If you're looking for a very Americanized exercise/aerobics-type of workout, then this could be the place for you. I was looking for a place to continue and possibly advance my longstanding yoga practice, so it wasn't right for me. I got a two-week pass and went to six classes.
Positives:
-Clean studio
-Clean bathrooms
-I generally liked the sequencing of the classes, although some instructors have you go back and forth between standing, lying down, standing balancing, etc. in a way that is awkward and potentially dangerous at the end of such a hot class.
Negatives:
-Very corporate, cookie cutter feel to the practice.
-Instructors generally don't demonstrate, leading to confusion in every class, where students were doing different things. This creates a bad energy in the class, when the instructor is experiencing something so entirely different from the group.
-Heated room was way too hot in some classes, with students leaving the room or spending half the class lying down or in child's pose. They said it was a new heating system that was making the room hotter than it was supposed to be. Because of how hot it was, I always had to schedule a class on a day where I had nothing else to do after and could go home and shower right after, so that limited how many I could attend.
-Bad smell. This is due to the heating and sweat, which I get is part of their whole theme/branding. However, at least during this time of covid risk, it would have been nice for them to provide some air circulation.
-Extremely dark room. This is actually quite dangerous when combined with the hot room, because you can't tell when you're starting to black out. Several of the instructors tried to incorporate sequences that had you moving your head upside down and back up repeatedly, which combined with the heat, is a recipe for fainting.
-Made up names for postures, often with no explanation. Examples include sky archer pose, dragonfly, awkward twist, airplane, seated tree. I've been doing yoga for 15+ years and have never heard these terms used, so I can only assume it's something to do with their branding/certification.
-They don't actually give you time/instruction to work on more challenging postures, so it is more like an aerobics class where you're just following along with the moves.
-Extremely loud music in every class. This made it hard to focus and frequently made it impossible to hear the instructor.
I did classes with several instructors. The most unpleasant were with Courtney and Karen. Courtney literally sat in the corner looking/sounding bored while calling out the instructions. I have to say "calling out the instructions," because this couldn't possibly be considered teaching. Karen didn't enunciate well or explain postures and transitions very clearly, which led to students being confused. When everyone was doing something different, she'd say things like, "I know, it's complicated," for things that actually weren't complicated, they just weren't demonstrated or described clearly. She also had the club/lounge style music way up high, so it was hard to hear over her already difficult to understand voice. The regular students did seem to enjoy all of these classes.
Classes with Donna, Erin, Amy, and Matt were more tolerable. Matt's and Amy's classes were almost enjoyable, and you can tell they would be a good instructors if not bound by the rigid format of this studio.
Because of the lack of attention to proper form, I wouldn't recommend this studio to a beginner. I also wouldn't recommend it for anyone trying to advance their practice, as they don't take time to work on/improve more advanced postures. read more