So, a week or two ago I was doing the usual: scrolling through Instagram when I saw a picture Amanda posted doing a headstand and a nerve struck me. I clicked on her profile and saw she teaches yoga in Kansas City and had a collaboration email listed, so I fired one off before I could talk myself out of it. I’ve been reviewing local boutiques, and I know a lot of you reading my blog appreciate my fitness posts, so I thought why not review fitness classes too?
Kansas City isn’t exactly “local” to those of us here in SEK and SWMO, but a lot of us spend A LOT of time in KC and I always like to check out local gyms or classes when I have the opportunity. (Also if you’re starting in Pittsburg, Core Energy KC is only 1.5 hours away. That’s a trip to Target and back guys).. Anyways, Amanda emailed me back quickly and was totally open to letting me chat with her and review her class, so equal parts nervous and excited I jumped right in and committed to going to her Thursday evening class. Now, I will admit that I’m probably a little crazy for doing this being as how yoga is not one of my athletic strong suit’s and I had never done “hot yoga” before this week. However, I had the confidence I could do it and if you tell yourself you’re going to do something, do that shit.
So who is Amanda? What was hot yoga like? I don’t know if I’m still on an exercise endorphin high or what, but I have been so excited to share all about it. Amanda grew up in Kansas City and also got her Master’s Degree from KU so we are fellow Jayhawks. When she isn’t teaching yoga at Core Energy or Freight House Fitness, she’s also a recruiter for an engineering firm in KC. She is the Midwest girl goals: hard-working, gorgeous and so kind. Obviously you never know what to expect from a stranger you email on Instagram (or from a random girl who emails you from Instagram), but she was extremely welcoming and even if she wasn’t as excited I was, she didn’t show it. This is one thing I have always cherished about the Midwest, most of the people are just innately nice.
I pretty much started sweating when I walked in the yoga studio lobby just from the heat coming out of the yoga room, so I was slightly worried. Then she told me they crank the heat up to 95* for the duration of the class (60 minutes by the way) and I about fainted, ha. Needless to say, 60 minutes later I looked like I had been swimming in my clothes. This wasn’t 60 minutes of tree pose in a sweltering hot room, although we did do tree pose and I do love it. This was an hour of cardiovascular work. My heartrate was sky high several times and 3 days later I’m still feeling muscles in my upper body that apparently hadn’t been worked in a while. With low but upbeat music and a fast paced, fun Vinyasa flow, I was never bored even though I did question my sanity once or twice.
Amanda made this practice SO enjoyable. It was light and there were several laughs. But she started the hour by talking about not letting the questions others ask you about yourself, reflect how you see yourself. For example: “Isn’t it hard to leave the kids everyday to work full time?”. This is so true and often times I’ll find myself judging myself against someone else’s standards or expectations. Sure it’s hard to leave my boys at daycare all week, but I also enjoy my job and get to work with some really cool people that I would have never met if I was a stay at home mom. If you’re a stay at home mom, the grilling you get from a working friend shouldn’t waver your decision if you’re doing what you love? Does any of this make sense….
One question I asked Amanda that I really wanted to share with all of you is what her response is when she’s asked how to stay fit and motivated, and she said that it’s absolutely crucial to find something you love and enjoy doing. She loves yoga and that is primarily what she sticks with because that is what makes her feel her best. Kind of like me with running… I don’t like it so you won’t find me doing it unless I’m being tortured. One last pro tip for everyone with a love of athleisure, she said she grabbed some Aerie by American Eagle leggings on sale and they are similar to some of our favorite high end leggings at a way better price.
I want to round all this out by saying 10/10 would recommend Core Energy Yoga to anyone, not only was Amanda great, but everyone there was so welcoming and encouraging. You can take Amanda’s class at Core Energy (127th and Antioch) on Thursday’s at 7pm or Saturday’s at 11am and you definitely should if you want or need a great workout and mental refresher.
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