Forget the deep breathing, meditation and "ohm" side of yoga; there's a new method in Delray Beach that combines elements of traditional practice with athletic conditioning aimed at strengthening, lengthening and opening the body.

Partners Kirk Slobody and Janine Tiede have formed SloBody a conditioning-infused yoga practice that focuses on the physicality of fitness rather than the devotional aspects.

Slobody and Tiede refer to their method as "naked yoga" because they strip the practice "down to its core" and intertwine it with old-school conditioning exercises such as squats, lunges, core work and push-ups.

"We wanted to blend a lot of the other patterns of fitness and really have the voice of the coaches," Tiede said. "We found a niche with folks who were looking for a yoga that is practical, athletic and relevant to their active, professional lives and activities."

Their tag-team approach allows one of the teachers to serve as a visual guide during poses while the other walks around making slight corrections to students' form to achieve the maximum benefit.

"There's a level of enjoyable discomfort about it. Other practices tell you to 'go where your body wants,'" Slobody said. "It's 'anything is better than nothing' versus having that 'all or nothing' philosophy."

Slobody took up yoga while in college as an alternative to medication for his high blood pressure. He was a swimmer at George Washington University, and the fluid movements of yoga calmed his body.

"I explored many styles and teachers, and the benefits were great, but I felt something was missing. The traditional vibe of guru didn't jibe with my personality," Slobody said. "I didn't want to smell the incense, hear the chanting or deal with nonsense [or] dogma that was a distraction to my goals."

Tiede met Slobody during college, where she competed on the school's gymnastics team. She's also a dancer.

"I came to practice SloBody after being injured in a car accident. The practice resonated with my body and rehabbed my injuries with much more efficiency than the physical therapy I was assigned," she said. "To my surprise, I also found it extremely beneficial to my dancing, performance and teaching. I was hooked.

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New Delray yoga studio puts focus on fitness