Hot yoga has been one of my faves for years. I started with Bikram yoga which is done in a room heated to 96 degrees, it was very challenging to get used to. When I discovered Core Power Yoga it was a “much cooler” 90 degree room and thus felt much more tolerable.

I took Megan’s “hot yoga sculpt” class, and it is a great postpartum workout. It’s not too intense and the pace is slow, however because it’s in a heated room, I am going to say these classes are best for someone who works out regularly and has a more-than-beginner yoga practice. You really need to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

1) Core Power just opened in Mission Viejo a year ago. It is very clean and has a zen yoga meets hipster type of vibe.

2) They run frequent teacher trainings and their instructors, across the board, are trained with the same sing-song like verbal wiring that paints an anatomical picture while giving direction. From studio to studio the instruction always feels the same, although a true beginner might spend a lot of time craning their neck to see the teacher if they don’t know their down dog from their dancers poser.

3) Core Power Yoga is about 15 minutes of body prep work and easing your body into the postures. It then flows into a 15 minute vinyasa (breath focused yoga) which aims to rev up your body for the more intense weight workout. The sculpting workout is an intense 15 minutes that is done with 3-5 lb weights and combines traditional weight training movement patterns with an asana (posture focused yoga) workout. Push through it! It’s intense but short! The last 15 minutes of class are standing and seated asana and a sivasana (corpse pose – relaxing the body into the floor).

4) The staff is very friendly, welcoming, and incredibly helpful. They are very hands on, Megan does great adjustments on each practitioner, no matter how many students are in the room.

Overall a great workout and one of my favorites. It combines different movement patterns that make for a challenging and effective workout!