Embody Hot Yoga opens in Bridgeville | South Hills Dwelling

Stepping into Embody Hot Yoga studio is like walking into a warm embrace.

The studio is a stark contrast from the world outside, where downtown Bridgeville is busy streets and bustling sidewalks. Lush green plants and a sharp white desk set against earthy beiges and soft pinks welcome guests into the lobby; low lights lead into the hot yoga studio, where burning incense is less a scent than a feeling of ancient calm and light from dozens of candles dances at the front of the room. Being in the studio is like being in another, more peaceful world.

“This is definitely a hidden gem,” said Niki Erdner, a 2011 Canon-McMillan graduate who co-owns and co-founded Embody Hot Yoga with her business partner Lindsay Namuth. “It’s a very special healing sanctuary.”

Along with yoga, which studies show can, among other health benefits, lower stress levels, improve bone health and sleep quality, and reduce inflammation and stress, Embody will soon offer on-site reiki healing and massages through collaboration with area healers.

“We’re growing the community,” said Erdner, adding Embody has hosted sound healing and winter solstice events.

Community and a passion for yoga are the driving forces behind Erdner and Namuth’s studio. The pair opened Embody Hot Yoga in October in a space along Washington Avenue that holds a special place in both their hearts. After Erdner, who began practicing yoga in 2010, completed her 200-hour teacher training at Rishikesh Vinyasa Yoga School in India in 2019, she returned home and began teaching in Bridgeville, in the studio that’s now Embody.

Namuth, a 2011 Bethel Park graduate, attended classes at the former studio and fell more deeply in love with yoga. At the gentle urging of the former studio’s owner, Namuth traveled to Costa Rica to complete her teacher training at Nexus Institute of Yoga and Wellness. She joined Erdner on the staff at the old yoga studio.

“The original owner of the studio we were teaching at, she really, I think, opened both of our eyes to what we’re capable of in our teaching careers. She was the one that really was like, you need to be a teacher, and that really stuck with me. No one else had told me that before. I’d never even really thought of it before,” Namuth said.

After the previous yoga studio closed in April last year, the building sat empty. Months passed; Erdner reached out to the landlord and learned the space was still available.

“In August, I was like, I’m going to see if the landlord has anyone interested in the space, just, you know, see. Then I asked Lindsay if she’d want to go in with me into business, and she said yeah,” Erdner said. “The landlord said we could have the studio space if we wanted it. And we opened up within a month and a half.”

Currently, the studio offers two weekday classes, at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and two weekend flows, on Saturdays at 9 a.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m. Embody will add three additional weekday sessions by the end of February.

Yoga studios are sprinkled throughout the Southwestern Pennsylvania region, but Embody Hot Yoga is one of the few offering a heated practice. The studio temperature is set between 90° and 95°, depending on the day’s weather, and the heat actually decreases the risk of injury and facilitates body detoxification and skin nourishment through sweating.

Plus, it gives the practice a different feel.

“A lot of people in the Western world want an exercise form (of yoga). That’s what a lot of people are coming to yoga for, is to sweat, is to get a workout. We want to keep the authentic parts of yoga alive while also incorporating the more rigorous, athletic aspect of yoga to answer people’s needs and wants and desires,” Namuth said.

There are a variety of yoga styles – including gentle, restorative yoga and intense, fast-paced Bikram – but Erdner and Namuth are both certified in and lead students through Vinyasa practice.

“It’s very creative. It’s just connecting breath with movement, whatever that means for the teacher, however they want to portray that to their students. This is more movement, getting your heart rate going, but also mixed in with stillness,” Erdner said. “It’s very versatile. Anyone can benefit from it. It’s very easy to do different variations. We have all levels, we have people from all different walks of life, ages, injuries, and they’re all able to do the same flow. It’s going to look different for everybody, but everyone’s able to kind of make it their own.”

Erdner and Namuth are in the early stages of making Embody their own. Both hold jobs outside the yoga studio, but cultivating a community of healers and yoga practitioners is their passion. The studio is available to rent for private and corporate events, and both yoga teachers will travel to host team-building and other off-site yoga events.

Of course, anybody of any size or background is welcome to drop in for a class any day of the week, and Erdner encourages students to attend her Asana series on the last Sunday of the month to grow in their practice.

“We’re very nonjudgemental. It’s very inclusive,” said Namuth. “Anyone and everyone can practice here. It’s OK to be whoever; show up however you are that day.”

Erdner said time on the yoga mat is yours, and those attending Embody classes are welcome to move as much or as little as they need because yoga is really listening to and working with your own body.

“Everybody can benefit from yoga in whatever form resonates with them,” Erdner said. “It’s something that is inside of yourself. You can take what you learn here and apply it to every facet of your life. It’s invaluable. It is a privilege to get to teach and to get to help people. This is something that brings me real joy.”

The first nearly half a year in business has been wonderful, and Erdner and Namuth are looking forward to growing their personal practices, growing their community and growing Embody in 2023.

You’re invited to join them on that journey, of course.

“Yoga is so much more than just a physical exercise. It’s a way of life. It’s a mindset. It’s how you go about your entire life. It’s a true commitment. When people want to step into their yoga practice, when they’re ready, I think it’s a special moment,” Namuth said. “It is a journey. It’s a practice, and it’s never perfection.”

For more on Embody Hot Yoga, visit embodyhotyoga.com.