9:35 a.m.: Bikram Yoga student Robbie Trochia holds the “dandayamana-bibhaktapada-janushirasana” (Sanskrit for “standing separate leg head to knee”) pose at Synergy Hot Yoga on River Road in Fair Haven. (Photo by Connor ‘Solstice’ Soltas. Click to enlarge)
For Fair Haven yoga teacher and Synergy founder Jen Portman, not even the worst of summer heat is hot enough. In her “Hot 26” Bikram Yoga classes, she sets the thermostat at 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
“It actually helps you deal with the heat,” said Portman. “Your body becomes accustomed. It helps your body deal with adversity, really. Hot yoga is a really good thing to do in summer.”
It’s wisdom that many of Portman’s students have picked up on, though turnout on Wednesday was light. “It’s small today,” she said of the class size, “only nine people. Normally, it’s closer to 20.”
Rumson resident Leigh Dym saw the benefit in attending, however.
“It’s not like running a marathon, where you get all hot and out-of-breath,” she said.”You still feel like it’s a workout even though you’re standing still.”
Today, redbankgreen engages in a bit of Sol Searching as we chase the sun across the Green on the longest thanks to the Summer Solstice and, by coincidence, so-far-hottest day of the year. Please check in regularly to see where we’ve been. Suggestions? Send ’em here, please.
