How a woman's brutal seizure inspired Xhale Hot Yoga in Point Pleasant Beach

POINT PLEASANT BEACH - Kimberly Cupolo, co-owner of Xhale Hot Yoga Studio in Point Pleasant Beach, got into yoga after having a seizure that lasted 12 hours.

“Robert Wood Johnson saved her life,” husband and co-owner Mike Cupolo said, referring to the New Brunswick hospital. “They found that she had an infection in her bladder that triggered lesions in her brain and spine that shut down her nervous system. It was 12 years ago, and it was rough. Kim going to hot yoga was a way to detox her organs and lessen her chances of getting an infection again.”

“I never thought of owning a business as a young kid or anything.” Kim said. “I was always a hard worker with whatever field I was in, and the reason I opened Xhale Hot Yoga was because of what it did for me. Afterwards, I knew I could help people other than myself.”

Although the Cupolos did grow up working in family businesses, they did have backgrounds that taught them discipline and gave them the tools to work hard and venture out on their own when starting their yoga studio.

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“My father was a police officer that always made me feel like I had to succeed,” Mike said. “I had all sisters as a kid and now I have all daughters. I had to look out for all of them and that responsibility never faded. I took the same work ethic that my father had because he was 40 years in the military besides being a cop. Although I didn’t see following in his footsteps as a future for me, my dad was a role model.”

“My dad worked for the town, and he was the director of public works,” Kim said. “He ran the town that we lived in and did it for my whole childhood, until I graduated from high school. My mother ran some local grocery stores around town and both my parents inspired me to always work hard and be at the top of my game.”

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'I love a challenge'

Mike admits he was not one to have dreams of going to college as a teenager and he had a rough start finding something to do with his life.

“I had attention deficit disorder, and I didn’t like going to school,” Mike said. “I liked sports, but that will only take you so far. I knew I had to do something with my life, so I picked the electrician field, which required going to school. I knew I couldn’t get around that, so I went to vocational school and learned electrical.

“I’m grateful that I could go to school to learn the trade and have electrical as my background,” he continued. “I did school for six years total and worked for one company for 16 years straight. I did high voltage and low voltage, but I didn’t start my career until Hurricane Sandy happened. I had my license and I worked on homes for people that couldn’t afford them. Now, I work everywhere in Monmouth and Ocean County, and I have been doing it for three years. I’m helping people and I love a challenge.”

Kim was always into fitness and was athletic. She pursued that path for most of her life and she did well with it.

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“I worked for a couple of gyms and had a yoga certification,” Kim said. “I did a lot of private work for different groups. After my seizure, I wasn’t able to work out because the doctors didn’t want me to do anything at all. A good friend of mine told me that I had to do hot yoga.

"It wasn’t my passion at first, but it turned out that it saved my life," she continued. "It was the combination of the heat and the yoga that helped me overall. Mike told me that I had to open a studio of my own because Jersey Shore Hot Yoga (in Avon) was the only place around that offered it otherwise. I decided to open it up away from Jersey Shore Hot Yoga, so we didn’t take away from their business. I just knew that this was going to help people and save people.”

After much prodding from Mike, Kim jumped into opening the business headfirst in 2013 in Point Pleasant Beach.

“He built the actual physical studio,” Kim said. “He went there after work every single day and he would be involved with every aspect of the business. The space was originally a storage unit, and he built every wall and door that exists in the space today. Ten years later, the store is still here and it’s still running great.”

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'It's about the unity of it all'

Kim acquired her skills from schooling and experience.

“I went to school in Connecticut and did a lot of training in California,” Kim said. “For myself, I had to keep learning because there is always so much more information to absorb. I also currently study a lot and take part in online training just for my own sanity.

"Educating myself all goes hand in hand," she continued. "It’s not just about physical practice. It’s about the unity of it all. It’s about the body, the mind and everything in between. I know it sounds cliché to say that, but it’s the truth. It was never about the physical for me. It was about everything else and then, seeing what you can do for other people that have things like anxiety and physical ailments, has been everything to me.”

Xhale Hot Yoga Studio offers hot yoga classes, but there is more to their resumé.

“We offer hot yoga mainly, but we also do hot Pilates,” Mike said. “We do drop-ins, 10 class packs, five class packs, monthly, three months at a time and yearly classes. We run classes all day, at night and all seven days a week. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere and community-based environment. Classes run between 60 and 75 minutes at a time. There are tons and tons of people that have been coming for 10 years now and we currently have a total of 1,600 members. We affect clients spiritually, emotionally and physically.”

Xhale Hot Yoga has been going strong for 10 years now and they have no plans to slow down.

“We want to continue to serve our community, but we also want to find the right people to become a part of our staff,” Mike said. “We do group activities for the community like beer and yoga, which is fun for everyone who takes part in it. We can see ourselves continuing that path where we partner with businesses in the community to do things together. We like that and we plan to keep the community involved and running.”

Xhale Hot Yoga Studio

Location: 528 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant Beach

Owners: Kim and Mike Cupolo

Phone: 732-475-4538

Website: www.xhalehotyoga.com

Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Xhale Hot Yoga in Point Pleasant Beach grew from seizure recovery