Over the last 3 years, my mind has returned again and again to the idea of opening a yoga studio, building a community, bringing ease and peace to people’s bodies and minds, and reengaging with my St. Johns neighbors. And for the last 3 years this idea was merely a passing thought, a pipe dream.

2023 was a big year for me. The tectonic plates of my inner and outer life shifted in major ways and the idea of a studio, of course, revisited my mind. During a visit to southern California to be with family after a major loss, I went out with my mom for a drink and a laugh. We reminisced and mused as we do, and the conversation turned to the future. I hadn’t shared the idea of opening a studio with anyone, ever. It was too silly. Too out of reach. Too...

I shared with her my secret, spilled the beans on my pipe dream. And instead of scoffing or brushing off the idea as an unattainable, risky endeavor, she encouraged me. And I emailed Kay and Orlo the next day.

That was 6 months ago. Since then, I’ve worked on turning this idea into a reality. And I’ve done so with the generous help of friends, colleagues, and our favorite duo, K & O. I haven’t been alone on this journey and I am deeply grateful for that. Now, I am seeking help from my NoPo neighbors (and beyond!) to fully realize this dream.

I am asking for help to open the doors of Mija Hot Yoga. In Spanish, "mi hija" means "my daughter" and I felt that this name embodied the process of my personal growth. I have been raised by many mothers, as I think we all have; mothers in the shape of mentors, teachers, friends, or partners. Personally, I have felt nourished and raised by many people in my life and I honor them all through the opening and offerings of this space.

We've teamed up with our east coast friends at Wellness Hot Yoga to increase our offerings of Zoom classes! Here is a message from WHY owner Teri Almquist:

​Here are all the interactive online class times (shown below in Pacific time) now included in HHY Online Membership:

Getting started is easy:

1. CLICK HERE to sign up for your Online Membership
2. Check your email for a link to set up your WHY pass at no extra charge
3. Get to a class in our Members Area and feel fantastic

Not too shabby for being shut down by the govnah, eh?

It actually gives me the chills:

Homies, you have stepped (way) out of your comfort zone this year and done things (hot yoga in the bathroom??) in the name of your own health and sanity that you'd possibly never imagined you'd do.

That is what we discover when we practice yoga: the essence of who we are:

Look how powerful you are, and how resilient! Look how you have found and made the time and space to care for yourself. Especially when it has been hard, when it has not been pretty.

A lot has changed this year, but not everything. For example, our mission at Home Hot Yoga is still:

To get the most people feeling the best by providing a joyful, inclusive environment for yoga. 

Our “environment” has moved online of course, which means we’re able to reach people all over the world with our transformational yoga system and help them feel better, wherever.

Speaking of which:

We have a very exciting project in the works, so be on the lookout for some Major  Announcements coming soon!

Do you have any happy “stats” of your own? What has your yoga practice helped you handle, accomplish or become this year? Comment below and let us know!

See you in the Zoom room.

Earlier this month, we said our final farewell to the upstairs of 7025 N. Lombard Street.

We built out this studio in 2015 with a negative amount of dollars in our pockets, our first kid on the way and fistfuls of crazy dreams. 

In March of 2020 we had a thriving business guiding people to become healthy, happy and empowered! 

It employed awesome people, attracted visiting yoga teachers from around the world, raised funds for important causes, held space for countless friendships to bloom, and helped people save their own lives by practicing Bikram Yoga.

It fed and clothed our family of 4, and surrounded us in real-deal, got-your-back style community. 

The rest is (literally) history.

2 months into our second mandated closure in one year, we have left our keys and closed the door. 

But I want you to know: 

This is not the sad story of another small business killed by Oregon's misguided Covid-era regulations (although they sure didn't help)

It's the story of 2 parents who made a choice. 

We chose to release our physical location and stop fighting a losing battle - while we still had the means to support our children AND keep connecting our community to Bikram Yoga (and with each other) through our online classes and resources. 

As we practice in yoga, we made peace with what was not under our control, and we chose to focus on what is.

Of course this was not the way we imagined our exit. But what ever goes as planned? 

And why am I writing all this?? 

I want to draw attention to the reason at the heart of why we opened Home Hot Yoga in the first place:

It's that we each only have this one life.

A lot in it is out of our control. But SO MUCH is up to us! 

We believe that no matter the circumstance, no matter what is lost or what disappoints or even hurts us, none of us ever have to be victims. Being a victim is a choice. 

Taking the wheel of your destiny-car is also a choice. Bikram Yoga helps us practice taking the wheel for 10-20 seconds at a time, 90 minutes at a time!

When things really get good though, is when we start putting that practice into action- off of the yoga mat. 

So here we are, walking the walk and taking the wheel. 

For us that means selling most of our belongings including our home and getting on a plane to Mexico (today!!) for starters.

All our things fit in a few suitcases now. We'll be spending more time with our kids. We'll be living lighter, spending less and working on exciting new ways to serve humanity. (Stay tuned!!)

Best of all, thanks to the magical technology of our age this move doesn't have to mean goodbye! We still get to practice this life-changing yoga together in our online "studio." (You may see more palm trees in the background of our videos from now on!)

Keep in touch, Homies.

Walk that walk. Take the wheel.

Practice being in your outside-of-yoga life as badass and in-charge as you feel when you nail that Standing Bow Pulling pose without falling over. (Or better yet, when you do fall over but you stand up and try again anyway without mentally berating yourself at all!)

See you soon in class. 

XOXO,
Kay

I feel pretty confident about spending 90 minutes in a hot room breathing with you during a global pandemic. There are a few reasons for that:

1. Yogis are staying home if they feel sick or have been exposed
2. We're wearing masks in class
3. Yoga strengthens our immune systems
4. COVID doesn't survive as long at high temps
5. We're cleaning like freaks
6. There's an iWave in the ductwork killing any COVID that sneaks in!

Is it safe?

Nature generates the same ions that the iWave’s technology does- with lightning, waterfalls and ocean waves. These natural processes break apart molecules, naturally cleaning the air. The difference between the iWave’s technology and what nature does is that the iWave does it without producing ozone!

Does it work on Coronavirus?

Yep! This system has actually undergone independent lab testing on COVID-19 and shown to deactivate 99.4% of the virus in just 30 minutes, in addition to significantly reducing a wide variety of other pathogens in the air and on hard non-porous surfaces.

Current HHY members, please note that HHY To Go is a separate membership on a completely different platform than the one we use for in-studio classes. Questions? Check out our FAQ about HHYTG here.

​If you have a current membership with us and wish to switch completely to HHY To Go, you'll need to EMAIL US to make that change. If you sign up for HHYTG but don't email us, you'll enjoy a subscription to both our virtual and in-person offerings: yay!

For so many of us this time apart has been hard in many ways. 

It's taking these moments to be grateful for the abundance of access to LOVE we all have, which is going to pull us through. Every one of us who has been a part of Home, is part of this love!

We can't wait to get started helping you heal your “computer neck” and get all your organs pumping happily and do some hot, sweaty yoga in person together again.

It's just a matter of time, so stay tuned for updates! 

For now, our virtual classes are ongoing-- and our gratitude is flowing. 

First, the GOOD news:

Some guidance was finally released last week by the Governor about reopening yoga studios! We're really excited as our industry was the LAST to receive these guidelines of all the industries included in the first phase of our state's reopening. We have been waiting with baited breath to know what our reopening could look like.

And now we know.
(...Kinda!)

Let’s back up a bit though:

Oregon is reopening for business in a “phased” plan, where restrictions are lifted slowly and carefully so as to avoid disaster. The details of this plan tend to be more conservative than the Federal guidelines for reopening.

(We think slowly and carefully is a good way to go!)

Oregon is giving certain counties permission to open before others, based on many factors involving their preparedness and how much COVID they’re dealing with.

31 of the 36 counties in Oregon have now been approved to begin Phase 1 of reopening, which began on Friday, May 15. Multnomah County is not one of them, which is to be expected because of our population. We expect to probably be the last county to open.

Multnomah County officials have said that reopening the Portland metro area is at least several weeks away, and possibly more. 

So that’s the sad news.
(... Kinda!)

Look. We’re in the business of helping people save their own lives.

So while we KNOW you miss the hot room (and we miss you!) we'll be in no rush to reopen, until it seems reasonably safe to do so. This means, even when we are allowed to reopen, we might not open right away. Your safety and the safety of our team are our highest priority.

Ya can't get to radiant health and wellbeing if ya don't feel safe!

There is so much we still don’t know about what reopening will look like. But yogis have been asking, and we hate to leave you hanging. 

Here are a few things we do know at this time:

1. No showers for a while (thems the rules.) But we will have… funky (not the smelly kind of funky) robes & kimonos for purchase, to put on your sweaty self!
2. Limited class sizes. (We gotta.) Classes will be capped and spaces will be marked to promote physical distancing. For those of you who have kept your memberships active during this time, you will get 1st dibs on spots. We are deeply grateful for your support, and we plan to show it!
3. Online yoga WILL continue. So if you are sick, at risk, or just can’t get into an in-person, we’ve got ya covered.

All right.
What was the “bad news”?

No bad news. 

We’re here.

We’re alive.

Our community is alive and we are getting through this together. We are going to come back to our studio, and we’re going to do it as safely as we can.

Meanwhile, we get to do yoga online together!

If you have any questions this email didn't answer, please check out the Closure FAQ on our website. We’ll update it whenever we get new info.

And of course keep following us on social media and in your email (drag us over to your inbox!) so you don’t miss out on any Home-coming (hint hint) 🕺🕺 plans...!!

Until we meet again: wash your hands, hug on your loved ones, and keep living your days in a way you can be proud of. We'll see each other again in all our sweaty in-person glory, sooner than it feels like.