Emily Lam spent a decade in corporate tech sales before betting on herself. In February 2025, she opened Ritual Hot Yoga at 3640 South Highland Drive, bringing a music-driven, infrared-heated yoga franchise to the Millcreek area.
Lam moved to Salt Lake City in 2022 for a tech job. Yoga had been central to her recovery after open-heart surgery at age 25, she told Voyage Utah in a profile, and she missed having a studio nearby. She had connected with Ritual Hot Yoga as a student at the original San Francisco location, founded by Lindsey Kaalberg. When the brand began franchising, Lam saw her opening.
She left tech in early 2023 and started building the Salt Lake City location with no investors and a lean budget, according to a Salt Lake Sideways profile. The first space she pursued turned her down. Months later, it came back around.
The studio holds 24 students per class in a room heated to 98 degrees with infrared dry heat. Higher-energy classes run to R&B, hip hop and EDM in candlelit darkness. Slower yin sessions pair longer holds with red light therapy mats and a quieter pace. A lounge with couches and coffee greets visitors at the door, and mats and towels are provided.
Lam wrote in Millcreek City Lifestyle that the studio has become a gathering point for regulars. "One class becomes a routine, and that routine becomes friendships that spill into a lifetime," she wrote.
Drop-in classes cost $35. An introductory offer gives newcomers 10 days of classes for $75, and unlimited memberships run $240 per month, according to the Voyage Utah profile. The studio also offers a free first Tuesday class for new visitors, per an Eventbrite listing.
Class schedules are posted at ritualhotyoga.com.
