The challenge: Practice yoga six days a week for 30 days in a 90-degree room.
The reward: One month of free unlimited yoga classes, physical and spiritual wellbeing and a lifetime of good karma.
   “This is the first time we’ve done a ‘revolution,’” says Charleston Power Yoga co-founder Beth Thomas. “We were trying to get people to set their intentions for the new year.”
  The “Yoga Revolution,” which began Jan. 17 and ended last week, saw 34 people of all ages and backgrounds commit to finding at least six hours a week in their schedule to practice yoga at CPY.
   “A lot of people say ‘I don’t have the time,’” says Thomas, “but challenging them shows them they do have time, they just have to think about it.”
   For graduate student and Berry Residence Hall’s director, Emily Barin, finding the time was one of the easier parts of the challenge.
   “I made yoga a top priority in my schedule when I was arranging everything for the spring semester, so it was not hard to fit six days in,” she says. “It was hard though, because most all of the classes I am able to attend are in the morning. Let me tell you that waking up at 6:30 a.m. some days when it was so cold out was sometimes unbearable.”
For freshman Sarah Guthrie, fitting in the six days a week was tough on top of classes, homework and the other commitments of a college student.
  Add that to the physical challenges of CPY’s signature yoga style, a vigorous, “detoxifying” practice that has its yogis sweating, stretching and strengthening, and you’ve certainly got a revolution.
   “I did yoga about once a week before the revolution, and six days was a bit of a shock, but I loved it, and I can officially do a headstand,” says Guthrie.
   But besides the becoming physically stronger, participants grew as people.
   “Yoga has made me a more peaceful, reflective, meditative and balanced person,” says Barin. “I can take my yoga practice and apply it to my life - I can see when life gets hard, it is so much easier for me to stop, pray, think and breathe through my problems.”
   Yogic philosophy teaches non-violence against others, but more importantly, non-violence against yourself.  
   “Yoga has taught me to love myself and when I look in the mirror, nine times out of 10 I do not think negative thoughts about my image,” says Barin.
   With such a positive response to the revolution, Thomas plans to hold another in the fall to get people back into an intentional lifestyle after the hectic summer months.
   In the meantime, she hopes that her “revolutionaries” can keep up their practice.
   “After six days a week, four days a week for the rest of their lives is very easy,” she says.
   Want to start your own revolution? Students receive their first class free, as well as student discounts. CPY offers a free community yoga class on Fridays, which is at 5:45 p.m. until March 5, when it will start being held at 4:15 instead. See www.charlestonpoweryoga.com for more information.