Smithtown Hot Yoga has opened in the Village Commons shopping center, where yoga newcomers and enthusiasts can participate in 90-minute classes in a 105-degree studio.
Smithtown is the third location instructor John McFeely has opened, with others in Carle Place and Lake Placid. To open this location, McFeely partnered with Debbie Burack, a student of his since 2008.
Burack, a Lake Grove resident, said she would travel to Carle Place three-to-four times a week to participate in McFeely’s class, and the experience led her to partner with the instructor in opening the Smithtown location.
“I started going to his studio in Carle Place and I would up seeing a huge benefit for myself,” Burack said. “I went from a size 14 to a size six and I’m 46 years old, I lost 30 pounds. What it did for me is it helped kick-up my metabolism and it really gave me a better posture and I feel younger.”
McFeely, a Bikram Yoga certified instructor, said the heat helps to promote vasodilation, or the opening of veins, which allows nutrients to travel through the body while removing toxins.
Burack and McFeely added benefits other than the removal of toxins include increased muscle tone, improved cardiovascular health, flexibility, strength, greater concentration and more.
The location is adorned with mirrors and dim lighting, as well as amenities typical to yoga studios, from mats, bottles and drinks for sale to showers and more. A unique asset to the location is the floor, as McFeely and Burack opted to not use carpeting but instead use PEM Yoga Flooring. McFeely said the flooring eliminates odors and problems associated with long-term sweat accumulation.
McFeely said people new to hot yoga in poor physical shape are often intimidated, but will experience the benefits of hot yoga without having to do much work.
“I know some people avoid it because they get a little intimidated and say ‘I want to get in shape before I go there,’ then go to the gym first then yoga,” he said. “Just by hanging out in the room in the heat without doing too much you’re going to break that sweat and increase your breathing and you can feel good walking out without doing much.”
