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At Park Ridge yoga studio, exercising everyday not a stretch
Sheila Davis Kagan, center, leads a yoga sculpt class at CorePower Yoga in Park Ridge on June 21. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media
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NAME: CorePower Yoga.
SPECIALTY: Hot yoga, in temperatures over 100 degrees.
ADDRESS: 991 W. Touhy Ave.
CONTACT: (847) 496-4359.
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Updated: July 29, 2012 6:15AM
Work, family and even that dreaded early-morning alarm clock’s ring aren’t keeping Josie Howard-Ruben from her goal of practicing yoga for 30 consecutive days.
Howard-Ruben, of Park Ridge, decided to take up the challenge set by CorePower Yoga by signing up for a variety of yoga classes, one each day, during the month of June at the studio’s Park Ridge location. She was one of more than 70 initial participants, but among only a group of 15 who had successfully reached the half-month mark.
“With this 30-day challenge I’ve tried every single class they have, even classes I wouldn’t normally attend,” Howard-Ruben said.
That’s meant getting up at 5 a.m. to make a 6 a.m. class before the work day begins and squeezing in some sessions on weekends.
CorePower Yoga’s Park Ridge studio is one of five locations in the Chicago area offering the month-long yoga challenge, said manager Vy Brooks. Those who make it the entire way through are eligible for prizes, but even participants who don’t complete the challenge can benefit, Brooks said.
“Even if they don’t end up coming all 30 days, because they signed up they end up coming for more classes and that in itself is an accomplishment for them,” she said.
CorePower Yoga’s studio at 991 W. Touhy Ave. opened in October 2010. Today there are 72 classes offered each week, including hot yoga (practiced in temperatures up to 103 degrees), yoga Pilates, core training and yoga (involving weight training). Classes are held seven days a week and begin as early as 6 a.m. or as late as 8:45 p.m.
New students, including those who may not know the difference between the lotus position and the cobra, can receive one week of free classes in order to get acquainted with the studio.
Most classes at CorePower Yoga are aimed at core-building and improving balance and strength.
“I think a really great thing about our studio is that we offer a lot of different styles of yoga,” Brooks said.
For Kelly Jackson, who is also meeting the 30-day yoga challenge, enrolling in a session every day is a great stress reducer and a way to form a routine now that she is home from college. She has also found that starting the day with yoga is a great energy booster.
“If it’s the first thing I do in the morning I don’t want to take a nap during the day and I feel so much better,” Jackson, of Park Ridge, said. “I feel much more positive.”
Brooks believes the popularity of yoga is due in large part to its ability to greatly relieve stress.
“I think it surprises people when they find their stress levels reduce and they are able to relax,” she said.
For those who practice it can also be great fun.
“If you told me I would enjoy something where my hair would get frizzy and I’d be sweating but enjoying it as exercise, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Howard-Ruben said. “But I love it more than any fitness activity I’ve ever done.”
