Early mornings are a struggle for me, but I’d been dying to try this class so I had to make an exception. With my good friend and colleague Gianna in tow, I arrived at this gorgeous little studio around 6:45AM on a Monday morning. I was still half asleep and couldn’t stomach any coffee, but I made it.
Mats were already set out for us when we arrived, and we were greeted with a warm welcome and a “this is really weird and you’re going to love it.”
Buti Yoga is a fusion of Yoga, High Intensity Interval Training and tribal dance. Hot Buti Yoga is just that, but heated to 85 degrees. The studio describes it as “a full body experience that awakens your soul.” 100% accurate.
The moment the lights went down and the funky tribal/trance music started thumping, a rush of adrenaline came through me and I was f***ing ready.
We did not stop moving for the entire hour of class. Our instructor practiced right alongside us, somehow giving seamless instruction while working her ass off the whole time. It started with simple dance motions, getting the arms and legs warmed up and your heart pumping.
Once warmed up we got into some deeper squats and lunges and more complex movements. The few times we took a break from intense cardio, we sunk into warrior, triangle, and other power yoga postures, occasionally with some pulsing or arm movements.
I know this doesn’t sound at all like yoga – especially the styles of yoga I’m used to – but there is something oddly spiritual about this practice. The dim lighting and loud music makes Buti Yoga more “inward,” so you are more focused on your body, and less focused on what everyone else is doing or what you look like in the mirror. You truly “dance like no one else is watching” to the point that it becomes a meditative state. Your thoughts can’t go anywhere else, and your body and the vibrations of the music become your full focus.
At the end of class we took a deep, long camel pose and I literally saw stars. From there we did a bit of active recovery before a delicious savasana.
While laying there, nearly dead, the instructor came around with cool aromatherapy towels and placed them over our eyes. Aaaah!
We closed with some breathing in a seated position, and a salutation to end class.
My mat was covered in sweat! I sweat almost as much as I do in Original Hot Yoga class. That’s impressive. The room started at 85 degrees but it was definitely toastier by the end! There were only about 10 of us in there but we put off some crazy good energy and worked hard.
One of the staff members came over and showed us where the mat cleaning supplies were, thank goodness! You kind of just have to sweat all over the mat during this class, because a towel would get all bunched up under your feet if you tried to use one. I wouldn’t advise using a WayMat either, because I think you’d get rug burn on your toes!
Now, this is another studio that does not have shower amenities, but it’s so close to my house that I can just go home to shower! This is a very small studio so not having showers or a changing area is to be expected and I didn’t mind.
The only amenity I felt was truly missing was a water bottle refilling station, which is odd considering they have Kombucha on draft in the lobby. They did have bottled water for sale but I strongly feel that single use plastic bottles should be sold minimally at fitness studios these days, and just reserved for someone who forgot their reusable bottle at home.
I loved this class so much that I’m already signed up to go again next Monday, sleep be damned! The studio emailed me an offer I couldn’t refuse of 3 classes for $46.
This scratched the itch I’ve been having to take a dance class, I got in my yoga practice, AND it got me to a level of cardio workout I was looking for. This is the most fun I’ve had in ages doing a “workout” and this might end up becoming a part of my weekly routine!
New England Yoga Tour 