She busily spent her 20s getting married, starting a family, and finding a good job-—all to the detriment of her waistline. “I was at 165, and I didn’t see myself stopping,” says this Internet manager from Atlanta. The weight overwhelmed her 5-foot-6 frame, so when a friend invited her to attend a Bikram yoga class, Moxley agreed to go.

“It felt like I was back in gym class, bending in all these ways that I never thought I could as an adult,” Moxley says. After a few days, she noticed a burst of post-yoga energy; after a few weeks, her mood improved. That’s not to say everything was smooth sun saluting. “In class there are mirrors all around, and you’re not wearing much clothing because it’s so hot. Just looking at yourself for an hour and a half makes you think about how much you need to change,” she says.

Change, she has. Moxley has lost 30 pounds and counting. Plus, “the more I went, the less cellulite I seemed to have,” she says. “My skin elasticity has been improving ever since.”

Moxley’s tip: Give yourself time to adjust. “When you first start Bikram, you might get a rash from the heat or come home and crash for the rest of the day,” she says. “Once you get past that phase [about 2 weeks], you’ll start seeing results.”