vision board to reflect on past goals and set new ones. She was struck by the irony of one of her posts that incorporated a popular hot yoga saying about the practice’s physical effects.

“I started hot yoga so I could ‘sweat like a pig and look like a fox,’” she said. “Two months in and I’m seeing that there’s so much more to it!”

Gradually, she said her negative self-talk was replaced with a positive, encouraging voice “telling me that I am strong, that I do have a lot to show for my hard work, that the results I’m looking for will come—with time.”

That self-acceptance gave way to a more determined Samantha during a recent kayaking experience. Despite typically avoiding such activities because of her weight, she decided to give it a try.

“The more I fell out, the more determined I was to do it,” she said. “This is a new concept for me. I usually give up, but that day I did not!”

Perhaps that resolve to overcome challenges outside of the hot room was strengthened by her resolve in it. Not only did Samantha meet her 20-day goal commitment, but she exceeded it by four classes!

During that time, there were physical changes, too, she said, that included increased flexibility, regulated blood sugar, improved muscle tone and a feeling of balance.

But most importantly hot yoga made her believe and accept that she is beautiful from the inside out, and she is eager for others to experience their own internal and external transformations.

“Join me if you’d like,” she said. “I’ll come with you to your first class, and we can be beautiful together!”

Come practice with Samantha and get started on your own yoga journey with our 30-day introductory special!