I've taken classes with three different instructors now at Maya Yoga and I can safely say, I'm a…read morefan!
Housed in a building that was once part of Kansas City's film row, I had a good feeling as I walked over Joan Crawford's and Jean Harlow's stars on the sidewalk leading into the building. (both screen queens spent their formative years in KC... wow, I have a way of fitting that into many reviews, don't I?)
The studio is on the second floor, down past the check-in desk and hallway where you'll find the bathrooms and an alkaline water system. The studio itself is lovely, with bamboo floors and all kinds of wall hangings and statues around the room with Ganesh and other Hindu deities, which automatically makes me feel happy. The room has lots of windows, which allows for natural light and they like to keep the temperature to 80 degrees. No, this is NOT hot yoga (not a fan, personally), but you will sweat. Personally, I do like having windows open, letting in fresh air and fans, but I think I'm in the minority as I haven't found any studios that have this kind of thing.
Most classes are taught by Kathleen and Wade, the husband and wife team that own Maya Yoga and both are approachable, strong instructors that will push you as far as you need to be pushed, while not going too far. It's noted on the schedules which classes are more for beginning students, by the way, so take note of that if you are a beginner.
Having fallen out of regular practice, I mixed it up a bit to get back into it. I've taken a combination of classes, although not those in the morning or evening (ashtanga) which are really for those who have some background in yoga. I don't love ashtanga, but I did take two intro classes with Wade and he really does a great job of easing you into this challenging practice, for many of us, would take years to be able to do a lot of the asanas to their fullest benefit. Keep in mind, yoga is a practice and it's not about who can do this or that pose or asana. It's hard for most Westerners, as most of us are looking to be "good" at it (myself not excluded). What I've always found interesting is that you can be an absolute beginner but able to do some challenging poses with ease, like from when I started yoga many years ago, I found ankle to knee pose to be a piece of cake while a good portion of seasoned practitioners struggle with this. Meanwhile, I've still yet to be able to put my hands flat the floor when doing a forward bend.
Kathleen's Tuesday midday Vinyasa class is perfect and definitely challenges me (hello splits! Still can't do those, either), while keeping me in good practice for those poses that come easier (Yay, backbends!). Today we had a really fantastic sub named Gwen and I need to see if she teaches other classes, because she was a blast- really down to earth, really helpful, but again, it's not gentle yoga (which she teaches as well, to seniors. How awesome is that?!)
I come from a Vinyasa and Kundalini practice and ideally my practice combines both. Maya doesn't offer Kundalini, so I'll probably be going elsewhere for that, but I am really happy that I found a yoga studio that I love for Vinyasa!