Anjana Mistry runs Kāpiti Hot Yoga. Photo / David Haxton
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision that jolted Anjana Mistry to take her first hot yoga class.
She wasn’t sure what to expect when she attended the class in Sydney, but she ended up loving it.
“I walked home with a sense of peace and calm.”
She was hooked and, after this first lesson, started practising hot yoga semi-regularly.
Anjana’s love for yoga followed her across the world, and when she and her husband Sean Fitzgerald moved to Boston she continued practising.
After having her son in 2011, she moved back to her homeland with Sean, where they took up residence on the Kāpiti Coast.
At the time there weren’t many options for hot yoga, so Anjana found herself travelling to Wellington’s Yoga for the People.
Not long after the move to New Zealand, an opportunity arose that meant she could return to Australia to study to be a hot yoga teacher.
She took that opportunity, and after four weeks of study in Gosford she gained certification and was officially a qualified yoga instructor.
With her certification secured, she returned to New Zealand and worked as a hot yoga teacher at Yoga for the People.
In December 2020, when what used to be an office building was made available, Anjana took the chance and started up Kāpiti Hot Yoga in Ihakara St, Paraparaumu.
Anjana then fitted infrared heaters and got new flooring put in, and lined one of the walls of the studio with mirrors.
Her studio specialises in 26 + 2 yoga, also known as Bikram yoga, which is the original hot yoga and the most popular type.
Traditionally, Bikram yoga consists of 26 poses and two breathing exercises, with a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and humidity of 40 per cent.
Anjana’s studio is equipped to meet all these traditions. She offers the classic 90-minute sessions, as well as 60-minute sessions.
She said the benefits of hot yoga are limitless, with some examples being working all the muscles in the body, sweating out toxins and circulation improvement.
“It’s a bit like magic.”
Anjana also finds it to be a great form of meditation and says you need to be able to focus on your breathing and focus on being still.
Hot yoga has a ripple effect on other aspects of life too, including being more hydrated and eating better.
The classes sound like a rainforest, and the sound of sweat falling off of peoples’ bodies can be quite daunting to new clients.
“There’s always a level of discomfort in the room.
“Everyone’s sweating and heart rates go up.”
That’s why the mirrors are so important – they help to set a focus point for clients and help them to be still.
The classes are taught in a traditional way in that there is no music or background noise, and the teachers have all learned a specific script through their studies.
“No matter where you practise in the world, the script stays the same.”
She said hot yoga led to a healthier life, and she had several clients who considered her classes to be an escape.
“It’s so much more than just yoga.”
One of her favourite parts of teaching hot yoga is watching the newer clients grow.
“Sometimes they can be so fidgety when they start, or they can’t look at themselves in the mirror.”
She’s got big plans for the future too and wants to make the room bigger to accommodate more clients, and she’s also looking to add more classes.
But there’s one thing she wants to keep exactly the same.
“I’m going to keep on spreading the love – and the sweat.”
The police officer wore the gang patch vest over his police uniform.