Meghan Rowling from Yippie Yoga Studio in Napier has a challence for you. Photo / Warren Buckland
Meghan Rowling from Yippie Yoga Studio in Napier has a challence for you. Photo / Warren Buckland
Here’s a hot challenge for you - try yoga in a room heated to 40C.
Yippie Yopi Studio owner and yoga instructor Meghann Rowling loves yoga so much she wants to share the joy of it with others.
She has launched a new initiative for newbie yogagoers where over the course of six weeks, they will be introduced to hot yoga and supported while learning yoga techniques. Participants can attend as many classes as they like,
“The six-week challenge is a group challenge and something quite unique. Participants will meet like-minded people and get to experience learning yoga together. We’ve priced it to be very affordable as we want everyone to be able to access it. " Meghann said,
Her love for hot yoga began in 2007 while living in London.
“My flatmate talked me into going to a Hot Yoga class and I just fell in love with it. In 2008 I moved to Auckland and continued to practice it.
“Then we moved back to Napier and I started going to this yoga studio. I was a long-standing regular customer here and when the business came up for sale I decided to buy it so people in the community could continue to enjoy hot yoga.”
Meghann, who was born and bred in Hawke’s Bay, says she has never left a hot yoga session feeling worse than when she went in.
Yippie Yopi Studio Owner and Yoga Instructor Meghann Rowling strikes a pose. Photo / Warren Buckland
“Quite the opposite actually. I always leave the room feeling better and refreshed. The benefits of hot yoga are amazing.
“Concentration levels increase, focus is razor sharp and you also learn to keep your mind engaged as you listen and concentrate on the voice of the instructor.
“That’s why I love seeing teenagers in classes. Learning to concentrate and engage are skills you can take away and use at school or in the work environment.
“You will also be more flexible, have glowing skin, and the white of your eyes brighten - it just makes you feel better.”
She says there is no need to be flexible or experienced.
“Flexibility is the outcome of yoga. Hot yoga is suitable for everyone, whether they rarely exercise or do tonnes of running, injured or not injured, old or young.”
Meghann has owned the studio since 2021 and while the studio took a hit as a result of the pandemic, things are now changing.
“I think an outcome of the pandemic has been that people are more aware of their health and mental wellbeing, for which yoga is a big help and also very healing.
“Come along and give it a try. Hydration is the key. It might take you a couple of classes to get used to the heat but it’s the heat that makes you more malleable. By warming up the body, this allows a greater flexibility of movement and that maximises the benefits.”
Yippie Yopi is located in Onekawa, Napier. It offers a range of hot yoga, hot HITT pilates and two other non-hot forms of yoga, Yin and Vinyasa. People under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
