I was not going to write a review, but a friend strongly encouraged me to so other people don't make the same mistake I did. You see, I am NOT a yogi, but I wanted to try Bikram yoga because, frankly, I would love to have the health, youthfulness and flexibility of one. I contacted them and explained I am NOT flexible, I am not experienced, would I still be welcome? Of course, they encouraged me to come.
If you don't want to read further, this is my advice: unless you are a hardcore yogi, unless you are an athlete and super flexible, I would never recommend coming here.
I attended several classes - a couple of the instructors were outstanding. A big call out to Hunter. His energy made the classes fly by and I never felt judged. He corrected people in a kind way, you can feel the energy when you are being corrected. HOWEVER, they don't tell you who is teaching. And, one instructor in particular was rather, um, more like a dominatrix than a yoga teacher. And she consistently taught at the time I could make the time commitment.
I think she just hated, and I do not use this word lightly, anyone who wasn't lithe and flexibilty and especially anyone, like me, who is overweight. The last straw for me was when I was trying to check my form in the side mirror and she said harshly, 'Andrea, keep your eyes on yourself!"
I was so humiliated! She made me feel like a voyeur or something. It was just SO BULLYING! And I was having a really hard time in that class anyway - their heat was so awful depending on where you were positioned in the room. This was the cherry on the sundae: at the end of the class she gave a little speech "You can either be strong or flexible, but you're not going to get strong doing yoga. You better find another form of exercise." Hint. Hint. Hint.
Well, I NEVER went back. I called the studio a couple of times to complain and played phone tag with one of the owners, who wouldn't give me a number that would call back directly to anything but an answering machine. I had purchased a package, but frankly, I was afraid to return. Finally, I knew my package was running out, so I emailed them to extend it, and explained why I wasn't returning. I mentioned I would write a scathing review on yelp if someone didn't get back to me. Their response, "Go elsewhere." And they sent back a portion of my money, not all of it. There was never an apology for the rude instructor..
So, let me drive the point home one last time: unless you are a lithe, flexible athlete, I would not go to this studio - ever. read more