I have been to the studio for a total of 12 Bikram yoga sessions (am, early pm, pm).
-2 with Greg Ja (owner)*****
-2 with Noshy Hedgeman*****
-8 with Darla Safire**
Let me preface this by saying I had taken a 1 1/2 year hiatus from Bikram yoga so I was a tad out of practice.
GREG is a great instructor. He is knowledgeable and makes sure to explain how different postures and poses are beneficial to your body. He is proactive in spotting who needs extra help in the class and shows and explains the postures very well. Another huge plus is that Greg knows and addresses everyone in class by name! Gotta love an instructor who gives personalized attention. Greg times the postures perfectly and ends class at the scheduled time, allowing time for rest before the next class starts.
NOSHY is incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about yoga and it shows in his energy in the classroom. He is constantly walking around the room to correct postures and shows the correct form, which is essential in obtaining the health benefits the postures have to offer.
My experiences with DARLA are the determining factors in giving this studio its 2-star rating. It seemed most of the classes that fit my schedule (9:30 am/4:30pm) were taught by Darla. If given the option to choose instructors who taught at times that fit my schedule, I would have avoided taking any classes with Darla altogether. Her instruction is, at best, average. Darla didn't give much guidance as to how the postures were to be executed in the first few classes I took with her, especially when there were so many first-timers; it has since gotten better and she makes an effort to display some of the poses throughout class. In addition, the Bikram yoga classes I sign up for are 90 minute sessions as opposed to the 75 minute sessions. (Bikram Choudhury's guidelines say all classes must be 90 minutes long for optimal benefits.) 5 out of the 8 classes I've taken with her ended 15 minutes early. She rushes through the postures, and within two minutes of ending class, she's already dressed with car keys in hand and is ready to leave the studio. If she has somewhere to be, maybe she shouldn't be teaching a class that doesn't fit into her schedule.
Instead of letting students spread out around the class, she tells all of the early comers to move up to the front 2-3 rows. Practitioners are left wedged next to each other with about a foot of space in between mats, with a little more than half a foot of space in the front and back of our mats. Sorry, but this makes no sense to me in a yoga class, Bikram yoga no less. People can't perform the postures correctly and optimally when they have to dodge their neighbors' legs and arms during poses. (Darla saved the last row for late-comers who were spaced 4 to a row while the rest of us who come on time are spaced 8-9 to a row.) No matter how crowded the room gets, however, Darla will make sure she has a 8'x8' space around her while she instructs the rest of us to keep "making space" for late-comers. While the rest of us are packed like sweaty sardines in a 100 degree room, Darla gives herself a comfortable bubble.
Okay, whatever. I put up with this for the first 7 classes I have with her. The 8th class was the straw that broke the camel's back. Practitioners were instructed to place their mats too close for comfort as usual, and I nearly got kicked in the face during Full Locust Pose. The guy in front of me clearly had a fungal infection on his feet (with opaque yellow toenails, flaky peeling skin), and he was close enough to rest his entire two feet on my towel and mat during the second half of the class. The same towel I rest my head on during Dead Body Pose. That is just plain disgusting and could have been avoided entirely had there been a student-cap in the class and had Darla not given unsolicited orders on how our mats should be placed.
Just for reference, they should be spaced out at least arm's length from all four sides of the mat (as in people in the same row should be able to stretch out their arms without touching each other, so about 4 feet of open space in between each mat). The yoga studios I have been to all seem to follow this rule of thumb.
As for the yoga studio, it is kept clean and has cushy zebra mats that can be easily sanitized. The side exit door has a crack at the bottom where outside air and cool breezes can blow in, causing the temperature around it to fluctuate. I'm almost certain this is where the ants crawl in from as well (which can be quite distracting when there is one crawling on your towel during the postures).
After my last experience, I am sorry to say I will not be returning to take any more classes here. It is overcrowded, I'm guessing from all the Groupon deals that were purchased, and I am not getting the most out of my classes due to the reasons listed above. My goal in practicing yoga is to relax and meditate, not to feel pissed off and annoyed during and after class. read more
