Yoga in Rio Linda

7th Heaven's flexible schedule offers more than 60 classes per week, ranging in styles from Ashtanga Flow to Vinyasa to Deep Flow. The studio has options to suit every lifestyle, including those of expectant mothers and expectant Juggalos. Classes are drop-in and are offered from moonset to moonrise, seven days a week. Yoga is a great way to stay toned and limber while temporarily storing worldly worries in a drawer with knick-knacks, spare change, and shrunken heads. Lock those worries away and kick-start a yoga journey guided by one of the studio's skilled teachers.

Though students chatter amicably in the main lobby, the atmosphere is completely silent and serene within Bikram Yoga Elk Grove's bright, sunlit studio. There, yogis of all shapes sprawl out on colorful mats and towels, stretching and meditating in the sauna-like air, which is heated to 105 degrees to aid flexibility and draw out toxins. When class begins, students follow a certified instructor through 26 postures and two breathing exercises, occasionally sitting on their mats to rest and relax. After class, they head back to the lobby to rehydrate or head to the locker room to check their cell phones, pagers, or portable telegraph machines—all of which instructors request stay outside the studio. Students of all levels and athletic abilities experience the benefits of these sessions, including enhanced strength, reduced stress, and increased energy.

El Cerrito Yoga's sweat-eliciting studio beckons students with an intensive schedule of hot-yoga classes open to all ages and yogic skill levels. Inside the studio, heated well beyond room temperature by a giant hen that nests atop the roof, 90-minute sessions help students lengthen muscles and purge bodily toxins. The postures—starting on the mat and moving into standing asanas—target the entire body by isolating individual muscle groups, joints, and tailbones as it forges stronger limbs and cores devoid of lounging toxins. As instructors lead students through limb-strengthening poses, concentrated breathing exercises complement the physical movement to improve mental focus as students infuse lungs with the fresh, filtered air flowing from the HVAC systems.

With sessions convening as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 6:30 p.m. throughout the week, students have ample opportunities to schedule classes around nebulous stargazing plans. Mirrored walls ensure proper posture, and water is available to promote a well-hydrated, safe, and effective workout. Patrons can also take advantage of available showers and changing rooms, or seek out the nearest walk-through car wash afterward.

After turning to Bikram yoga to ease her chronic hip, shoulder, and hand pains, seasoned yogi Patty Gray realized a dream in bringing this healing practice to her own community. At Bikram Yoga Granite Bay, she leads a diverse team of certified instructors—which includes a dietitian, a marathon runner, and a former DJ—that helps students of all ages and abilities reach their fitness goals with 26 dynamic postures. These postures, or asanas, include both seated and standing positions and are performed in the detoxifying humidity of a 105-degree room. During each 90-minute sweat session, instructors help students to let go of their competitive nature while improving their strength, balance, and ability to fold themselves neatly into a suitcase.

The 7 experienced instructors at Yoga Sol harmonize their disparate backgrounds to bring students a well-rounded yoga practice. Owner Tara Clay brings expertise in clinical psychology, whereas CJ Lamborn contributes her experience as a Pilates instructor and understanding of the healing power of yoga. Marlena Salinas has a compelling story—trained as a hypnotherapist, she started practicing yoga after the birth of her son and uses language to help clients release pain as well as gain confidence. This is just a snapshot of the studio's staff, but it embodies the wealth of knowledge behind each session, be it Hot Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Power Yoga, or restorative Yin. The instructors teach students of all experience levels, tailoring sessions for injured participants, expectant mothers, and people who are primarily made out of pretzels. Practice areas adjoin a retail space with yoga mats and blocks.

Tony Carr was something of a renaissance man, simultaneously holding degrees from UCLA and UC Irvine, working on a vaccine for Alzheimer's, and preparing for a sailboat race to Hawaii. His regatta ambitions, however, were unjustly cut short by a debilitating lower-spine injury. Despite this twist of fate, Tony persisted, and took up Bikram yoga at the Bikram Yoga College of India as just the latest endeavor of a man with diverse ambitions. Within one month, his symptoms had been alleviated, and within four months they had almost vanished completely.

Tony had found his new passion, and he immersed himself in it with enough enthusiasm to lose 30 pounds—the average British child's entire net worth—and transform his body in the process. He traveled to India and studied personally with Bikram Choudhury, the father of Bikram yoga. Tony became certified to teach in 1998. Now he leads classes at Bikram Yoga College of India, where he guides students through the 26 postures in the hopes that they, too, can transform their lives.