humid run + hot yoga of east nashville review

Hello! 90% humidity this summer morning.

Anthony wasn’t really feeling the whole run thing today so we cut it a bit short and I made him take a photo anyways. Such a good sport. Also: my top is from Gapfit, one of my favorite running/workout clothing brands. BUT, it’s from a Gap outlet and definitely fits bigger than my other shirts from normal Gap stores even though it’s the same shirt type and size. What the heck, Gap? How am I supposed to live like this?

We stopped for a bit of hop scotch and called it quits around five miles.

In other news: A couple weeks ago I tried out Hot Yoga of East Nashville.

The studio is located just by five points — only a short drive from my house! Finding parking for the evening classes can be a challenge, so make sure to get there a bit early.

The studio is small and cozy, and the sign-in process is pretty simple. The first class I signed up for was power flow. The Wednesday night class was busy, and I could see why: the instructor! He was fun, spontaneous, and didn’t take the session too seriously. As we flowed through a series of down dogs, sun salutations, etc., we also rocked out to Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson. I was a sweaty mess by the end of class, but it was worth it!

The second and third sessions I tried were the hot 26 classes. These were both far more serious than power flow — no music and more disciplined instructors. At first I was sort of “meh” about the formality of these classes, but started to like the rhythm and focus by the end. It sort of reminded me of the mindset you’d take on for a track workout?

Overall I’d say Hot Yoga of East Nashville was a pretty good experience, especially considering I got two weeks of unlimited classes for only $20. I’m not a huge yoga fan in general so I don’t think I’ll ever say I absolutely love a studio, so I’ll say I liked Hot Yoga of East Nashville. The 90-100 degree rooms definitely made it a very sweaty experience, but I guess that’s the draw about hot yoga?

The last little point I’ll make about hot yoga in general (or perhaps Hot Yoga of East Nashville in particular?), and then I’ll shut up and go back to running: you probably won’t burn as many calories as the website says. Out of curiosity, I wore my heart rate monitor to the power flow class. It told me I burned 175 calories, which pretty far off from the estimated 450-600 listed on the website. I do yoga more for stretching/strengthening so don’t really care about calories; but if you’re doing it for weight loss, know that you can’t go to neighboring Edley’s BBQ after class and be able to eat six pounds of brisket or anything.

Thanks for the sweaty, challenging, and fun experience, Hot Yoga of East Nashville! If you ever offer another cheap set of classes, I might sign up again. Until then, you can find me across the street at Edley’s…

Have a happy Tuesday!

• Hot yoga: yay or nay?
• Favorite workout clothing brand?
• Last time you played hopscotch?