Sumits Hot Yoga St. Louis is one of many Sumits Yoga studios in the United States. 

Sumit’s Yoga was created by Sumit Banerjee based on his own years of experience practicing and teaching various yoga styles including Bikram and Vinyasa.  His sequence and style of teaching reinforces his primary objectives as a teacher: helping others to realize the powerful wellness benefits of yoga including a stronger, toned and more flexible body and an improved state of mind encouraging relaxation, self-acceptance and awareness.

Classes at Sumit’s Yoga flow to music through a sequence of both balancing and energizing asanas (poses) in a heated practice environment.  Through his Bikram practice, Sumit understands the healing aspect of heat.  “It’s simple”, he says, “In a yoga class, you practice poses that require stretching and compression of the joints, muscles, ligaments and other supporting structures of the body.  Your body naturally protects itself from physical exertion by generating heat from the inside muscles outwards.  We start with the heat up front…providing that extra protection from the very first poses.  Another added benefit is that your body burns fat more effectively.  It’s not uncommon for our students practicing regularly to lose inches of shape in a relatively short time”.

Though his classes are designed to optimize physical health by waking and energizing the entire body, Sumit stresses that the greatest benefit comes not as much from the healing of the body, but from the healing of the mind.  “The simple pleasure and self-reward that comes from quieting our minds, listening to each breath and honoring where are bodies are in stillness or movement cannot be measured.  You do not measure your yoga practice by how many perfectly aligned poses you can perform”, he asserts, “but by how deep you can immerse yourself inwards.  It’s amazing how a simple downward dog can be felt so differently by any student on any given day and still provide a feeling of connection, balance and satisfaction regardless of the depth it’s practiced.  This is the beauty of yoga and it awaits every student who is ready let go of the ego and begin listening to our own deeper wisdom.”

Sumit encourages all students – newcomers and experienced students alike – to begin and maintain a consistent practice regardless of the style preferred.  “You’ll benefit from class by your effort regardless of how far or deep you get.  As long as you are feeling it and you are breathing calmly, you’re practicing correctly”.