Why Hot Yoga?
Yoga changes the construction of the body from the inside out, from bones to skin and from fingertips to toes. But before you change it, you have to heat it up to soften it, because a warm body is a flexible body. Once flexible, you can reshape the body any way you want.
Yoga brings nourishment to every cell of your body so that each one can perform its function and keep you healthy. Our core classes employ heat to further that cleaning process: when you sweat, impurities are flushed out of the body through the largest organ of your body, your skin.
Practicing yoga not only increases our supplies of oxygen, but it also teaches us how to use that oxygen properly through breath control.
Our Story
In her late 40s, Leslie Fillnow was living and working in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and dealing with stress, menopause and a frozen shoulder. She turned to 26 + 2/Bikram-style yoga after a friend recommended it to her. She began practicing at Bikram Yoga Portsmouth, founded by yogi Sara Curry, whose heartfelt attention to community and advancing the culture of wellness in Portsmouth has had a huge impact. Sara drew Leslie into a whole new world. Within just weeks, Leslie saw huge benefits to both her mental and physical health. While Leslie believes that all kinds of yoga practice are valuable, hot yoga has resonated the most for her, and she’s witnessed the powerful transformation it can bring to people coping with addiction, grief, autoimmune diseases and other problems.
So when Leslie and her husband Bob switched gears and moved to the Midcoast, Leslie knew she wanted to continue her 26 + 2/Bikram-style yoga practice in her new life. But it didn’t exist here yet, so she attended the Raja Yoga Academy with the intention of opening a space where she could create an inviting and serene community hub for wellness, balance and health.
At Earth Flow + Fire, the belief is that Bikram-style yoga is a great way to detox: it’s meditative; it relieves anxiety and depression; and it helps you build inner and physical strength. Most importantly, it can help you learn to like yourself, to stop seeing the flaws in yourself and in others.
Leslie and her team also believe that when one member of a community is healthier, it has a positive impact on the community as a whole. That’s why Leslie is especially enthusiastic about the sober yogi program she’s launching as part of Earth Flow + Fire, and about sharing nutritious, veggie-driven food options with children and their families through Earth Candy juice bar.
In the future, Leslie hopes to collaborate with other local businesses to offer retreats, workshops and other special events focusing on holistic wellness. Her goal is for Rockland to be known not just as an arts destination, but also a health destination.
Leslie and Bob are both passionate about giving back to their communities, and want to inspire others to practice generosity.