After a week away from hot yoga, Rob returns to the studio and immediately remembers that the body keeps receipts. In this episode of Hot Yoga Problems, he gets wrecked by a CorePower class, navigates the disruption of summer travel season, and launches into a full-scale reflection on fresh starts, discipline, discomfort, and the fantasy of turning over a “new leaf” for real this time.

There’s talk of weighted vest walks, calorie trackers, GLP-1 decisions, chopped salads, office junk food temptation, butterfly metamorphosis, accidental monarch casualties, AI animation projects, and the only acceptable way to track aging: Pittsburgh professional athlete jersey numbers.

It’s funny, oddly motivational, and deeply Raff: a sweaty little sermon from the parking lot after yoga.

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Outline

The return to hot yoga after vacation
Rob explains how even a short break can make the practice feel like starting from scratch.

A different studio, a different vibe
With his usual CorePower location under renovation, Rob heads to Clarendon and gets thrown off his rhythm.

Summer travel and the empty yoga studio advantage
Everyone may be on I-95, but at least that means more space in class.

The confusing science of summer
Rob questions why the longest day of the year marks the beginning of summer instead of the middle.

The new leaf declaration
A fresh week, a fresh season, better habits, and a six-month mission to make real progress.

Why transformation hurts
The caterpillar-to-butterfly metaphor becomes both profound and ridiculous.

Trying to make good choices one moment at a time
Healthy food intentions, resisting office snacks, and riding the post-yoga motivation wave.

Creative momentum and AI animation
Rob shares excitement about upcoming text-to-video projects and new creative experiments.

The Pittsburgh athlete aging system
Rob considers mapping every year of life to a Pittsburgh sports jersey number.