Our Vision

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“East meets East in the West” is a vision unlike any other within the yoga community. Hot Yoga Wellness is the only studio in Canada to combine the popular western practice of Indian yoga with the lesser-known Chinese practice of Health Qigong for a complete, overall experience of wellness balancing the mind-body Yin energy of the east with the physically-minded Yang energy of the west.

Our logo shows the yin and yang symbol and circle of chi / energy uniting the elements of universe, man/woman in grounding tree pose and earth. The colour green represents clearing, cleansing and healing. The colour purple represents the more spiritual aspects of yoga and qigong.

Sujun Chen: Founder & President of Hot Yoga Wellness International Inc.

Sujun Chen came to Canada from China and worked as a live-in caregiver for several years before discovering hot yoga. She suffered from lower back pain and stress and hot yoga and health qigong healed her in time to cancel her surgery. Since then, Sujun vowed to share this incredible gift with others.

In 2006, she opened her first Hot Yoga Wellness studio in Woodbridge followed by Concord in 2009 and several others throughout the Greater Toronto Area (Kennedy, Brampton, Burlington, Buttonville) and in Edmonton, Alberta.

Sujun leads a dedicated community of yoga teachers and students committed to enhanced wellness. In 2010 she began offering 200HR Yoga Alliance Teacher Training two times per year and has certified over 100 teachers. In the fall of 2013, Hot Yoga Wellness will be upgrading to 500HR Teacher Training certification incorporating Traditional Chinese Medicine, Health Qigong and Yoga Therapist certification.

Hot Yoga Wellness is the only studio in Canada to offer qigong certification to its yoga instructors and Qigong classes. Sujun is committed to providing balance to her students through yang (yoga) and yin (qigong, meditation) classes. Yang expends energy outward while yin draws the energy back in.

In 2013, Hot Yoga Wellness hosted the 2nd Health Qigong Seminar for American Instructors in Markham, Ontario along with the Chinese Ministry of Sport. The seminar provided specialized certification and training from highly renown qigong masters Lei Bin, Wang Zhen and Zhuang Yong Chang on the thousands-year old mind-body practice of Health Qigong.

Our Classes

At Hot Yoga Wellness you will find yoga classes suitable for all levels including:

  • Foundation Flow
  • Mixed Yoga Style
  • Health Qigong
  • Hot Core
  • Hatha Flow
  • Yin Yoga
  • Aerial Yoga
  • Yoga Fitness
  • Ashtanga Yoga
  • Kids Yoga & MORE

** Check each studio’s web site for details and class descriptions. **

Benefits of Body Temperature Yoga

Hot Yoga Wellness uses high-quality infrared heating panel systems and humidifiers in all the rooms. If you’ve never tried hot yoga before, Hot Yoga Wellness is a great place to be because the rooms are heated to body temperature (37C or 98.6F. You will sweat! Sweating helps the body detoxify and aids in deeper stretching. Hot Yoga also decreases stress and provides a source of complementary healing for many, if not all physical conditions. To prepare for a hot yoga class, drink water before, during and after class. Bring a mat and towel with you or rent both at the front desk.

Warm-up

You need to warm up your body before you do any vigorous exercise. At Hot Yoga Wellness, the studio room is thermostatically heated with healthy infra-red heat, very close to body temperature with humidity around 50% which allows you to breathe easier. The body can safely regulate its internal temperature to 98.6F through sweating and you are in a comfort zone.

Tune-up

There are a number of reasons for heating the room to body temperature. A warmed-up body can  stretch, twist, bend and arch further which means that you will literally massage all your inner organs,  glands, muscles, ligaments, etc. thus allowing greater mobility without causing pain. You are giving yourself a “tune-up” because you are affecting every cubic centimetre inside your body plus the largest organ of your body, your skin, is getting a genuine cleansing due to sweating.

Toning and Weight Normalization

Think about when you were much younger and you climbed trees, furniture and literally turned yourself  into a pretzel. Everyday your internals received a major workout. Hot yoga allows that to happen to you again thus giving yourself a “tune-up” each time you take a hot yoga class. There is simply no better exercise than a “body temperature” yoga class performed in an infra-red heated room. At least three times per week will achieve wonders for your mind, body and soul. Your body weight will simply normalize itself which means that your optimum weight will be achieved and toning will be accomplished depending on the depth and extent of your efforts in following the postures.

Peace of Mind

You have the added advantage of not having to think at all about the outside world as you are concentrating on breathing and balancing and basically following the instructor’s guided session. This gives your mind a release which creates a genuine calming effect. You will notice that you come out of the class feeling “lighter” and at peace. The studio room becomes like a second home for you as a refuge from the everyday pressures of life.

Summary of Benefits

  • Much greater flexibility thus reducing the chance of injuries if doing sports.
  • Efficient toning and burning fat effectively through increased metabolism.
  • Removal of waste products from every cell which allows for better circulation.
  • Attitude changes resulting in a friendlier and more tolerant you.
  • Challenges are simpler to handle due to improved self-control, concentration and willpower.
  • Better immune system with much greater resistance to illnesses.
  • Check the web re arthritis, circulation, blood pressure and more benefits of Hot Yoga.
  • You’ll be in great shape and will find that Hot Yoga alone will keep you in top condition.

Remember

  • Don’t “push” yourself too hard for your first few Hot Yoga classes.
  • Do allow yourself to acclimatize and get used to postures and breathing.
  • Drink 8 or so glasses of water per day and more when doing classes.
  • Don’t come to class totally hungry.
  • Don’t eat 2-3 hours before class (have some juice or a bit of fruit instead)
  • During class take frequent small sips of water (20 oz. during class but up to you)
  • Drink water after class.
  • Do eat properly. You know! -You have read all the do’s and don’ts of eating properly.

Hot Yoga Wellness Diet

For Optimal Nutritional Intake and Proper Assimilation

Never allow yourself to be hungry during the next thirty days. Your metabolism will change because it recognizes that the body does not need food as it is never hungry.

  • Upon arising – one litre of body temperature water prior to any food intake.
  • Breakfast – Fruit at room temperature as much as you can eat – preferably fruit that you have cut up and mixed together the previous evening. Let it be warm.
  • If hungry between breakfast and lunch then drink fruit juice (NOT fruit drink or fruit blend)
  • Lunch – Eat lots of raw and/ or cooked vegetables with a slice of bread or small potato or handful of rice/pasta. If you are in a hurry then just have a “liquid” lunch such as 750ml yoghurt (with honey – no sugar), or 1 ltr Allen’s (or blend your own) Vegetable Juice or one liter of OJ, etc. Keep it natural and simple.
  • Drink Allen’s Vegetable juice (or other juices that don’t have added sugar) in case you get hungry before supper.
  • Supper- keep it plain and simple. Do NOT mix starches (potatoes, rice, pasta noodles, etc) and proteins (meats and beans).
    If you eat meat then eat with fruit or veggies. Do not combine meat with rice, potatoes or bread. Eat the ‘starches’ 2 hours before or after the ‘proteins’.
  • Before bed have some juice.
  • Every day eat: 1. Some yoghurt. 2. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of safflower oil and olive oil onto your plate. (The safflower fights fat and the olive oil aids digestion.) 3. Three almonds.
  • WEIGHT LOSS ASSISTANCE: Thirty minutes before each meal drink two ounces of dark (Concord Grapes) Grape Juice mixed into one ounce of water. This gives you energy and lessens your appetite and DEFINITELY helps with weight loss. Consciously and with purpose – do not ever allow yourself to be hungry. You want your metabolism to change. You want your body to realize that you will not let it go hungry and therefore your body will not try to store fat.

For additional weight loss: do at least 3 Hot Yoga classes per week. Do NOT do your normal workout routine. Concentrate on as much hot yoga as possible within the next 30 days. Your muscles will tone, lengthen and strengthen as opposed to bulking up and shortening. You will be stronger, quicker, more energetic, yet calmer than before.

Above all, be gentle with yourself and listen to your body.

Holistic Therapy

In addition to yoga and health qigong, we also offer enhanced energetic and holistic therapies at our Concord studio via Osteoklinika (www.osteoklinika.com) and Certified Practitioners and Yoga Teachers.

Call or email to book an appointment.