This must be how Alice felt when she first stepped into Wonderland. Behind a seemingly ordinary door at Edgebrook Shopping Center in Rockford, Illinois, lies an extraordinary wellness escape and yoga studio unlike any other - Sattva Yoga Spa. As I entered the beautifully designed community lounge, it felt more like a cozy family room in a luxury villa in Bali than a typical yoga studio.
No register in sight, no yoga pants for saleβwas this the right place? We were the first guests to arrive this morning. I poured myself a cup of mint tea from the tea bar, glanced at the yoga library, and sank into the plush couch as we waited for our 8 AM hot yoga class. Everything we needed for our morning class was already laid out in the yoga room. What is this place? Another discovery: infrared heated yoga! Instead of the traditional blown heat common in hot yoga classes, Sattva uses infrared panels.
They emit radiant heat from the ceiling that feels like basking in the sunshine without being overwhelming. It is therapeutic, it is detoxifying: "All the benefits that you would get from an infrared sauna you get in this hot yoga class," Ally Ubiparipovic, the founder of Sattva Yoga Spa, explained.
At the end of the class, a cold eucalyptus towel was placed by each mat. It felt heavenly on the face and around the neck as we relaxed into the most luxurious savasana. What a treat! After a deeply soothing and relaxing 1. In fact, the entire teaching staff at Sattva is also born and raised in Rockford. Ally has completed several yoga teacher training courses over the past 10 years in Costa Rica, Southeast Asia, and the U.
This diverse educational background has shaped her into the community leader and inspiring woman she is today. The concept of Sattva Yoga was born out of Ally's love for spas and her desire to create a space that offers more than just yoga and treatments. This passion led her to incorporate spa elements like cold eucalyptus towels, inspired by her visits to renowned spa retreats in Wisconsin. But Sattva is more than just a yoga studio with spa touches.
