Want to join a yoga class but feel completely daunted by the thought of super-supple, lean yogis flanking your stiff, inflexible form during practices? Your worries are over with the arrival of Hotpod Yoga, a new, down-to-earth form of yoga for everyone.
Hotpod yoga aims to make you better equipped to tackle de-stressing a busy mind, releasing the cyclist’s hamstring, reviving the partied-out festival goer and realigning the child-bearing arm.
HOTPOD YOGA BEGINNINGS
Nick Higgins and Max Henderson, the latter a former school teacher and management consultant, founded Hotpod Yoga in 2013. They needed to clear their overstimulated minds, work off their hangovers and open up their bodies after a hard day at work. Hotpod Yoga calls this ‘Real Life’, and we’re all about preparing everybody for their version of it.
I brought the concept over to South Africa in 2015. I am far from a perfection chaser and have always seen yoga as a tool to unwind knots in the body and mind.
I represent those who are not perfection-seeking yogis and believe that yoga is for everyone. South Africa can do with some ‘real life’ yoga – accessible yoga for everyone, demystified for the perfectly imperfect. A huge chunk of my love for the ethos of this ‘real life’ yoga is its accessibility for yogis and teachers alike. There is no pushing of any agenda, no purist cliques, no pedestal teachers. It’s simply about keeping things real, open and friendly.
WHAT IS A POD?
A pod is an inflatable, cocoon-like, 20 to 25 person yoga space, heated to 37oC , designed to transport Hotpod Yoga-goers into an otherworldly setting. The pod’s purpose is to super-charge the yoga experience through its unique and perpetually perfect interior, which heightens efficacy, mellows ambience, and guarantees a consistently immersive environment.
Pods come in two forms and two sizes. Permanent pods live in Hotpod Homes found throughout the UK, South Africa, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania and are always found in the same place. Portable pods, which boast the same great experience, allow Hotpod Yoga to travel to amazing locations throughout the world – most recently seen on the Austrian ski slopes, at Wilderness music festival, and enjoying sneaky weekend trips all around the UK on the HPY Spring Tour.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Dim lighting, beautiful scents, and downtempo beats create a cocoon-like environment for up to 20 yoga-goers. Refreshing and impactful, Hotpod Yoga classes are grounded firmly in reality – catering to your personal mental and physical needs – guaranteeing that you emerge from the pod with a (slightly sweaty) smile.
The heat and ambience of the custom-created, inflatable pods will melt you deeper into your practice, while the Hotpod teacher will carefully and personally guide you through a flow of postures that will open your body, work your heart and calm your mind in equal measure.
WHERE TO EXPERIENCE HOTPOD YOGA
Hotpod Yoga continues to inflate and expand both within the UK and internationally: www.hotpodyoga.com
Editor's note: Another article you may enjoy is 7 Reasons to do Hot Yoga
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