Rosie Scott
October 16, 2019 15:20
I was a casual yogi about fifteen years ago with my father and dropped the habit in high school. After months of going through two types of physical therapy recently (for weak legs/knees and pelvic floor), I needed to stay in shape without making my issues worse. The problem? I hate exercising with a passion and need to plan a date and time to get myself to do it. I tried Modo Yoga because they had a good "first month" deal. The idea of hot yoga actually sounded really bad to me. I hate being hot and hate sweating, but hey...it was cheap and the Cincinnati location is a nice scenic drive for me.
I won't lie: the first time I went to Modo Yoga I nearly passed out. I didn't eat beforehand and didn't have ice in my water. Thankfully, the teacher/class said nothing of my nauseated sway and I felt no pressure calming down and rejoining the moves on my own time. The class is kept around 95-100 degrees (with a break or two of fans/open windows depending on the teacher). After fixing my errors (icing my water before coming and eating a snack an hour before class), I've had no issues with this discomfort. I have attended three classes a week for three weeks now and plan to do the same for the last week of my first month before getting a membership.
The Cincinnati location is attractive, has a good parking lot (Clifton location does not have free parking), and the "lobby" has a selection of yoga mats, pants, towels, and other yogi goods for sale. Prices are a little high compared to what you can get on Amazon, but at least it's there and the selection is good. Modo Yoga has an online schedule where you can either sign up for classes up to a week beforehand, or in the case of the regular hot yoga sessions you can just show up ten minutes before class starts and join in. I sign up for every class online to make myself plan on it AND because I've attended every overbooked Roll and Flow class Mary has had since I joined. It's a myofascial release class that is so overwhelmingly helpful for those of us who have particularly angry, knotted muscles. Some say it releases stress better than a massage. This class really needs to be offered more often so more can experience it; it is EXTREMELY helpful and unique.
Save for one instructor who went a little too fast for my liking, they've all been friendly and helpful. Kathryn is by far my favorite hot yoga instructor (she consistently makes you feel welcome by reminding you to go at your own pace and take sips of water so you don't feel like you're the odd one out). Mary is great as the Roll and Flow instructor (again--seriously--offer this class more often than once a week please).
As for my hatred of exercise--I still hate being sweaty, and though I hate heat, hot yoga feels productive and soothing enough that I keep coming back. Sweating so much has made my skin noticeably softer to me and my husband, and the heat really helps soothe the muscles as you exercise to help you stretch farther and work harder with less pain or straining. Yoga is perfect for those of us who hate strength training, because you will get stronger and more flexible without the stress. The hour classes go by so quickly.
Overall, I highly recommend Modo Yoga. If you're new and thinking about joining, try out the one month and I'd recommend attending one of Kathryn's classes first so you can feel welcome while learning the way classes run. They have so many different lengths of memberships that you'll surely find something up your alley.