Makings Moves with Midtown Yoga

Jessie Hrivnak, Listing Partner, talks with Midtown Yoga Studio Manager and Instructor, Rachel Groff on this week's episode of Making Moves. One of the things that you adopt form a regular yoga practice is community. Finding a home studio that is welcoming, friendly, engaging, and giving to its community is everything. From yoga in the garden to Friday happy hour yoga (yes, with beer) and heaps of workshops, Midtown Yoga is more than 60 minutes on your mat. Want to try a class? Follow @touringthetriangle on Instagram for a free 10 day class pass.

Watch our most recent Touring the Triangle video with Midtown Yoga here: https://youtu.be/0VIrhqOekOM

Learn more about Midtown Yoga:
Website: https://midtownyogastudios.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midtownyoga/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MidtownYogaStudios/

Get to know The Rachel Kendall Team:
Website: https://rachelkendall.com/about/team/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRachelKendallTeam/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therachelkendallteam/
Touring the Triangle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/touringthetriangle/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rachel-kendall-team/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rkteam
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/rachelkendallteam
Phone: 919.782.4505

Transcript

Mahala Landin: 0:01

Hey Triangle lovers. Welcome to Making Moves hosted by The Rachel Kendall Team where we will explore together the top restaurants community hotspots and events in our area. Let's make some moves.

Jessive Hrivnak: 0:14

Hey everyone, welcome back to Making Moves Podcast. I am Jessie Hrivnak, Listing Partner with The Rachel Kendall Team joined by a very special guest, Rachel Groff. Did I say your last name right? Yeah, good. Nice. Amazing. I realized as I was about to introduce you, I'm like, I'm not sure I'm gonna say it right. Great rock and roll. You didn't know how to say mine. Did you know yeah, you know, Rachel is joining us from Midtown Yoga. She is their Studio Manager and one of their amazing yoga teachers. I can't tell you guys how much I love her classes. And we are going to talk today, all things yoga, all things yoga in Raleigh. And really just what it means and how important it is to have some piece of yoga in your lifestyle, whether or not it's on or off the mat, and we'll talk about what that means too. So thanks for joining us, of course. Thanks for having me. Yeah. So Rachel is new to Raleigh. How long have you lived here? A little over a year now. Okay, crazy. So welcome to Raleigh in the middle of a pandemic. Yeah, I love that. Risk taker moving in the middle.

Rachel Groff: 1:20

I look back at you know, movie in July 2020, into North Carolina. And I'm like, What were we thinking about? We're here. We're doing great.

Jessive Hrivnak: 1:27

You know what, it's always good to take a risk. It sounds like it's paid off. Right? Definitely. So let's talk a little bit about what it was like moving to the Raleigh area and finding a yoga home. Right. Find a studio obviously, you wanted somewhere to teach. But I would imagine you wanted somewhere to practice.

Rachel Groff: 1:44

sure now. Right? Yeah. So I'm from New York, Pennsylvania, which is a very small town.

Jessive Hrivnak: 1:50

I lived with a girl who's from York, Pennsylvania. That's my college roommate. Anyway. So fun squirrel But yeah,

Rachel Groff: 1:57

very small town. So moving to Raleigh was huge to us, because it's so big. I know. Some people think it's so small. But to me, I'm like, Where am I? It's all perspective like, thing, right? Sure. And I was pretty much just looking for a studio, like my home studio in Pennsylvania, where I got my teacher training done. And I practiced for years. And I landed on Midtown, just a good old Google search, and then took a online class with Christie, our Director of Operations and fell in love the minute I took that class stopped her from Pennsylvania. And here I am awesome.

Jessive Hrivnak: 2:36

Yeah. So what do you recommend to people? We were talking about this a little bit before we started recording, finding a studio, right? Because every studio is different. Yeah, no, all the yoga poses are the same, but how they're taught what their energy is. So for somebody who, even if they're new to the area, or still lives here, right, like, where do I start?

Rachel Groff: 2:58

Yeah, so obviously, you want it to be close to you. You don't want to have to drive you know, an hour to yoga. You won't go you guys you say that? You will you won't go You will not? Yeah, so definitely locations important. And it's not a one and done. Some people think like, Okay, this yoga studio didn't work for me, I can't do yoga. It's very personal. And what you're looking for and your practice, do you want to slow practice? Do you want to fast practice? You know, or you might not even know exactly if I might be brand new. So it's just kind of what is fun to you?

Jessive Hrivnak: 3:33

Yeah, yeah. So we were also talking about. So let's talk a little bit about the energy of a class, right? So for those of you who didn't know, in my previous life, I taught yoga and I taught yoga in DC, which DC just in general is like, type A, everything. So you'd walk into a class and people were like, there's 10 people practicing on their handstands. I mean, it's just like drive, right? And a lot of that works for some people. And then there's other people who are just like, I want to go and get some calm, right. So I like the idea of trying new places out and seeing how it feels. Yeah, definitely. And you know, it's funny, sorry, I'll I'll one of these questions is like, you go to a yoga class. You're a runner, you can't touch your toes, and say you never come back. What do you say to that person?

Rachel Groff: 4:23

Yoga is not about being flexible. That is why you come to yoga to get more flexible, and it's a practice yoga. No matter how long you are practicing, it will always be a practice on and off of the mat. So I would just encourage them keep coming back, try different styles runners, they do great with unwind classes, restorative like super stretchy, because that's just such a good balance for them. And they're running. So just keep coming back. Keep coming back it is again, another slow burn. So yeah, you mentioned yoga off the mat. Now for Somebody who

Jessive Hrivnak: 5:02

knows what that means, right? I think other people hear it. And they're like, what the hell? What I mean? How can I take you off the mat Yoga is practiced on a yoga mat, right? So I sign up for a class, I want a good workout. And then I hear the teacher say, take this off the mat. What does that mean to you?

Rachel Groff: 5:19

It means so much. So yoga itself is not about the physical asanas, or the physical poses. It's about you know, how you treat yourself on an off the mat, how you treat others in your community. And you know, how you take on life. They often say that yoga mat is a mirror for how you deal with day to day life, which just like really stuck with me when I first heard that, because if you shy away from challenges on your mat, you probably shy away from challenges in your life. So taking yoga off of the mat is just an extension of how are you as a human? How do you treat others? How do you treat yourself? And, you know, how do you face those challenges when things get hard?

Jessive Hrivnak: 6:05

I love that it's, it's true. I remember when I started my practice, my first class that I ever went to was a Bikram yoga class, which for those of you that don't know, is also a heated class. I'm similar to Midtown in terms of the temperature, but much different in terms of the sequencing and poses, right? It's a very structured class, you hold the poses a little bit longer. And I remember going purely for the physical benefits. And the more you go, the more yoga seems to seep into everything. Yeah, right, for sure. So I want to talk a little bit about the different styles, right? There's the I think they now call it like the 26 sequence, which is 26 in 2 right, which is just the same poses over and over again. You'll hear them talk about vinyasa, which is the flow, right? So from a personality standpoint, right? Where do you start? If you're somebody that tends to have a lot of structure

Rachel Groff: 7:10

In their world, you might love that structure. So you might need that structure in your yoga yoga practice. Yeah, so you might do well with Ashtanga or that 26 and 2, but if you're trying to break out of that structure, and you're a more type A, and you just need to get out of your head, like me and you. So you would do great with vinyasa. vinyasa is not the same every single time, a teacher might have a sequence for about two weeks that they'll teach the same. But all my classes like, even though I'm teaching the same sequence, it's totally different.

Jessive Hrivnak: 7:49

Well, and what's so great about your classes, too, is your sequencing is so creative, that even when you do it over, you really don't know what's coming next. Because you I mean, girl, you're good. So I love how you said that. Because I think in general, I am somebody who likes order and predictability. Right? And I think naturally, I would say, okay, so I need that in my yoga class, which is the complete opposite of what I need in my yoga class, right? Like I need to not be in my head, which is vinyasa is a great place for that.

Rachel Groff: 8:21

Yeah, it's so fast paced, and we have that intensity component. And since it is such a creative flow, you don't know where you're going next. So it allows you to get out of your head of daily life, like what's on your to do list and really just focus on the yoga and the breath and your teacher your community around you. Which is just perfect. If you're focusing on your to do list and one of Rachel's classes, you are going to end up flat on your face because you can't do both.

Jessive Hrivnak: 8:53

So one of the things that I think is really cool that you've brought to Midtown is your chakra series. So for those listening that have never heard that word before, what is a chakra?

Rachel Groff: 9:04

So we have seven chakras in our body and a chakra is just an energy source. It's located in a specific spot in your body. So like I said, we have seven, we have the root which is the base of your spine, down your legs into your feet. So that literal root of your body. Yeah, the second one is our sacral chakra which is our hips, our pelvis. Third one is the solar plexus which is your core, your center. Fourth is your hearts. Love A heart chakra. Fifth is your throats. Sixth is your third eye right in between your eyebrows and then seventh is your crown chakra.

Jessive Hrivnak: 9:44

Love it so and then they all have different colors associated with them and it's funny so the one that I always know when it's locked is my throat chakra, and like Mahalla in the office and I will go around we'll start hitting our throat saying, speak your truth, right like it's like cats. Got your time? Yeah, you know, and that's, that's closed down. So how in the world do you incorporate that into yoga? Like what does it mean to have a class that is focused on a certain chakra?

Rachel Groff: 10:11

Yeah. So I love creativity and my sequence. And when I'm working through the chakras, I create a sequence that is geared towards that chakra. So if there's poses

Jessive Hrivnak: 10:23

that help open blockages so to speak,

Rachel Groff: 10:26

yeah, yeah, definitely. So for working on our root chakra, we're gonna have a lot of grounding poses, like your strong warrior two is your Crescent lunge, Warrior One, stuff where you feel really rooted into the mat. But if we're doing you know, our heart chakra, we're going to do a lot of back bends to open up the chest, open up the hearts. I as soon as you said that, I'm like opening my shoe. There's. So there's so many poses in yoga, and each pose is geared towards a specific chakra. And so what are the benefits of doing poses that benefit the

Jessive Hrivnak: 11:02

chakras for somebody who's just like, you know, yeah, I just wanted a yoga class and all of a sudden, I'm doing something energetically that I didn't even know existed.

Rachel Groff: 11:11

Yeah. So doing these poses really allows energy to flow through those chakras. If you have any imbalances, this will kind of like, we all have imbalance we all do. Yeah, that we kind of don't know it, but your chakras are blocked, okay. Yes, for sure. Um, so this just allows energy to go through the body through that chakra, the chakra system is a wheel. So you want even energy through all the chakras, so that wheel keeps turning as soon as there is a little imbalance that can affect the rest of the wheel. So I'm doing a yoga class that's geared towards chakras allows you to open up whatever chakra might be blocked that you don't even know. And hopefully the teacher is theming. To that chakra to to really allow you to think about where in your life the chakra is showing up, blocked or open. I love that.

Jessive Hrivnak: 12:03

So a lot of the agents in our office have heard me say this a million times because this is an example of yoga off the mat. You guys is the root chakra, right? Yeah. And early into my real estate career coming from teaching yoga, right? I was like, Oh my gosh, this correlation is huge. Because the root chakra is all about our home, our safety being grounded. And when you move what happens? Your Root Chakra is out of whack. Yeah, right? Sure. You sell your home that is now a house that's not yours anymore. You buy a house that you're trying to make a home and it's not yours yet. And so the roots of your chakra tree are all out of whack. And it's the one chakra that when that one's out of balance. They all are right. Yeah. Watch out. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's well, and I think once you explain that to somebody, it normalizes the emotion of what they're going through, and it gives them really some tools to Okay, how do I get that back in balance? Right, I push through this right,

Rachel Groff: 13:10

and like, it's normal to feel this way. Yeah, it's gonna happen. And everybody. Yeah,

Jessive Hrivnak: 13:14

I want to circle back a little bit to, you know, I'd mentioned the studios that I started in about being really pushing to be physically a badass in yoga, right? To where if you're next to me on the mat, like, you're gonna watch me, right, you're gonna look for making sure that I'm doing things right. And one of the things that I learned early on is there's a lot of ways to be about us and yoga. Right? And it's usually the opposite of what you think. So, talk to me about when people really embrace the yogic lifestyle, right? Like what are the pieces outside of? So when we say awesome as you guys those are the poses, right? Sometimes we like to drop the Sanskrit words sound fancy, right? So what does that look like? to somebody who's really embracing it?

Rachel Groff: 14:08

Yeah, round. Um, you can see that on and off the mat. Oh, as you can always see yoga that way. Um, but the physical asanas are great because they allow us to feel strong and balanced in our everyday lives. Because I mean, yoga is a great workout. Let's just be honest, the physical benefits are phenomenal. But what happens is once you start going for the physical benefits, the mental the emotional, the spiritual, come with it. And I feel like a badass when I take Child's Pose in a class because during like the middle of a hot Yeah, challenging one, right? Yeah. And a lot of people would look at me and be like, Oh, no, she took Child's Pose. Is she okay? Is she okay? Or she's not a yogi because she's taking Child's Pose. Yeah. But it's the exact opposite, like the people that take time for themselves, because they're overheated, they just need a second, they want to catch their breath. Whatever it is the people that take that seconds or minutes to be in Shavasana, or Child's Pose, and then come back to the flow. Like, they're honoring themselves. Yeah. And like, they take yoga off of the mat. They are the bad asses, which is just a stigma and yoga that I just love to break, because taking Child's Pose is amazing. And everybody should do it.

Jessive Hrivnak: 15:35

Well, and there's, we'll come back to that in a second about injury, right and what people can be doing by pushing themselves too hard. But, you know, I think in a lot of workouts, especially if you're coming to a yoga class, starting out looking for that physical piece, right, is we're taught to push ourselves, work harder, get stronger, yay. And, you know, one of the yogic principles they call it Ahimsa, right of non harming being kind. Yeah. And that, to me is like one of the things that's so easy to take off the mat once you can start to show kindness to your body that's not ready to push, not ready to get physically stronger. Right? You're able to do that to other people in the world in other situations, right. Yeah, that. And I want to talk about a safety piece from some of the poses and what's caused by pushing them. So one thing that drives me crazy, I'm sure drives you crazy, too, as a teacher is Chaturanga. Yeah. All right. So for those of you that don't know what Chaturanga is, it's a fun word to say, right? But it's basically like a tricep pushup. Right. And I see so much injury and people doing it wrong. Yeah. Because they won't do what

Unknown: 16:47

dropped their knees. drop their knee.

Jessive Hrivnak: 16:50

Yeah. And and the damage that can be done by not practicing non harming to your body.

Unknown: 16:58

Yeah, right.

Rachel Groff: 16:59

They're just like, I'm doing it. I'm doing Chaturanga even though they aren't doing it safely, and dropping their knees as the best option, they're like, Nope, I'm doing Chaturanga if I drop my knees, I'm not doing Chaturanga. And it's, you know, you're doing Chaturanga on your knees. So it's just, it's almost like funny to to see that. Because I'm like, just drop your knees and you will and build the strength. Yeah. All right. So strong by being on your knees. I mean, that's how I started. I was on my knees every single time we were in Chaturanga. And then you build the strength, and then you lift your and

Jessive Hrivnak: 17:34

it's, it is a it's a mental practice, right? So I sustained a little bit of an injury where I had to build back my strength to do Chaturanga. And I was like, I'm not going back to a class until, yeah, I can do my jump backs, right? Because mentally, it was a challenge for me. But being able to push through is as important. Yeah. I so I want to go back to finding studios for folks. Because I think it's really important that you bop around a little bit, for sure. And your home. Whether it's you know, needing that challenging piece needing that more restorative piece. And Raleigh has grown so much as a yoga community. So I remember when I first started, I think the studio downtown Blue Lotus was like, one of the only studios that I knew about anyway. And it offers so much choice now of places to go. Midtown Blue Lotus bliss body, there's a republic and carry like, there's just so many different places to go. Do you think that's a good strategy for people to try and different studios? And

Rachel Groff: 18:46

for sure, yeah, I'm personally I was lucky and landed on the studios that, you know, felt like home to me right away. But that is not everybody's journey. So if you try a class, maybe it wasn't your favorite. Maybe it was still go to another studio, try their class, maybe that lands with you more, maybe it doesn't. Maybe you go back to the first studio or you try another. It's a totally personal practice and finding a yoga studio and finding what practice works for you. And the community. Right? Yeah, there. What are you looking for? Right? community is a huge thing. So if you don't feel at home, then that studio is probably not for you.

Jessive Hrivnak: 19:26

Yeah. And one of the things I'm going to tell you guys that I absolutely love about Midtown. Is the lights and that it's dark. Yes. Because you want to look at what everybody else is doing. Which means you're worried about everybody looking at you. And they I mean, you guys you can see so we're not practicing and like pitch black. But it's also not like there's a spotlight late on you. Right so the lighting is themed and damned and colorful and it's awesome.

Rachel Groff: 19:55

Yeah, the lights change during class which just brings such an energy and just a vibe. It's class, which is so exciting. And then if you're in like one of the back corners, it's dark back there. Nobody can see what you're doing. So you could be doing something totally different. Nobody would nobody would know. So that's the beauty of it. Yeah,

Jessive Hrivnak: 20:15

that's awesome. So you guys are our feature company for touring the triangle in August, which I'm so thrilled about. So are we having we've got a giveaway where we're we've got a travel mat, a, a yogi toes, y'all, if you practice hot yoga, you're going to need a yogi toes. Otherwise, you're going to be on a slip inside you sweat. And 105 degrees. Oh, yeah. And a nice little Midtown yoga tank. And then the most exciting thing is that you guys are offering 10 days of free yoga. Yeah. for newbies, which I remember when you sent that over, I'm like, Are you sure? That's a lot? Like that's a lot. But tell me why 10 days is important.

Rachel Groff: 20:59

So you know, it's not a special number that 10 but it gives you 10 days to try so many different classes. You can try our signature hot flow. Maybe that wasn't for you. Maybe you tried the warm glow. Maybe you love that. We have the unwind restorative class,

Jessive Hrivnak: 21:17

can you talk about the strength? Yes, again? Yeah, I'm gonna go off topic for a little bit because I'm terrified of that class. Don't be I've never been you need to go. I know. Yeah, but I'm so what the heck is hot yoga strength, like, yeah, besides death, in a really good way.

Rachel Groff: 21:35

Um, so I describe it as yoga with weights. So kind of, is great for people that go to the gym, or like, I don't want to go to yoga, it's just, you know, stretchy. And whatever. This you're going to get a workout in, you already get a workout and yoga, and you walk into the class and lay on your mat, and you're getting a workout with heat or sweating already. But this has like a cardio aspect to it. There's a little cardio burst in the middle. You are doing bicep curls, shoulder presses. So much, you know, dynamic movement and exercise while you're still doing yoga and these yoga poses. At first, I was like, This is ridiculous. Yeah, I don't want to do this. But then I took a class and it was phenomenal. I just feel so strong afterwards. I'm like, I literally just live a weight and did yoga, and I survived. So it's really empowering. And that's awesome. And let's talk about the heat for a second. Yeah.

Jessive Hrivnak: 22:38

What is the benefit? Other than just like, you know, you're, you're sweating? Yeah. Like, why in the world would I want to walk into essentially what feels like a sauna, and workout.

Rachel Groff: 22:48

So it is so beneficial to your body, and you are doing the strong poses. Sometimes you're doing like crazy back bends, or I'm just so much. And it really allows your body to open up and to relax. Some of us hold so much tension in our body, which shows don't realize that Yeah, and that shows up physically. And you can just be really tight that he allows you to relax your muscles and for your muscles to open up so you can start to gain that flexibility. Even if you're not already flexible.

Jessive Hrivnak: 23:22

And I'll tell you guys who are listening that are like, No way No, how am I doing anything in 105 degrees except laying by the beach? It's really not that I mean, okay, the first time it's it, I'm not gonna say bad. It's challenging. But your body starts to crave it afterwards. And you get used to it. Yeah, for sure. I used to it. You learn to take your yoga off the mat and into your head and just push through it. Yeah, yeah. Alright, so to wrap us up. What do you say to those people? who get up after 30 seconds? of Shavasana? So before you answer that, for those of you who don't know what Shavasana is, it's also called Corpse Pose. Okay, where you're laying on your back. And you're laying still. And it's the last pose that you do. So what do you say to those people who get up after 30 seconds.

Rachel Groff: 24:21

I'm glad they were there for 30 seconds. To start, which you know, any amount of Shavasana is great. But that is what you work towards in the 60 minute class, like our goal is Shavasana. And you do all this physical activity, to get to the mat to be still to continue to turn off your mind and allow yourself to be there in stillness with yourself with your breath for us. Designed for

Jessive Hrivnak: 24:47

like Initially, the yoga poses were designed to get your mind into a place of meditation.

Rachel Groff: 24:55

Yes, yep. Which is exactly why I do yoga because I need that activity to then be still to meditate. And you know whether you're leaving 30 seconds into Shavasana. Again, glad you were there for 30 seconds. But I challenge you to stay longer because politically correct. But like the challenge to stay longer because you don't, we often don't get time ourselves in stillness in silence. And this we don't work. Right? We're uncomfortable with it exactly. And taking that time for yourself, does wonders on a person's mental health, physical health, emotional, spiritual health. So stay a little longer if

Jessive Hrivnak: 25:39

you can a little longer. Yeah, it's been such a pleasure chatting with you. I hope everyone listening has learned a little bit about why you should give yoga a chance. If you've already given it a chance, and you didn't love it. Give it another one. Yeah, go in with a new perspective. I know for me, and I can probably say the same for you. It's been life changing 1000 I mean, not only physically, but just and how I see and manage and deal with so many things, even from how I'm helping clients, to friends to family. And as we said, Midtown is giving you guys an exciting opportunity to give their studio a try. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Any last parting words for our guests? I don't think so. Stay in Shavasana. Stay in Shavasana. For sure. Get to Child's Pose when you need it. The heat is okay. It is okay. Thank you, Rachel, so much. Thank you to the studio for being a part of our touring the triangle and getting people back on there, Matt,

Rachel Groff: 26:37

thank you for having me. And thank you for including us. Absolutely.

Jessive Hrivnak: 26:41

We'll talk to you guys soon. This has been Making Moves. I'm Jessie Hrivnak with The Rachel Kendall Team and Rachel Groff from Midtown Yoga. I'll talk to you guys soon.

Mahala Landin: 26:51

Thank you for joining us on this episode of Making Moves. We want to deliver the highlights of the triangle that you want to hear. Let us know your feedback, comment on our social media like and of course subscribe to continue and discover why we love where we live until next time with making moves hosted by The Rachel Kendall Team.