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If Tennessee in August isn't hot or humid enough for you, then turn things up a notch with a hot yoga class from the newest studio in town, CorePower Yoga (CPY). Guaranteed to make you sweat, CPY is on a mission to bring its reputation of high-intensity yoga classes, designed to work the mind, body, and spirit, to a new set of soon-to-be die-hard fans.
Since 2002, CPY has been racking up a cult following everywhere it lands. Known for offering a spa-like experience in a non-exclusionary, community-oriented setting, there are now more than 170 studios across the country. The Brentwood-based outpost marks the first CPY studio in Tennessee.
While several unheated classes are available each week, it's the 60-minute heated classes that keep people coming back for more. In a studio registering upwards of 100 degrees or more and humidity hovering around 30 to 40 percent, the body can experience a broader range of benefits than a traditional yoga class.
'Warm muscles perform at their peak, which enables you to have a stronger practice,” Chelsea Gartner, studio manager of the Brentwood location, says. 'The heat also helps detoxify your body's largest organ: its skin.”
Classes, like Hot Power Fusion, combine traditional hot yoga poses with Vinyasa poses, while Yoga Sculpt adds in weight work and cardio bursts set to upbeat music. Classes are open to all skill levels, but Gartner recommends beginners start out with one of the unheated C1 classes to gain familiarity with the flow of class.
CPY is more than just about how much you can sweat in an hour, though. It's about using the challenge of the heat to also strengthen and transform the mind. 'Each class turns your stress into sweat,” Gartner says.
'We offer intensity for the body and peace for the mindworking every muscle and working every emotion. You're getting the mental benefits to match the physical benefits, all centered in a community of nonjudgment.”
And CPY is committed to making that community accessible to as many people as possible by offering discounts to students, teachers, military, and seniors. Discounts are also available for class packages, and new clients can enjoy unlimited classes for their first week. Plans to extend the CorePower Yoga name in Tennessee are already underway with a Green Hills location set to open in early 2018.
211 Franklin Rd., Brentwood, 615-610-6133; corepoweryoga.com
Photos courtesy CorePower Yoga.