What a yoga champion can teach us about competition, motivation, Karma Yoga, and non-attachment.
Read moreTransform From Average to Extraordinary With These Easy Actions
Why be average when we can be extraordinary? Check out studio owner Lara Alexiou's latest wellness article in this month's issue of Scottsdale Health Magazine. Four simple tips you can immediately apply to improve your life right now.
Emotional Mastery on the Fit Fierce and Fabulous Podcast
Author, award-winning yoga studio owner, and transformational speaker Lara Alexiou was a guest on the podcast Fit Fierce and Fabulous, hosted by certified fitness trainer, behavioral change specialist, and #FFF founder, Courtney Bentley. Join the conversation on happiness, stepping into your life's purpose, and the meaning of fit, fierce, and fabulous.
Read moreHot Yoga and Lyme Disease
Lara Alexiou and Julia Treat connect recently on the podcast Stepping into the Light. Julia shares how Hot Yoga helps her manage Lyme Disease.
Read moreAwake 2 Oneness Radio Show Interview
Need a Podcast for the New Year? I was honored to be a returning guest last week on Caroline Chang's Awake 2 Oneness Radio Podcast.
Read moreAnxiety and Holiday Blues: How to successfully host these unwanted guests this Holiday Season.
It hit me like clockwork this year. I attended my first official holiday party of the season - the classic Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. And it was great fun. And the next day I could barely get out of bed and it wasn’t due to fatigue or a hangover. It was that classic holiday anxiety just starting to take root. I felt just a little bit heavier, and a little less optimistic. I recognized it right away because it visits me every December like it visits so many others at this time each year.
Read more10 Years of Steamtown Hot Yoga
I'm so grateful for this opportunity to thank you all for making 10 years of Steamtown Yoga a reality. I remember the very first class back on Nov. 1, 2007. Four students showed up. My best friend from DC drove up for the weekend and she took every class! I didn’t know if the studio would survive for even one year.
Read moreC-Suite TV Business Builders Show Interview
"I got [the book] on a Saturday at one o'clock and I finished it that evening." - Marty Wolff on reading Become the Architect of Your Body, Mind, and Soul.
Read more
Spontaneous Zen?
I thrive on structure. It’s why I gravitate toward yoga and meditation. Having a daily routine keeps me grounded and feeling my best. But it does beg the question: Is it boring to be zen? Do you have to trade in excitement and spontaneity for peace of mind?
Read moreBecome the Architect of Your Body Mind and Soul.
I'm thrilled to announce the publication of my new book, Become the Architect of Your Body Mind and Soul. Here in print is a culmination of tools for daily living you can reference as often as needed. Easily apply the intangible lessons of yoga outlined in the book to create your life in the fullest expression of yourself! Appropriate for Yogis and non-Yogis alike, this book is for all who are seeking to live to their best potential.
Read moreGood Vibrations: The Healing Power of Sound
Sound vibrations are on my mind this summer. The more I delve into my own yoga practice and spiritual studies, the more I understand myself as a vibrational being.
Read moreSummer Solstice: Fun Facts and Rooftop Meditation Event
Summer Solstice: read on for fun facts on the Season, the Solstice, and our Rooftop Sunset Meditation Event June 21 at 7 pm.
Read more5 Reasons to Maintain your Hot Yoga Practice this Summer
Every season change brings along a new energy. And while it doesn’t quite feel like summer outside yet here in NEPA, summer solstice is right around the corner. Here are 5 reasons to commit yourself to practice this summer solstice.
Read moreLessons from the Universe: My evening with Deepak Chopra
Nothing compares to actual in-person face time with a Master Teacher. I see as many masters in person as possible, including the Dalai Lama, Eckhart Tolle and now Deepak Chopra. I've been following Dr. Chopra's lectures, reading his books and listening to his meditations and audio lessons for years. Nothing compares to actual in-person face time with a Master Teacher.
Read moreIG Yoga Challenges: Why I love them and you will too!
Instagram Yoga Challenges are fun, forge connections and provide a safe place to learn new ways to express yourself through Yoga. Here is why I love them and want you to participate!
Read moreOn Meditation
What the actual experience of meditation has taught me that I'd like to share.
Read moreThe Accountability of a Class →
A mentor once said said to me “the promises we are most likely to break are the ones we make to ourselves.”
Read moreThe 5 Elements of your yoga practice
Fire passion phase is like the Honeymoon of your yoga practice. You think about it all day long and can't wait to get to class.
Read moreHello Year of Fire Rooster
Year of the Fire Rooster: How We Are Subject to Universal Karma.
Read moreBut, why HOT yoga?
But, why HOT yoga?
The answer is different for everyone.
Once you experience a class or two, no more words are needed.
On the outside, hot yoga may seem like an extreme sport. Yes, it can be challenging, but the rewards are far greater than the initial push it takes to step on the mat for your first class.
To Maintain the Engine
Everybody needs a maintenance plan. A steady routine that keeps you moving forward and feeling human. When we stop moving and become inert, that's when we start to break down. The beauty of a steady yoga practice, especially a heated one - is that it keeps you supple, allows you to maintain access to a healthy range of motion and increases your metabolism. If you have extra weight to lose, it will certainly help you drop a few. If you struggle with chronic stress or anxiety, hot yoga can help you to ease your symptoms, de-stress and feel more comfortable in your own skin.
But how does hot yoga help?
Hot yoga works on several levels. The first is obvious, it creates a challenging environment for your nervous system. The added "effort" it requires to thrive in the room, makes you body and mind adapt with more efficiency. Over time, the heat feels normal and you are firing on all cylinders. You become stronger and more resilient to external stressors. This translates to feeling more at peace, focused and productive.
Hot yoga stimulates blood circulation to your muscles, joints, organs, glands, and every system of the body—even the nervous system. We follow a therapeutic yoga lineage designed to heal the body bringing you into greater balance. During class, oxygen-rich blood sequentially reaches every organ, including any areas of injury (old and new), and any damaged cells. This class is designed to restore and strengthen, bringing your body and mind into balance and optimal health. With a consistant practice, the better you'll feel and the healthier you'll become.
The impossible, becomes possible: a note from Lara
I started my hot yoga practice because I needed to get moving again. I thought I began for physical reasons, but the deeper reasons I discovered are what keeps me on my mat year after year.
Through my yoga practice, I first discovered new ways to move my body. Strength and flexibility that seemed totally out of reach for me at my first class soon opened up for me. I still tell my students: "Here in yoga practice, impossible things happen and the impossible becomes possible."
I discovered that if I could make such great strides physically with my strength and flexibility and my focus and peace of mind, maybe the obstacles I faced outside of the practice room could be overcome as well. I approached my whole life with more energy, confidence and love. My whole life expanded with new possibilities.
Read more about Lara's incredible journey & feel the difference for yourself!
Source: www.steamtownyoga.com