Hot For Yoga

Ruled by my emotions and self destructive behaviors, I was at a low point where I knew that something needed to change in my life. I decided to try a hot yoga class 7 years ago. I was hooked from day one.

Little by little, I began feeling better. I was encouraged to practice awareness and introduced to the power of my full potential. I had more physical energy, felt my emotions level and a mental clarity that I have never experienced. I gained confidence and started believing in myself. I also connected to a divine source of energy that connects us all. 

I knew I wanted to teach early on in my  journey to share the experience and strength I had gained by adopting a daily practice. I just love the way it makes me feel, inside and out. It has continually taught me how to live to the fullest and I have seen my whole attitude and outlook on life change for the better. Yoga has made me a nicer, more compassionate human being. My life today is a testament to the healing powers of yoga.

I find it to be a true honor and privilege to teach and share what I have learned. In 2017 I studied the hatha yoga tradition of the 84 asanas in Costa Rica, which included the hot yoga tradition of the 26&2 with Esak and Radah Garcia in Boulder, Colorado.

I want everyone to know they are welcome in the yoga room. All it takes is the willingness to meet yourself exactly as you are in this moment. 

To be honest, I never had experienced any physical body issues before trying Hot Yoga. I was  an avid treadmill runner, I took tons of cardio, step, and weight lifting classes, and I also danced  on stage professionally. I considered myself to be quite fit. But, until I tried hot yoga, I’ll admit, I  got bored at the gym. I often tried to pass the time watching TV while running on the treadmill. I  felt like I was just biding my time in cardio class because my body got so conditioned to the  movement, and weight lifting tended to make my arms look bulky, not lean.  

I tried Hot Yoga in 2008 for the first time in the Philippines. I was doing a show in Manila and  the Hotel gym was very small and uninspiring. My first Hot Yoga class, I was completely  hooked! It was extremely difficult, even though I was pretty flexible and had decent coordination.  The heat was beyond anything I had ever experienced and I had to focus so intently on my  breath that it forced me to stay completely present. Even though the class was so intense, after  class I felt euphoric. I continued to go to class and felt so renewed it made me giddy, like I had  discovered a secret that know one else knew about.  

I continued taking class throughout my travels and when I came back home, I knew that yoga  was something I would do for the rest of my life. I also wanted to share my passion by  becoming a teacher.  

I have been a certified Hot Yoga Instructor since Spring of 2012, and I absolutely love teaching.  I’ve dealt with personal injuries myself and I feel it has improved my teaching. I experience  painful arthritis in my knees, and have bulging discs in my lumbar spine. Because of these  injuries, I’ve had to find ways to modify postures and be patient with my body. The act of having  to listen to my own body has made me more sensitive and aware with my students. Even  though I’m committed to the accuracy and technicality of the yoga postures, I also thrive on  creative ways to explore yoga posture modifications so that all students can know that any body  type is capable of doing yoga.  

I teach the traditional Bikram 90 every Sunday at Noon. My class is for everyone at  any level in their yoga journey. I can promise you two things if you take my class…you will have  fun and you will feel better than you did after completing my class. I can’t wait to see you in the Hot Room!!

Jeff Pilson is probably most known as the bass player, songwriter and background vocalist for the legendary band Dokken. He’s also had stints with the bands Dio, MSG and his own band War and Peace. Currently he is with the classic rock band Foreigner, where he not only serves as bassist and musical director but also as the band’s producer on many of their CD releases since 2005.

What people likely DON’T know about Pilson is his passion and commitment to the study and practice of yoga.

Pilson’s yoga journey began in 1978 following a debilitating back injury. Soon after, he was studying hatha yoga and meditation with yoga legend Richard Hittleman who is best known for his PBS television series Yoga for Health in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Through his TV series, books and videos, Hittleman is widely credited for bringing the practice of yoga to more people in the west than anyone before or since. Since Hittleman’s passing in 1991 Pilson has studied extensively with Yogi Michaeline Kiss in both New York and San Francisco.

Pilson credits yoga postures and meditation as the vital tools to keep him “sane and healthy” in a vigorous road life that often entails travelling 10 months of the year. His teaching of yoga meditation and mild postures is designed to introduce students to several time tested ancient meditation techniques and then allow them to naturally adapt to whichever one or ones best suits them.

There is no such thing as too old to start a successful yoga practice, and meditation often proves to be a life changing experience that has no equal.

“The Self Realized state is the natural state. All one need do is remove the obstruction of the mind.”   --Ramana Maharshi/ Guru to Richard Hittleman