Earlier this week, CorePower Yoga, a popular yoga studio brand, invited us to take a fun yoga sculpt class with renowned gymnast Jordan Chiles in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and learn how they support their member community all month long.
Make no mistake, the yoga sculpt class at CorePower Yoga isn’t just your run-of-the-mill yoga class. Instead, it incorporates high-intensity movement with traditional yoga poses (with weights) to help tone and lengthen your body. From delicious bites from none other than Los Angeles’s hot-spot Erewhon, to Higher Dose’s Red Light Therapy face mask sessions, the yoga sculpt class, which got our hearts pumping while stretching out our bodies, and an enlightening Q&A with Chiles, most of the participants, including myself, felt fulfilled and well.
This makes sense because a recent study found that 59% of yoga participants had reduced depressive symptoms after practicing heated yoga weekly for just 8 weeks. “CorePower Yoga is all about strength and stillness, and that speaks to exactly where I’m at in life. I want to show people—especially other athletes—that slowing down and tuning into yourself is powerful,” says Chiles. “If your mind isn’t right, your body won’t be either. I’ve learned how important it is to check in with myself, to know when to slow down, and to protect my peace,” she says.
Aside from introducing their Mental Health Ambassador Jordan Chiles, CorePower Yoga is offering free access to their 31-Day Mindfulness Journey for their members, and all they have to do is download the CorePower App and join the four-week journey designed to help you cultivate mindfulness, self-belief, intentionality, and personal growth.
For Chiles, she believes the benefit of wellness practices like CorePower Yoga is rooted in holistically caring for yourself. “I think the cool part about being able to involve CorePower yoga is being able to have the mental and the physical strength come together and giving yourself the ability to exude things out of you, whether it’s the anger, the stressness, whether it’s anything that you have to let out,” she says.
Chiles continues, “I think the biggest thing was really trying to find what self-care was. As athletes, we always think about others and not ourselves. I also realized that my sport doesn’t define who I am.”
When it comes to her love for CorePower Yoga, it’s all about her having the opportunity to switch up her routine. “When I’m not in the gym, I still like to stay active but more chill. I love doing core work, light strength training, and stretching. What I love most about CorePower classes is that they combine a physical workout with mindfulness elements. I can build my physical and mental resilience, which is important when competing at a high level. Yoga helps me unwind, breathe, and just slow down. I’m always go-go, so pausing and listening to my body is important. Plus, yoga has helped me with focus and flexibility, which supports my gymnastics too,” she says to ESSENCE.
Chiles continues, “For me, it’s about having something outside of what we do every day and changing our routine a little differently. So being able to do different things rejuvenates me and helps me be present, allowing me to go into my next practice feeling more confident in myself.”
