This studio provides a completely ideal yoga experience. The studio is aesthetically beautiful, incorporating natural and artistic elements. All the staff members and instructors are friendly, helpful and welcoming. I am a complete novice when it comes to yoga, but I learned about research into emotional and physical healing being linked to breathing, opening the body, stretching.....so I wanted to try yoga for myself, and for some family members who are going through struggles with addiction and trauma. We tried the very most gentle class, Restorative, and we tried the more advanced Vinyasa class, just to get an idea of the scope of what's available. While it may not be vigorous or fast enough for people who are accustomed to regular strenuous exercise, the Restorative class was perfect for my family members who are new to regular exercise, stretching, and body awareness or body self-control. Moreover, the class gives "permission" to simply stop, be quiet, and separate from the constant running loop of mental stresses. The class offers gentle instruction and tools for body positioning towards more fully open, extended poses with deeper breathing and no muscle strain. One small suggestion I would have for this class is for the music and the "narration" to focus a little less on any kind of God or spiritual mention (even though it was very fair across several beliefs). More effective, I think, would be to focus on visualizing, with each breath and position shift, the subtle but very real physical, muscular, cellular activities occurring. If I were teaching the class, I would study a bit about the physiology during those particular positions, and help students identify and visualize the healing that is occurring---and maybe throw in some embellishing language: "Breath in deeply...see your thirsty lungs fill with oxygen. Feel your body being quenched as the oxygen is absorbed into your chest, your shoulders, your arms down to your fingertips, legs, toes....Feel your body opening to more free flow of oxygen, electrolytes and nutrition as you fully extend your arms....Be aware of your spine...feel your vertebrae release as gravity gently presses your spine into the blanket ...."
For me and my struggling family members, this kind of language would greatly enhance the restorative benefits of the class. As for the Vinyasa class, we all really liked it and felt like it was definitely a good work out. It was more like what we expected from yoga, with the lovely stretching and balancing poses. We all felt the effects in our muscles the next day!! read more
