Hot yoga done to live violin music is coming to Echo Park and Venice

Do hot yoga to live music in Echo Park; learn the basics of nutritious cooking in the Valley; find out more about the fundamentals of breathing in Pacific Palisades and bring your baby to Pilates in Santa Monica:

Soups, salads and stir-fries

Want to learn how to cook more healthfully, but don't know where to start? There are still spots available in June 25’s “Intuitive Cooking: Unleash Your Creativity by Learning to Cook Without Recipes,” led by Los Angeles chef and food entrepreneur Alegre Ramos. Focusing on soups, salads and stir-fries, Ramos says the point of the class is to encourage people to “eat lower on the food chain.”

"These are a great way to plan your meals, because they are heavy in vegetables, which most of us don't enough of," she said, adding that she encourages her students to select multi-cultural flavor profiles for variety. Ramos will also be holding a falafel-based class in July and one on “eggs, sides and sweets” in August.

Info: 2 to 5 p.m. June 25. Cost: $45, including materials. Los Angeles Valley College, 5800 Fulton Ave., Valley Glen. Details and registration at EmberLiving.com

Hot yoga, without ‘that sticky feeling’

Five years after opening its first Los Angeles studio (on 3rd Street and La Brea), Modo Yoga LA -- the company is based in Toronto -- just unveiled a 6,700-square-foot Echo Park location. Company co-founder Deena Robertson has retained the Modo Yoga template of hot yoga classes in a room with hospital-grade filtration, so "while the room is heated, it doesn't have that sticky feeling," she said. The company is also known for bringing in musicians -- such as violinists -- to play during the 60- or 90-minute classes. A third Los Angeles location is planned for Venice by the end of the summer.

"Our objective has been to have a studio pretty much wherever you are in the city," said Robertson. "We want people to do a class, take a shower and then go about their day."

Info: Classes run regularly from 5:45 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Classes start at $20, with discounts available. Los-Angeles.ModoYoga.com

Babies play a starring role in this Pilates class

Can't get to Pilates because the baby-sitter bailed? Take the little one along. Speir Pilates in Santa Monica last month introduced a Baby & Me class where the infant becomes part of the workout. Studio founder Andrea Speir decided to introduce the 50-minute session after she had her first child a few months ago and was trying to figure out "how I could spend time with my baby and get a workout in." In the weekly reformer/mat class, parents hold the baby while doing squats and core exercises, and rest the infant on pillows when on the reformer. Speir said the class is best for babies between 6 weeks and 7 months old.

Info: 11:30 a.m. Fridays. First class is $25, and $28 after that. Discounts available when multiple classes are purchased. 1427 7th St., Santa Monica. SpeirPilates.com

Stop holding your breath when stressed!

Fitness trainer Jon Paul Crimi will be leading a 90-minute workshop entitled “Breathwork Experience” in the Pacific Palisades on June 27. The class, which is held once a month, is designed to help people feel less "stuck," said Gretchen Lightfoot, co-founder of Goorus Yoga, which is hosting the event.

"People find breathwork to be transformative," said Lightfoot. The session will begin with an introduction to the practice before moving into the experiential part of the workshop; Crimi has been known to use a gong to help move along the process. "The first thing we do in a stressful environment is to hold our breath," said Lightfoot. "If we could get more oxygen into our system, we would make better decisions."

Info: 7 to 8:30 p.m. June 27. Cost: $30 in advance, $35 at the door. 15327 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. Goor.us