May 8, 2017

Meet Rebekah Cunningham of The Hot Room in Long Beach

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebekah Cunningham.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started yoga in Denver Co in 2000. I had just moved to Denver from Long Beach and it was cold outside so it made outdoor exercising harder than I was used to in Ca. Someone mentioned to me that I should go try hot yoga. This made perfect sense to me because it was cold outside and warm inside so I gave it a try. I absolutely hated it! I remember thinking during class that these people are nuts. Who in their right mind would actually want to exercise in heat like this. I tried to leave half way through class and I didn’t go back for two months. The only thing that brought me back was my young, over-inflated ego. I kept thinking that it couldn’t have been as bad as I thought it was. I stuck with it and 18 years later here we are. I can’t imagine the road my life would have gone down if I had not gone back for that second class. I can tell you, without a doubt, that I am a better human being though because I did.

Has it been a smooth road?
I find that most of the struggles and life obstacles that present themselves to us are often times self-inflicted. People love to overcomplicate things. My approach is the exact opposite to this in almost everything I do. I opt to focus my energy on creating a solution to whatever issues come at me. No need to spiral something out of control that could have been handled level-headed and easily in the first place. My practice has taught me this, and time and time again I have an opportunity to practice it both on and off my mat.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Hot Room story. Tell us more about the business.
The Hot Room, Long Beach is a very special place. We practice the traditional Bikram sequence in a hot room, and it is hot, very hot! Our heat is spectacular. Just the right amount of heat and humidity. The studio is beautiful and super clean. The thing that really sets us apart though is our unpretentious, come on in-stay a while vibe. It’s not about doing every posture perfect, looking a certain, way or saying just the right thing to fit in. Everyone fits in and there is not judgment. We love that people show up and try. From there, everything else will fall into place. People feel and look better naturally all because they just show up and try.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think fitness on a whole is a highly organic petri dish of trying new things out. People are always looking for new ways to move their bodies. In the yoga world, there are always new things popping up but root yoga will never go out of style. It’s not going anywhere because the postures are like magic. Yoga works, people have been doing it for thousands of years because it works.

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