Yoga in Morton Grove

Bikram yoga consists of 26 poses and two breathing exercises that center, strengthen, and lengthen every muscle with the muscle-melting powers of a 100-plus-degree room. The trained instructors at this Andersonville studio, including owner Jessica Rask, are ready and willing to guide both newcomers as stiff as stale graham crackers and yoga veterans as malleable as a handful of Gak through the exercise routine. Be prepared to sweat profusely, dumping both calories and toxins in the process. As the high temperatures seep into your muscles and ligaments, you'll warm like candle wax in a car engine, stretching and flexing accordingly. Afterward, you'll leave focused, with a cleansed, centered, and worry-free glow. A flexible schedule makes taking numerous classes achievable for busy bees, swamped swans, and Brian Dennehy alike.

Instructors at North Shore Yoga and therapists at Integrated Healing Center promote holistic well-being with a one-two punch of movement-based classes and salutary bodywork sessions. Owner Sharyn Galindo honed her yogic talents over 10 years of dedicated practice, including occasional sojourns to Mysore, India and Thailand where she studied Ashtanga techniques while accumulating enough frequent-flyer miles to vacation on Jupiter. Under her tutelage, North Shore Yoga instructors emphasize Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga styles, helping students deepen stretches by heating rooms up to 84 degrees for the majority of sessions. To augment a lifestyle of physical wellness, Integrated Health Center's therapists dole out healing bodywork and alternative treatments, including acupuncture and massage sessions that can help address clients' individual needs by incorporating aromatherapy or organic, herb-infused oils.

"Life takes life out of you. Yoga puts it back." Amy Treciokas, founder of Yoga Now, lives by these words. In high school, Treciokas—already a fledgling yoga practitioner—was drawn to the savasana relaxation pose because it "was a great time for a nap." After being reintroduced to yoga as an adult, she truly fell in love. A consuming passion for the energizing and stress-relieving practice of yoga led her to spend three years in India to learn at the feet of yogis in Mysore, an intensive period of study that helped her to obtain authorization to teach Ashtanga yoga. Not long after she was authorized, Treciokas founded Yoga Now.

Yoga Now's studio evidences a commitment to sustainable-living practices, including bamboo flooring, eco-friendly insulation, and energy-efficient lighting powered by giant hamster wheels. Students practice yoga on rubber mats and sustainable cork blocks, or they relax their muscles by lounging in the complimentary sauna and steam room or indulging in one of nine massage modalities that are available seven days a week. An extensive team of teachers and healers helps to fill out a class schedule that spans from early morning to night.

Body & Brain Holistic Yoga's classes incorporate yoga, tai chi, meditation, martial arts, and signature breathing postures to forge a mind-body exercise that helps students to awaken their inner ki energy. The one-hour sessions attempt to improve flexibility, strength, breathing, and energy sensitivity, which contribute to holistic health. Much like a dive-bombing red-winged black bird, classes often vary their approach, ensuring a more dynamic experience from session to session

A nonprofit educational organization, The Peace School promotes tranquility of mind, body, and spirit through yoga, tae kwon do, and meditation courses that welcome students of all ages. Originally established in 1972 by Grand Master Myungsu Y.S. Kim, the school has been recognized by the United Nations, developed senior and nursing-home programs, and helped establish Peace Day, an annual Chicago celebration of peace and cultural institutions.

At the school, a coalition of experienced instructors—all of whom have trained for at least 10 years—leads students in three levels of yoga, traditional tae kwon do, and other exercises. Group practice, discussion, and lectures divulge the fundamentals of peace breathing meditation, while a hands-on self-defense for women class opens up discussion of attitude, confidence, and safety issues. Massage classes emphasize acupressure technique and deep breathing, while courses in infant massage can help babies sleep better.

Growing up, Timothy Suh learned that strength could take several forms. His father was a tae kwon do master who helped inspire a lifelong passion for martial arts. His mother waged a two-year battle with cancer, and her passing prompted Timothy to study alternative medicine. Today, he combines these strengths to aid other cancer patients with their pain, linking his acupuncture treatments with tai chi and yoga practices.

The symbiotic relationship between Timothy's specialties underlines Alternative Health Group's primary mission: balance. All his staffers also boast complementary disciplines. For example, licensed massage therapist Danielle Pacific teaches restorative yoga poses to her massage clients, which they can assume at home for further relief or on the sidewalk to bend the rules of hopscotch. This holistic approach allows the team to bring Eastern and Western influences together and to address root causes of symptoms rather than just the symptoms themselves. With personalized acupuncture sessions, clinical massage, herbal remedies, and classes in yoga and tai chi, they strive to recalibrate bodies and minds from all angles.