Mesa – The Yoga Bootcamp

Yoga Bootcamp

THE WORKOUT
Provided as a challenging workout for intermediate-level yoga students, Yoga Bootcamp is a faster-paced, in-depth core strengthening workout built upon the fundamental elements and key poses of Vinyasa and Iyenger yoga. Unlike typical gym-yoga or cardio bootcamps, the emphasis is not on speed and sweat. Rather, the spirit of Yoga Bootcamp is effective, yet injury-free exercise. Beginning with a full-body warm-up and topped off with a seated cool down, the Yoga Bootcamp instructor safely guides the class through 3 sets of Sun Salutations–a series of postures coordinated with the breath and performed in a single, graceful flow–to stretch and strengthen major muscles throughout the body. This sequence is used to boost your heart rate while maximizing the flexibility and strength training benefits of yoga via correct alignment of the body. The outcome is a 90-minute workout with a rare balance of strength, flexibility, and rejuvenation.

THE SCENE
Yoga Bootcamp is offered at Essence Yoga Studio located within Mesa’s Cornerstone Wellness Center. In a class size of 10 or less, students receive individualized instruction and close supervision from their yoga instructor, including alignment corrections and pose modifications when necessary. While the main apparatus of Yoga Bootcamp is your own body, the instructor will occasionally utilize yoga blocks, straps, blankets, folded chairs, and other props throughout the class to enhance results.

THE INSPIRATION
It wasn’t until after Morgan Turley, founder and owner of Essence Yoga Studio, was married and had her first child that she recognized a need to incorporate healthier habits into her lifestyle. While it’s rather intuitive that regular exercise will yield an improvement in mood, Turley admits being shocked by how much better she felt after taking up yoga at a local gym.

“Once I started making changes in my lifestyle, especially after practicing yoga, the most amazing thing happened…I felt better!” said Turley. “I know it’s not exactly a groundbreaking theory, but for me it was life-changing.”

However, it wasn’t until a bad experience during one of her regular visits to the gym that Turley would actually change her life. While trying to keep up with a speedy instructor who was shelling out poses that she wasn’t physically prepared for, Turley suffered a neck injury and decided it was time to move on and open up her own studio.

“Don’t get me wrong, there were many things that I enjoyed about my first experiences with yoga,” said Turley. “And while gym-yoga can and does serve a certain purpose, the idea of jam-packed classes with careless teachers is a recipe for injury.”

Today, injury prevention is at the heart of Essence Yoga Studio. Determined to help improve the lives of others, Turley has crafted the Yoga Bootcamp around the fundamentals of yoga and the needs of her students to ensure they reap the benefits of purposeful and careful yoga practice.

Yoga Bootcamp Workout (.pdf)