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Why Hot Yoga doesn’t do it for me…

Aug. 05, 2017

This is the year I turn 40.

It’s a big one for me.

And I’ve been casting a lens at various aspects of my life to see where I am stuck and where I can challenge myself by switching things up, especially if I feel I am in a rut. So, in an “expand my yoga horizons” experiment, I tested out how I would feel going to a hot yoga studio over this past month.

I did this for a few different reasons:

I wanted to understand this practice that I get my “yoga snob” on about.

I wanted to see if it was really what die-hard devotees make it out to be—as in, “It changed my life!”

I wanted to understand how the heat informs my physical asana practice.

I wanted to see what was out there on different ends of the yoga spectrum in this California coastal town where I have been living for the last few years.

Mostly, however, after returning from a few months of practicing lots of yoga and living in Bali, I was looking for the discipline of attending regular classes versus just doing my practice at home.

I also thought that the heat might be a gentle reminder of the tropical warmth of Bali, and figured classes would be small—after all, isn’t summer the last time one would think of going to hot yoga?

Read the full story at the link below!  Please share your comments on the article too!!!

NAMASTE + ALOHA.

Insiya

 

Why Hot Yoga Doesn’t Do It for Me. ~ Insiya Rasiwala-Finn

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Category: Yoga, Blog Tags: ayurveda, blogger, elephant journal, hot yoga, insiya yoga, yoga, yoga blogger

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About Insiya Rasiwala-Finn

Yogini + Ayurvedic Coach, Writer and Conscious Mama. Believes in regenerative, slow living, holistic design and living mindfully every day.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rubina says

    August 11, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    Hello Insiya,
    What an amazing article and very well said. I’ve learned and continue to learn to listen to my own insights, that gentle inner voice that knows what is best for me. It’s challenging sometimes, but we constantly need to remind ourselves to come back to the soul, for it knows.
    Thank you for highlighting that a gentle practice is okay. As you mentioned, we think we need to do a very active practice, but when the body is calling for gentleness, it’s okay.
    I hope to see more great articles from you.
    Thank you again.
    Namaste.
    Rubina

    Reply
    • yogue says

      August 16, 2017 at 9:41 pm

      Thanks Rubina!!! So appreciate your comments. peace

      Reply
  2. Robyn Hurst says

    January 21, 2018 at 3:39 pm

    I could not agree more!

    A few years ago, I took a job teaching in a hot studio. Previously I had preferred “warm yoga” at places that allowed me to turn up the heat for the safety and comfort of my students, as opposed to the “cold yoga” that I had also had to teach in gyms where the temps were kept from 65 to 69 F. (Eek)…

    But I was enjoying taking a little hot yoga now and again in Winter, and when the studio offered me a job, I thought…”fun!”

    Keep in mind, I have tested out time and time again as vata-pitta or pitta-vata. So, yeah, there’s that.

    Long story shorter than it could be…I think that at that time, my ego certainly succumbed to the “let’s do this” fitness mindset and the approval of students who loved the challenges in my classes. But I also knew in my heart that there were days when my pitta was rising and I had no business being in that room, but my name was on the schedule to teach a vinyasa flow class! Sad that as teachers we cannot always honor our bodies as we would advise our students to do…

    I actually think that was part of the start of what ultimately led to some hormone imbalances and adrenal burnout as I continued to push through what my inner wisdom was cautioning me against. After all, weren’t all the other teachers fine? Why was I the only one affected?

    It’s been a year or so since I taught in a hot studio, as I made a few changes to my life…which also created stressors, but I believe I am on the right path now. Took a leap of faith and listened to inner wisdom- FINALLY- even though risky…but like I said, stressors along the way…
    So now I am having to create a new normal for myself- my whole practice has had to change so that I can heal myself from what allowing western mindset has done…(there were other things- taking too many jobs, pushing to meet demands of life and social media, all the while knowing inside “hey girl! You are way out of balance! Come back!”

    In my research on hormone imbalances and adrenal burnout, it has been a crazy weird confirmation to see some of what I was doing-
    including that time teaching too often too much at a hot studio– as causes for what I am overcoming now.

    So thank YOU, for writing your honest experience and being authentuc about it!!! Much blessing and warm vibe to you!!!

    Robyn Hurst

    Reply

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ABOUT YOGUE  Hi, I'm Insiya. Journey with me as we live slow, scatter beauty and tread lightly on the planet.

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insiyafinn

Yesterday was so life affirming and heart filling! Yesterday was so life affirming and heart filling!!! 

We got out on a hike in sooke and I’m so proud of my mama for traversing some steep climbs and even more steep and rocky downhill paths. I felt energized and so happy to be outside in a forest that smelled cool and fresh and pine-resin-y… @theblissologist and lion even got into the icy cold glacial streams and then we picked up grandma @carolefinnartist and enjoyed some delicious pizza on the deck @stokedpizzeria near sombrio…

My family kept cautioning me to not push myself - but honestly and truly I think I was just high on feeling alive and being amidst the waterfalls and green of what has turned into a very hot spring (climate change is real friends…)…

Yesterday was such an affirmation of how much we all need to be outside to reconnect within to what really matters…

Thanks ananda lion for making me a mama 12 years ago and thanks to my mom @sararasiwala for your love always… also it made me so happy that eoin got to see his mama too! Life is short. Keep those you love close and fill it with beauty and kindness.

Ps. I did wear a dress hiking (just because) and I am very tired today but was it worth it? YES ❤️

#yogue #mothersday #family #familymatters #healing #healinsiya #healcancer #cancerthriver
Photo sprinkles… Stepping out into spring. L- Photo sprinkles… 

Stepping out into spring.

L-R: A Saturday picnic w @yogalink + Carole + dingo the bali dog and my mom. Thanks for the chai @sararasiwala 😁 and the pic @theblissologist ✨
Blossoms on the hill.
Blossoms inside :)
Homemade spinach and mushroom quiche.. so good 💫
Pakoras by mom… aka delish chickpea fritters 
Daisies :)
And
Apricot nectar and strawberries yesterday… 
/ shadows and sunshine :) 
Heart shaped flowers…

Feeling all this golden light and springtime goodness. :) 

🌺💕☀️

#healingjourney #wholefoods #growth #changes #shift #insiyafinn #healinsiya #healcancer
So I decided to share this picture here because fi So I decided to share this picture here because firstly today was so special. I got to see a dear dear friend who I haven’t seen since before the pandemic and we got to finally connect a few steps away from home. Yes this is currently Victoria (or it was this morning when the sun was bright and warm)…

And yet this morning was hard won. Yesterday after weeks of things going relatively well I had what is called a partical blockage with my ileostomy. I think it was caused by my not chewing my lunch as slowly as I normally do…(I will blame this on both being v hungry and that my dear mom’s cooking is dangerously delicious) 😁 when my girlfriend came to see me yesterday, I had low energy and a strange cramping sensation in the stomach and lower rib area. This progressively got worse and worse until my body with all its wisdom tried to push my lunch out of me. In other words I threw up. Consistently and continuously.

Meanwhile life at home continued on. My son arrived home after a canoeing weekend. I needed back rubs w tiger balm or whatever would help in the moment; and tried to help organize dinner. And my friend later that evening shared how she felt the privilege of being here to help and to witness the rough stuff. Which just felt so dear and real and loving.

And this is why I want to share this story today. It feels scary to put all of this out into the world but I have been thinking that when we hide the hard things behind walls of fear or worry about what others will think, I think we curtail our capacity to be loving, compassionate humans. After all at our core we want the same things. To live and love well. I feel like I share a lot here but I have found it hard to write about the really gnarly moments. There have been so many. What I will say I am so thankful for however is that because I have experienced so much with the ileostomy, I knew I had to ride the waves of pain out until they stopped. And they did and I finally slept last night and stayed out of emerg at the hospital.

And awoke to a new day. And a new opportunity to make the most of this precious moment.

Thanks for being here!

#healcancer #healinsiya #viclife #oakbay #friendship
It’s three weeks post my big surgery. The last f It’s three weeks post my big surgery. The last fortnight has been a wave of highs and lows. It felt like every time I felt a little better something new would happen again that I needed to understand and navigate. 

Meanwhile my inner mind has been a whirling w so so much. I have so many thoughts and so many ideas every day. And having to still be quite still has forced me to pay attention to them. 

The word that keeps coming up is reclamation - reclaiming who I am and how I want to live my life moving forward… life seems a little less like I’m on the edge of a precipice - except in the middle of the night - but things still feel urgent - like I will run out of time before I get to do all the things I would like to. And I have been trying to stay true and listen to the emotions that come up as I continue to navigate the journey beyond - which as yet is a big unknown! 

Today was an easy day to reclaim how much living in harmony with our seasons means to me. How much I love being outside. This afternoon mom and I went for a glorious walk in the sunshine and then lion, our pup and I had some weeding fun in the garden. 

A friend asked me how I am feeling earlier today. I guess the answer today is so happy and grateful to be here and to live in such a beautiful place to call home close to the ocean and sea lions and the meadows and flowers and forests. I am cherishing these little moments. They feel big these days.

Thanks for being here. Xo 

#healing #gratitude #gardening #healinsiya #healcancer #coloncancercanada

📷 @sararasiwala 💖
Today is a reminder for myself and possibly you as Today is a reminder for myself and possibly you as well to not get discouraged… 

Recovery takes time.

there are moments of feeling on top of the world and there are others where I feel flat and tired. 

There is my mind trying to propel me forward beyond the constraints of my body; and my body then signaling with a sharp outcry - you cannot do X, please rest. 

There is life with all its chaos and wants and needs coming at you, because you don’t live in a bubble, the ones you are in relationship with also have needs… 

And so you remind yourself that all you can do is keep showing up now, in this moment, in the best way possible… don’t do more, it’s not necessary- especially right now…

Be gentle today. Happy Sunday.

🙏🏼❤️✨

#journal #healing #recovery #cancer #healcancer #healinsiya #slowlife #yogalife #mentalhealth
Home again. Short - very short and slow - walks do Home again.
Short - very short and slow - walks down our street.
Strawberries at breakfast.
So many Hugs from my son.
Back rubs from my husband
My mom’s continuous kindnesses that keep the day humming.
Friends saying hello and bringing food and tinctures.
And flowers that I cut from our wild garden tonight which is coming alive with all sorts of surprises.

I had tulips in my hospital room the entire 11 days and I can tell you how much they inspired me. As their petals opened up slowly I grew stronger and more able every day after surgery. I saw the colors shining against the dull hues of the room when I awoke each morning and in the sunshine they glistened.

Flowers have healing powers say researchers, apparently patients who can see trees and flowers from their hospital windows vs those who cannot, take less pain medication and have shorter hospital stays… and yes they both relax and uplift us. 

I’ve always loved flowers. Only now I understand why.

Happy weekend!
#grateful #flowers #healingpowerofflowers #healcancer #healinsiya #natureheals #holisticwellness
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