Blissful Spirits has brought hot yoga to ABQ for 15 years

It's hot. It's sweaty. And it's expanding.

This week is Blissful Spirits' 15th anniversary, as well as a time to celebrate the opening of their third location.

Melanie Georges is the founding director and owner of Blissful Spirits yoga studio. Georges was the guest on this week's episode of the Business Outlook podcast.

Her first studio was at 4300 Paseo Del Norte NE.

Now, she has a total of three locations including 1100 San Mateo NE #2 and 1400 Jackie SE in Rio Rancho.

The goal of hot yoga emulates conditions similar to India, 105 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% humidity.

There are different classes available for all levels of flexibility and confidence.

For more information you can go to this website https://www.blissfulspirits.com.

Business Outlook podcasts come out on Monday afternoons and are available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud.

Here's a preview of the conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you decide to jump into your own business?

“I am a 23-year business owner.

From December 1999 until July of 2008, I owned a bar, a little neighborhood bar called Penn Station. It was at Pennsylvania and Menaul. … I was just done adding to the unhealthy lifestyle, and so I decided to sell my bar. I did pretty well in the sale.

At the time, I was doing yoga every single day, and it was a long drive to the studio that I was going to. I had a very limited amount of time to get there because I was not allowed to drop my son off at school until 20 (minutes) until 9 a.m. and this (yoga) place locked their doors at 9 and was on the other side of town.

There were only two hot yoga studios and I just suddenly felt really strongly that we needed one at Paseo (del Norte) and Jefferson NE.”

What has yoga given you?

“Yoga can be many things, but for me, I came out of addiction. I had kind of left a functioning addiction behind when I left the bar behind. … I quit for my children, I always thought, 'Well, when they’re grown, I’ll go back.' That's kind of how your mindset is. I don’t love myself enough to quit, but I love my children enough to quit. Yoga just kind of ironed down that. I’m enough.”

What class do you teach?

“I teach yin yoga, a class called Yin Yan. It starts out really slow, stretching three-minute holds and then about halfway, 30 minutes through class, we’ll start to move. As the class goes, the heat builds, humidity builds, and then we’ll do a level one vinyasa style flow for the second half of class. I’ll have built up to 105 degrees.”