Originally published in the Summer + Fall 2017 issue. 

Durango is a special town that breeds a unique blend of people. There are so many reasons why people come to Durango to visit and to live — the opportunity to explore is endless, ranging from in town activities to high mountain adventures. But for a while there was something missing in this very active outdoorsy town …

Most of my adulthood I have experienced moderate anxiety and depression. Hot yoga helps me, bottom line. The first symptom I experienced from hot yoga was joy, and so it became easy to do something that brought me so much happiness and a sense of satisfaction.

I was always athletic, racing mountain bikes all over Colorado and beyond, but hot yoga did something different for me. With this newfound love I was determined to create a permanent place of practice in Durango. For a while I would practice with a friend or in my own home in a make-shift hot room which consisted of a portable plastic greenhouse. I would find that nothing could compare to that feeling I got after leaving a real studio, so the search continued.

A few years ago, after suffering from some chronic pain, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I noticed when I did hot yoga, my inflammation and pain was reduced or completely disappeared. Luckily I already had hot yoga in my life and I was able to find an antidote to my pain.

My business partner had a mutual love for the heat and humidity and how we felt during and especially after practicing. We not only wanted a place to practice, but a place where we could build a community and share our love for hot yoga. We knew what it did for us, now if we could just help others experience the same we would be in business.

We had our three-year anniversary on July 25 and the Sweaty Buddha community keeps growing here in Durango. We feel that hot yoga is one more thing our community and tourists can experience making it the perfect place to live. With hot yoga we now have it all.

The Sweaty Buddha is located at 100 Ranch Road in Durango. For more information, visit www.thesweatybuddha.com.

Photos by Chris Miller.

Cat Morrison is an Registered Nurse and works on labor and delivery at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, Colorado. Four years ago, she attended her first Bikram yoga class in Florida, and she discovered the magic of the practice and made it her mission to create a hot yoga studio in her town. As the co-owner of The Sweaty Buddha, she realizes the most important part of the practice and studio is bringing community together to share in the love and passion for hot yoga, life and one another. www.thesweatybuddha.com