" I really enjoyed the beginner class here" I was…read moreintimidated to go to yoga . Thinking I have to be super fit and flexible like Gumby. An avid nerd I am none of the above . I am aware I wanted something physical. Plus something to relieve stress . This is the activity. Here they are helpful with anything you need . You feel welcomed . It's a friendly vibe. I definitely recommend this establishment.

Beautiful studio with plenty of street parking. The instructors are kind, attentive, and make every…read moreclass feel welcoming. One of my favorite spots to recharge!

During covid they continued to take payments..... After…read morespeaking to the owner she assured this would not happen. It did happen and the amount of fees that were Acquired during this time are ridiculous!! I didn't check this bank account because why would I, because I had no bills coming out of it. It brought my account negative hundreds of dollars until I finally got a letter in the mail telling me that this was happening. They told me that they needed to write corporate well now we're going on for weeks still waiting. Please don't waste your money or your time by going to the gym because they are not true to their word. How is this ok!!

I figured it's high time I update my review. I've been going to PureBarre (primarily Newton and…read moresometimes Wellesley) for nearly five years (gasp!). I never thought I'd come back after the first class, but with the encouragement and support of so many great instructors and fellow classmates, this has turned out to be a favorite in my exercise/fitness routine, I do mix in other types of fitness classes at other studios (e.g. megareformer, spinning), and can safely say that PureBarre has become a mainstay for me. Oh, and also, the owner of Newton, Wellesley, Dedham and Hingham is a very special person who runs a great business. Thank you Katie.

Went to the 2 hour Winter Solstice celebration Chakra Yoga event here last night. It was fantastic!…read more First off parking kinda stinks. I arrived a little late ( my fault) so I drove around for quite a while to find a spot. The entrance is a bit hidden too. It's not on the Main Street. It's on the side street toward the back of the building and when you enter there are some stairs that lead you up to the studio. They were warm and welcoming when I came in and I found my friends already laid out on their mats. Room was warm. Most classes are heated. My first heated yoga class. I enjoyed it but maybe found it a bit drying especially during wintertime. Definitely bring some water. Room was peacefully lit with candle everywhere. I felt a sense of peace as soon as I walked in. Nicole and Georgia ran the event. They were both sweet and kind and had such soothing voices as they led us through the class. Also very helpful to come around and help you out with any moves you may have trouble with. Hannah and Heather were lightly singing and playing musical instruments in the background. Beautiful voices! Classes typically run for an hour and 15 minutes and it's 15 bucks. You can also get class packs in tens, twenty, etc that lower the price for each class. Events like the one I went to are a bit more. I really enjoyed this event and will definitely come back to enjoy some regular yoga classes. Was so relaxed. Went home and slept like a baby!!

I have been going to this Yoga Studio from sometime now but couldn't make time to write a review…read moreuntil today cause these girls highly deserve a good rating and a good recommendation! The owner Nichol is specially a lovely, kind and helpful lady. I had a couple of classes left from last 2 years from my last purchase from 2019 which I couldn't use due to covid and even when the restrictions were up , I wasn't too comfortable take physical yoga classes until recently only to realize the validity of my purchase had expired but I just made a call and Nichol reactivated the left out classes without asking a single question. I go to another yoga studio and in most studios they might do that but we also have to remember like any other service industry, the yoga business was hard hit during Covid so I wouldn't have requested to extend the validity if I would have a single sign of hesitation but Nichol couldn't be more helpful. I would also like to highly recommend the warm flow yoga classes with Nikki. I find her easier to follow specially when she introduces a new pose, she goes step by step and takes to another level and she has a reiki touch to the flow at the end of the practice which actually is very calming. However, all the trainers are very good. I have taken classes with some other trainers too and all of them are simply the master of their trades and equally good each one having an unique style. You should try them !

I am probably going to be reviewing all of CPY's Boston locations at this rate…read more Pros: 1. Proximity to my apartment. Given that, I'll probably still end up driving over since the intersection over the pike is not the most pleasant spot to walk through, and the nearby parking/garage lot offers cheap metered parking. 2. Big welcome from Emma who was manning the front desk when I walked in. I immediately got a much friendlier vibe from, say, Fresh Pond. 3. I went with CP 2, which actually seemed more beginner-friendly than the other CP 2 class I took at Fresh Pond. This one was less heated/humid and the sequences were easier to follow. I also really liked that this class was less crowded than others and I didn't have to worry about stepping (or sweating) on someone else. Cons: 1. The locker rooms were still ... not dirty exactly. Maybe dingy is the right word? Lots of dried slushy water and salt on the floor. It's not fair of me to complain, given the recent snowfall and the rock salt strewn everywhere on the sidewalks. I do wish though that there was some sort of way to make the walk from the lockers to the studio room less dirty for bare feet. Maybe next time, I'll try the cubbies right next to the front door. Unlike some other studios/gyms, CPY seems much cheaper if you buy a membership or package from them directly (especially when they're running a promotion or offering their free unlimited week to new students) versus if you book a class thru ClassPass credits. Given how close this location is to me, I'll be back to try the Sculpt classes!

I took CorePower Sculpt with Paula and really loved it! It was challenging but easy to follow as a…read morefirst-timer. She had great energy and made the class fun! I definitely want to take more with her!!

Going back to Pilates after several years and a new knee…read more Baby steps ! Club Pilates in Brookline is a perfect place for reentry. Knowledgeable, supportive staff; clean state of the art equipment. Getting better all the time.

Grand opening weekend for Club Pilates in Newton Center. A great location and addition to Newton…read morewith 12 reformer stations with variety of class options. I tried the 30 min intro class for new clients and had a good experience. Jess checked us in and explained the parts of the reformer and the flow of the class. On the reformer there are 2 heavy, 2 medium, and 1 light spring used for different exercises. A typical class is 50 minutes and they have flow 1, 1.5, and 2 for varying difficulties. The class is a full body workout with foot work, bridges, core work, arms, and ended with a stretch. I really liked that you'll get breath movement cued for each exercise and that you can take it at your own pace. The straps were easy to take off and on with the pegs and the headrest is adjustable. They have early morning to evening class times, so plenty of availability. Today's the last day they are offering 20% memberships and retail, so if you're looking for a new workout I'd definitely try them out.

This is a great studio but one thing that keeps me from coming more often is that it is only hot…read moreyoga. I wish there was at least some normal or lower temperature classes offered here. I don't always do well with a 90+ degree heat combined with the strenuous flow. I love the teachers and the challenging flows though - the best studio in the surrounding area! Please consider a "warm" or normal classes. Thank you!

Another yoga studio hops on the Prana Power bandwagon…read more Welcome to HYP's Needham outpost, where I ventured for a 75 minute "warm" power class last Monday. As I entered the waiting area, the "hot" flow class was leaving, super sweaty and sticky. The girl checking me in was friendly enough, and the paperwork to get my Passport to Prana card swiped was quick. I can't believe they only have one changing room and a bathroom for each sex! Classes easily hold 40 people, many of whom who need to change into their Lulumon gear beforehand, and who want to get out of those sticky sports bras immediately after. So, it was packed getting in. I found a spot to lay my mat; they've got tape on the floor showing you where to line your mats for optimal sardine squeezing. Why these power studios don't have you stagger your mat to allow for a fuller range of motion, I'll never get. My instructor was Jordan, who was nice enough and didn't say too much touchy feely bullshit. I did laugh a bit when he referred to wimping out on the yoga pushup as "cheaturanga." He had an assistant adjusting, which was cool, but she was a little forceful and pushed me a bit too deep into the asanas. She also didn't adjust the same student's pose on both sides of the body. We went through the typical Sun A, Sun B, triangle, side angle, tree pose, bow, pigeon, and some back bends. I sweated so much I turned part of my white Yogitoes towel the black from my mat underneath. Gross. It was a decent practice, and just enough heat to really make me work. I usually don't practice hot yoga. I was feeling all zen and shit until I was heading over to my mat with the mat wash spray and a grabby student tried to take it right out of my hand. I didn't like the vibe from the students practicing there. But, if you're close to Needham and want to hop on that hot power yoga train, here's another crowded spot for you to try.

Hannah is a truely amazing massage therapist. Her touch is deeply healing. She knows just where to…read moreapply just the right pressure. She has the spirit of a shaman. After a 90 minute massage my chronic hip pain disappeared. I highly recommend her.

The particular lifestyle I live, being an avid yoga trainer/practitioner, involves a tremendous…read moreamount of physical exertion. Not only do I practice as often as possible, but I am also moving quite a bit while I teach, facilitating the efforts of others. The practicing itself is strenuous and in my life currently, my practice is less about building flexibility and much more about engagement and creating a spacious alignment. That being said, every body has its blockages and tendencies and given my self-awareness I do work to improve my practice to hold space for these tendencies, but they remain in some degree regardless of my augmentations as with each and all bodies. I have unique insight into the proper ways in which the body should move and be best utilized as I can see those efforts in others while I teach. I am able to see the common factors in all the varying tendencies of misalignment and while I can always help others be more aware of those blockages, I cannot always become more aware of them within my own physicality as these tools and techniques only breach the walls of the flesh so deeply. On top of that, the emotional and more subtle experience stirring within my students compounds within my practice, finally often being held in my physical... sometimes this entire process of very natural, yet stressful living, all organizes and focuses into one of these areas where I have such tendencies to form blockages. For example, I hold tension in my left shoulder and with many different experiences furthering my understanding of the area effected, I can fully see the connections between opposing muscle groups and the obvious truth regarding their only seeming separation... even more so do I now see how not only are all these physical elements all connected, if even in a chaotic manner, but the more subtle levels of my being are all connected in this way also. I would be a fool to ignore all this insight being brought to bare by my own mind and body, but also through skilled colleagues and friends in the health industry who have helped me to better see how I store and digest stress, and who have helped me facilitate this digestion. Hannah, more than others, has been able to not so much explain to me or educate me on the matters i describe, because she has always displayed trust in my understanding bodily, but not at all surprisingly she was able to truly empathize within the moment of therapeutic massage and connect to my body fully. Her innate skill, unlike others in her place prior, is to really connect and experience my body and in her actions educate ME in terms of utilizing her physical connection to me and the hands on approach to my blockages, all just as an opportunity to tune into the more subtle levels of my traumas and facilitate their digestion. There is a particular baseline of trust and rapport built between us and my energy against hers carries with it a dynamic true to this commentators recollection, but in the end I have worked with hundreds and only few have reached the same depths as she. I believe her ability to achieve this depth comes from her conceptual understanding of unity within mind and body... her understanding of the physical left me feeling trustworthy at every step... but in the end it was her confidence, clearly born from her curiosity to breach the surface and tune in like an antennae, and without fear see past my "knot" or my "past trauma" to attach to the energy and just essentially move it around like in the free-flowing sequence of a dance, but with 33% attention to form and function, 66% is full out empathic sensitization. At the level I practice and facilitate the moving of negative traumatic energies, this sort of integral understanding is absolutely necessary if a therapist is going to successfully manage the natural tendencies of my unique, divine design. I can say, with the utmost honestly and with all hyperbole aside, that this healer, so called Hannah is absolutely incredible at what she does.

Great facilities, but the "Sales-First" culture is exhausting…read more While Life Time Fitness is clean and offers a great variety of classes (popular ones fill up very quickly), the daily experience is marred by several significant issues that make it hard to recommend at this price point. The Parking Nightmare The 5-story garage is a disaster. The first three floors are mostly reserved for valet, leaving everyone else to circle the bottom two floors. The spots and turns are dangerously narrow; even with a mid-size sedan, you're constantly at risk of scraping your car against pillars or rails. Constant Upselling & "Hustle" Culture The "luxury" vibe is frequently ruined by promotional announcements over the PA system. Even booking a high-quality massage comes with an exhausting sales pitch both before and after the session. Most recently, I tried a "complimentary" training session. I was incredibly explicit during scheduling: I only wanted the one free session and a simple list of the exercises we covered for my own reference. Despite being assured this was doable, the trainer withheld the list at the end, stating I'd only receive it if I signed a paid contract for more sessions. It is insulting to have clear boundaries ignored. This relentless "hustle" and sales-pitch culture is fundamentally at odds with a true wellness environment. Deafening Class Volume The music in many studio classes is set to an uncomfortable, near-painful level. Instructors have refused requests to lower the volume, or even turned it up in response. While earplugs are provided, you shouldn't need hearing protection to attend a gym class. Alpha Space Equipment On a positive note, I did notice recently that management addressed a previous shortage of 20lb and 25lb barbells in the Alpha space. It's good to see they are capable of making functional improvements when members speak up. The Bottom Line The facilities are well-maintained and the class variety is excellent, but the stress of parking, the "disco-level" volume, and being treated as a "lead" first and a member second make every visit an exercise in frustration. It feels more like a sales floor than a wellness club.

Two stars because for a premium gym, it should be better…read more Group exercise classes that are not scheduled during work hours, and even ones that are, have enormous waitlists. But the studios have plenty of room. There are classes I want to try but I don't feel like being number 17 on a waitlist. Seriously, this is a whack system. I want a fitness class, not a Birkin bag. Creating scarcity is a bad business model. Weight room is fine. Blah what a disappointment.

I have to admit that I was a little scared about going here with some co-workers, mostly because I…read moredidn't know what to expect. I was picturing a gym full of meat heads I guess, which is not my scene at all. This place is further from that picture than you could ever get. The atmosphere of the place is actually very chill/relaxing. It's a big open space with tons of interesting looking equipment. Josh is probably the most friendly and welcoming guy you could ever meet. We even talked running a bit, and he is full of helpful information! The class we took, Sweat Shop, was not at all what I was expecting. Josh makes the workout not only interesting, but fun and I got to use some of that interesting looking equipment. I had never used kettleballs or weighted bats (not sure what they are really called) before! I left a little sweaty, feeling like I had a very good workout, and I had fun on top of it. I'm a little sore the day after, which my body knows it means I had a great workout that was a full body workout! It's way better than the typical gym circut where you just go from dull machine to dull machine. I will defintely be coming back for more classes at Gymnasium. I'm paticularly interested in Yogabells and the fencing classes.

It's a few minutes before my first class and I am nervous. I hear a cool 80's song as I open the…read moredoor. Immediately I am greeted by the owner, Josh Conway. I see him peering over a desk flanked by tall plants, smiling at me. It looks like he is briefing one of his coaches for the upcoming class. I take off my shoes, briefly speak with him and then proceed to the changing room. I noticed behind him was a lighted library of books ranging from Chinese breathing techniques to the history of European sword fighting. What a nice collection of varied interests I thought. As I grab a cup of water from the bubbler Josh informs me that although optional, I needn't to keep my socks on for the workout --part of the strength training involves training the feet, naturally. As I stretch out before class I see an older couple finishing up their kettle bell routine. They chalk up their personal best on one of the chalkboards on the wall. I see that one chalkboard is filled with quotations, comments and words of encouragement written by various members. Another board describes what 'theme' it is for the day. 'Stamina.' Today's theme is stamina I thought. Yesterday was 'Power.' Tomorrow is 'Strength.' The couple comes over and says hello to me and we introduce ourselves. This is pretty cool I thought. As I look around I see that Gymnasium is a nicely designed, large two section studio with cozy lighting, wooden floors, floor to ceiling mirrors along one wall and a huge Gymnasium logo emblazoned against another. Thick and heavy ropes hang from the ceiling, next to a row of pull-up bars. There are many tires stacked like a wall in one corner. A large variety of kettlebells and Indian Clubs line the back wall. There are also hurdles, metal stands, rope, straps, foam bricks, sandbags, fitness ladders, a peg climb and many other tools for circuit use. Intimidated, but curious. A coach comes over to me, extends a hand and says hello to me. 'Hello, my name is Marlon" I reply. 'My first day here.' Several more members fill the room as the clock winds to 5pm. The coach instructs us to get into a circle. The mild chatter quiets down as the coach-led group begins with a twisting and breathing exercise as 'Simple Minds' softly gets us into the mood over the gym's sound system. It's been a hair over two months since I've joined Gymnasium. I clocked in at 228 pounds the day I signed up. Today I am 202 pounds. I can't believe it. Twice the results, half the time. At first I was skeptical because there weren't any 45 pound plates, barbells and ellipticals which are usual staple found at regular gyms. At the risk of sounding cliché, this isn't a regular gym. After a few workouts I found myself crawling on all fours, doing planks, swinging kettlebells, hurling sandbags and performing an endless variety of floor work. The exercises are always changing weekly too. No chance for my muscles to become accustomed to anything. What is key, is that since the classes are small you get a lot of attention from the coach. There are always two or three alternatives to each type of exercise. An experienced member might perform a more difficult version of a pushup exercise while a new member might do them inclined along a wall. Gymnasium recognizes that each person is different. Another thing which is cool is that the community at Gymnasium is very fun, social and lively. There are tables and couches to sit and read from the library, sip tea or coffee which Gymnasium provides, or just to hang out. Josh organizes many other fun events such as evening runs, a variety of seminars, kettlebell challenges and a 60 Day Food Challenge in which I am currently involved. There is a great deal of personalization and interaction which is seldom if ever found at other gyms. I am simply flabbergasted as to why I don't see a lot more people doing natural movement exercises like the kind found at Gymnasium. However, I do know that this style of training is increasing in popularity. Also this type of training isn't as 'sexy' as pushing 10 pound plates on a machine. But for the record, given by my results I would never step back into a 'regular' gym--not if being strong and balanced, moving optimally and losing weight was my goal. 2/25/13 Sincerely, Marlon V