I've been going to this studio on and off since it opened in the summer of 2008.
Facilities- The facilities are typically clean. Although in the winter, the area where people leave their shoes can get wet and sloppy. They have lockers at this studio but you will need to bring your own lock.
Parking- The parking used to be fabulous. Now, I don't know what happened. It could be the new Whole Foods but I can't be certain. I can't seem to get a
parking spot by the studio to save my life. I have to park by Old Navy and walk over.
Classes- Not a lot of variety here except Yoga Sculpt and Vinyasa. The heated Vinyasa classes are supposed to be heated to 95-100 degrees. However, when I've actually brought my thermometer into class and the temps have never rose above 91. Music played during class can be loud, distracting, or annoying. Sometimes, the music is so loud I can't even hear what the instructor is saying. I like the Yin Yoga classes that are taught by Valerie and Victoria. Yin Yoga is calming and will compliment someone with a serious yoga practice or a high endurance athlete. (Probably why I love it so much.)
Instructors- I like a couple of instructors (Corrine, Erin MH, Valerie, Ken, Victoria) but most are poorly trained, have bad people skills, and are in serious need of diversity training. One instructor asked, "What are you?" at check-in and then proceeded to announce to the entire C2 class that I was taking that my hands were a different color than the rest of my body. There are also some instructors who, how can I put this mildly, need to get off their high horse and get over themselves. I've been doing yoga (Iyengar, Bikram, Yin, Moksha) for 10+ years and know a thing or two. They can't answer the most basic of questions. The CorePower 2 class (also known as C2) can be truly bizarre. Not only is the room cold (see above), the instructors will sequence their own class and put asanas in places where they simply shouldn't go (a deep bend like Camel at the beginning of class) or advanced asanas that the instructor can't even do themselves. Also, some of the instructors will forget the sequences in some of the classes with a fixed sequence (C1, Hot Power Fusion) or call asanas by their wrong name (Bow Pose is not Wheel and Standing Bow Pulling Pose is not the same pose as Dancer's Pose). There seems to be loads of unnecessary and inappropriate touching (or within mere centimeters) of students' crotches, inner thighs, breasts, and buttocks. I've also had instructors press their bodies against me as well as yank my limbs in order to "adjust" me. I'm not sure if these instructors' ineptitude is ignorance or stupidity because their training was a quickie, Bikram/Baptiste/Ashtanga rip-off, and designed to speed customers through a sequence and get them out as soon as possible.
Retail: DO NOT BUY ANYTHING AT THIS STUDIO OR USE YOUR CREDIT CARD AT THIS STUDIO. In November 2011, I bought a gift card for myself because they were having this deal where you could get a $100 gift card for $80 or so. I thought, "Cool! I'll treat myself." Well, I used my gift card when they were having their Thanksgiving Black Friday sale very early in the morning when most of the merchandise was supposed to be 20, 30, 40% off and they proceeded to charge me FULL PRICE rather than giving me the discount. Please note that this was very early in the morning (7:30 am) so there wasn't a line or pressure or possible confusion. Not to mention, they didn't give me the receipt. When I checked my purchases in my online account, I saw that they did not give me the discount. So, I went back into the studio and explained the situation. They tried to be apologetic but put money back on my account (which could only be used at their crappy franchise studio and not at any of the other real CorePower studios) and not on my gift card. I don't know. This seemed shady to me.
Students- Again, hit or miss (and I know the business can't control the clientele). Some students don't know basic yoga etiquette such as be clean before coming to class. (I know we sweat, but I shouldn't have to smell your body odor throughout class.) Some of the students will block someone's view of themselves so you can't check on your alignment (thus the purpose of the mirror). Or, not making room for someone in a crowded yoga class is kind of rude in my opinion. The dressing room can be a nightmare after class. I still can't figure out why some of the women wear full makeup to a heated yoga class. A few men (both old and young) seem overly lecherous with their comments, smiles, and glares. A young dude once followed me into class, put his mat behind me, huffed and puffed made a bunch of obscene noises, and left half way through. If you're a person of color (POC) like me, also expect to hear some random "ghetto," "you people," and "what are you"? read more