Yoga Yearnings
Fitness buffs and community seekers join ranks of local yoga enthusiasts
By Nan Bauroth | Photos by Raymond J Photography
Some like it hot. Others prefer slow flow. Many love sipping mimosas afterward. When it comes to yoga in Ballantyne, the offerings keep expanding to accommodate the growing number of people seeking the benefits of this ancient mind-body experience. But it’s not just poses and meditation anymore. Yoga here has grown so diverse because no one mantra fits all.
“We have a weightlifter who comes to our classes to build flexibility,” says Ballantyne resident Linda Stipo, who, with husband Jerry, owns YogaSix in Ballantyne Village. It’s a studio that offers six different yoga classes, from yoga for beginners to Y6 Power. “Everyone thinks it’s a female thing, but more men are becoming members. They’re looking for a way to do stretching and gain flexibility.”
James “Randy” Angel, a member at Atha Yoga in Blakeney, has become a big believer in yoga. “I’ve always been a gym rat and played sports, and … I’ve lifted weights, but the older we get, the stiffer we get,” he says. “I especially enjoy the hot yoga class at Atha Yoga. The knock on yoga is that it doesn’t do much for your lungs, but hot yoga, even a slow form of it, does make you sweat and increases your heart rate.”
Infrared Lovers
Olga Dadalko, the owner of Atha Yoga, says she installed infrared heat in her studio because it is very therapeutic. “It’s also more hygienic, which is critical in our time. Infrared feels so different from forced air and is not overdrying,” she explains, noting that infrared penetrates deep into the dermis layer of skin and activates fibroblasts — the skin cells that produce collagen and elastin — so skin regenerates. The hottest yoga class at AthaYoga is 105 to 107 degrees, while the coolest is 85 to 90 degrees.
“I love the infrared hot yoga,” says Diane McNinch, a member at Atha Yoga. “The hotter, the better. Infrared heat heats you, not so much the air, so you can breathe and warm your joints and muscles to do what you want to do. I always feel better in the heat. I go four to five days a week.”
Interestingly, owner Dadalko discovered yoga while obtaining her doctorate in neuroscience. “I was very stressed and stumbled on a Hot Yoga Groupon, and that class completely flipped my world,” she recalls.
“My thoughts were much calmer, and my anxiety went away, so as a neuroscientist, I was fascinated, wondering how yoga worked on the brain. What differentiates my studio is that the classes challenge members physically, but all classes are first of all focused on mindfulness.” Presently, her youngest member is 14, and her oldest is 76.