I was so excited to be opening Hot Lotus Wellbeing Hub in my home town of Stockport where we offer a state-of-the-art Hot Yoga and Pilates studio.
My journey with Yoga began fairly late, although I have always a keen fitness enthusiast, finding it an essential way to relieve stress and tension.
After suffering a running injury I found myself on a Yoga mat and after one class I was hooked.
Practising Hot Yoga became an essential part of my life and after much soul-searching I decided to quit my job and went off to Bikram Yoga teacher training in Thailand – an intensive 9-week, 500-hour Hot Hatha Yoga training course.
I have been teaching in Bikram studios in Manchester and Leeds since 2015 but I wanted to make classes more accessible to my friends and local community and in May 2017 Hot Lotus was born.
I invested in a state-of the art inflatable dome, and with the latest in heating technology was able to offer heated Hot Yoga and Pilates classes in Stockport.
I continued to develop my skills and in 2016 I went to the US for Inferno Hot Pilates training with Gabriella Walters. Like Bikram yoga, Inferno Hot Pilates is practised in a hot room, combining HIIT (high intensity interval training) with Pilates principles. I was proud to be the first teacher in the UK to offer these classes when I launched Hot Lotus in May 2017.
Further trainings include Barre Contour training in Utrecht, run by Emma Newham – founder of Pilates Union and Barre Contour – and in May 2018 I completed my Aerial Yoga training with Janet Richards. I have also completed my Pregnancy Yoga training with renowned Cherie Lathey, a Yoga Alliance Professionals Approved Senior Yoga Teacher, director of the Yoga Mama Pregnancy Yoga Teacher Training School and the director of Yoga Mama Wellness. As well as this, she is the co-director of The Putney Clinic of Physical Therapy.
When I launched Hot Lotus it quickly became apparent that there was demand for a full-time studio and so I decided to take the plunge. It took months to find the right location and I was delighted to be launch at Pear Mill in Stockport.
As Hot Lotus moved on to the next level, I brought together a team of passionate and experienced teachers to create a place that is dedicated to looking after you, and somewhere everyone can belong.