I recently visited Big Bear for my boyfriend's birthday and was in search for a good yoga studio. I discovered Big Bear Yoga, located inside a chiropractor's office in the heart of the village in Big Bear. I went to a Monday evening class, Movement Yoga led by Lisa Ann (5:00-6:15pm). I was lucky to be the only student in the class, as most tourists had left Big Bear; she told me there is a consistent group of 30-50 people who practice at their studio, but during the winter months, it can be difficult for consistency, as people work and have duties afterwards, like picking up their kids from school.
I got a lot of personal attention and adjustments, discovering that my left arm tends to "hyperextend," in my downward facing dog. She spent time giving me adjustments, working on my alignment and assisting me in arda chandrasana. I did not tell her that my left side is stronger than my right in this pose, but she immediately noticed this in my practice. We began the class seated, and did a few warm-ups to prepare the body. While I did not ask her how many years of teaching experience she had, I could tell that she had ample years of experience through the way that she taught me to adjust some of my poses. She took a few moments before class started to ask a little about me so that she could tailor the class specific to my yoga history. I think that if the class had 10 or 20 students or even just 5 students, she is the kind of teacher that invests in her students and gets to know them on a personal level. Instead of going through numerous poses, we concentrated on a few to help me work on my alignment, even in trikonasana. In regular hot yoga classes, they teach you to jut out the back part of your hip, while extending your front arm. Lisa Ann taught me a different variation, where in lieu of jutting out the back part of your hip, simply keep your hip in place and work on the form of the upper body, which creates a different sensation of where your body opens.
I did not give it 5 stars only because I think the room is quite small (if the class were crowded) & also they have a limited yoga schedule (about one class per day in the evenings, which may be due to the population's needs). Their regular yoga teacher for their Sunday classes recently moved away, and as a result, you have to register in advance (or by 8am on their website) in order for a teacher to show up. I wanted to go to their Sunday yoga class, but since I was hiking with my boyfriend, I wanted the freedom just to show up to a yoga class versus signing up on-line beforehand. I think that once they have a regular yoga teacher for their Sunday class as well as a more consistent yoga group going to the classes, that this issue will be resolved in the future.
Lisa Ann is a great teacher with a kind spirit and is extremely humble. After class, she even came out to meet my goldendoodle puppy named Snickers and my boyfriend. If I lived in Big Bear, I would definitely become a member there and try to go to their workshops. I am grateful that as a visitor, I was able to share part of my yoga journey with an amazing teacher.
I am writing this review because I hope that more people in the Big Bear area will learn more about the yoga available in their community and hopefully become more involved. FYI, this yoga studio used to be Equada Yoga that was in a different location but I think the teachers/owners merged and now they do yoga in this space. read more