Another Monday morning, another body part sore from my weekend adventures. (This time it was mountain biking racing instead of snowboarding.) Once again I’ll be headed to yoga class this afternoon to help work out the kinks. And I won’t be alone. Yoga has become so popular that even travelers aren’t content to leave their yoga practice at home. According to a recent article in the New York Times, yoga is becoming so mainstream that, “like Wi-Fi, on-demand movies and fitness centers, yoga is becoming an amenity many hotels and resorts just can’t do without.”
The article states that yoga classes are no longer offered exclusively at resorts and spas, but also at conventional hotel chains. You are as likely to find a yoga session offered at Salt Lake City hotels these days as at fancy San Jose del Cabo resorts. According to the article, the hotels see yoga as a way to help the bottom line. While the widespread offering of yoga in hotels may be a new trend, there are some chains that deserve kudos for getting the ball rolling, or maybe I should say, “downwalk dog walking”, earlier than others.
Kimpton was the first chain hotel to offer in-room wellness and yoga. The idea was to make it easier for guests to maintain the practices that keep them calm and serene, even while traveling. Most of their hotels offer special yoga tote bags for guests that include yoga props, mats, and straps. Combine those with an on-demand video yoga class and you might not even need the famous complementary Kimpton wine hour in the evening.
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