Hot yoga for cold Chicago nights

November 17, 10:26 PMChicago Yoga and Pilates ExaminerMaya Henderson

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The view outside of CPY.

What’s detoxifying, stress-relieving, calorie-burning and sure to keep you nice and toasty on cold fall and winter days? Hot yoga!

Recently, Time Out Chicago magazine asked me to compare Bikram and CorePower Yoga, a new style of heated yoga that just opened it’s first studio here in September. 

Bikram has been in the Windy City since 2001 and those who practice it are usually devout followers, never returning to “regular” yoga again. Bikram is a great workout (and addictive). The room is heated to 105 degrees with 40% humidity and follows a 26+2 style, 26 hatha poses plus two breathing exercises for each 90-minute class.

Besides the heat and humidity, it’s unlike any other form of yoga I’ve ever tried. The instructor stands on an elevated platform guiding you through each pose with encouraging words and cues, each pose is held for a certain breath count and done twice on each side, which is good to know when you’re not sure how much longer you can hold Pyramid. Afterwards, I felt like I did after my first spin class, completely sweaty, a little spent and my legs felt like I just got out of the pool after a hard swim.

Denver-based CorePower Yoga has studios in Colorado, California, Minnesota, Oregon and now Illinois. The signature classes heat up to 98 degrees, but they also offer Hot Power Fusion, their take on Bikram, which gets up to 103. CPY’s South Loop location (across the street from the Whole Foods off Roosevelt) has already attracted a lot of UIC students, condo residents and Loop workers. CorePower classes are a challenging, yet attainable flow. You’ll do both Sun Salutation A and B, lots of chaturangas (it is a vinyasa class, after all) and as the name implies, a lot of core work. You’ll leave CorePower classes just as sweaty as you would a Bikram class. The room may not get as hot, but with all the moving and creation of internal heat through breathwork, it's still a big challenge. After both classes I sweated so much I could literally ring my sports bra out like a dish sponge.

CPY’s studio is brand new, so in addition to a state of the art heating and music system in each studio, the locker rooms are nice and clean. Taking a shower after a workout has never felt so good!

I’m not going to say which style I liked more. Both are amazing workouts and a great challenge for any yogi, whether you like gentle restorative classes or you’re a power vinyasa addict who wants a new challenge. I don’t think I’d be game for either style on a hot August afternoon, but now that the weather is getting colder, I’m looking forward to walking into a hot studio for months to come.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. Bikram offers an unlimited month to new students for just $29 and CorePower Yoga offers a free week to new students and a free Sunday evening class to all.