I love this studio! I moved here at the end of the summer and began going immediately--pretty early on during my yoga "career" (which only began in the spring). There is a wide range of classes, from holistic and meditative styles to more fusion and cardio/strength building styles. There are also many hot class options.
In addition to offering a bunch of classes, the studio also has a number of payment options. Because I am verrrrrrrry poor, I'm quite wedded to their $5 Community classes, which they have, on average, once a day. These range from elemental and slow classes up to hot power classes. Additionally, you can do drop in for $15, and purchase class passes in quantities of 5, 10, or 20, with better and better deals as the class count gets higher. There's also a membership option. Finally, there's a "frequent flier" incentive program--the points don't add up very quickly, but it's nice to see your dollars going toward something that will get you a free class eventually!
Classes are also offered from well before sunrise to well after sunset, making it really easy to fit a yoga workout into virtually any day (and I haven't even tried pilates or tighten & tone options yet).
Also, the studio offers tons of workshops and neat one-time experiences that draw in national names to come teach; or really bring in components of the community (a recent yoga class at Scholars Inn, followed by a complementary martini, comes to mind).
I wish I could give this a 9/10 instead of a 4/5, so I went ahead and gave it a 10/10 because I love it here so much! The only (very small!) drawbacks as I see it are that:
- for the most part, the classes are a little bit less meditative and traditional-yoga-driven than I would like, BUT, those classes are there, and the more classes you take the more instructors' styles you learn you jive with. This is also in a lot of ways a big advantage for the studio: because there are so many classes and so many instructors, this studio can suit lots of different styles.
- the location is nice because it's near downtown and not right in the thick of things, but the actual buildings aren't that great. The studios are clean, big, well-lit, and well-kept, but they are still in a strip mall, with big windows. The windows are covered, but I still get self conscious about someone seeing while they are at Steak & Shake or something. One of the studios also abuts a martial arts studio which is not the most awesome complement to savasana, but everyone has been really light-hearted about it.
- probably the biggest thing for me is that every studio has mirrors, and for me, this really detracts from the experience of doing yoga. There are a few instructors I've had who specifically orient the class away from the mirrors, but doing yoga in a mirror--especially when you're brand new--detracts from first of all just letting go and chilling out and pushing yourself, and second of all, from really listening to your body and learning from that awesome experience you're engaging in. It also makes it a little bit less of a mental experience for me, because in yoga classes without mirrors, nobody is really looking at each other--but WITH mirrors, it's basically unavoidable.
If anyone's interested, some of my favorite instructors for different reasons are below--with the caveat that I've never had a "bad" instructor and there are loads of instructors I've never taken!! Also I think there are a few double names (like a couple of people named the same thing).
Erin - definitely one of the most technically fantastic yoga instructors I've ever had. She does such an amazing job of making the class challenging but accessible while also describing exactly what you're supposed to be doing in a non-annoying way. Every class I take with her I learn something and always get an amazing workout. She is also extremely knowledgeable about the studio and really friendly about everything as well.
Kristin - does a lot of the slow flow classes and is much more along the lines of traditional yoga. There's a lot of focus on energy and body, and she also moves away from the mirrors. Still physically demanding, but more often restorative (at least the classes I've taken). Just a wonderful presence and personality.
Robin - grounds every class in such a fantastic, positive, and friendly way. I definitely emerge from every class feeling both mentally and physically cleansed, and really re-centered!
Haley - I have only taken one or two classes from Haley, mostly when she has subbed, but I have LOVED them. She just has that presence and attitude that is really leveling and she is really humble about the whole class experience. The best way I can put it is that the class completely kicked my ass and I was challenged every second, but I felt incredibly okay about it every second of the class, whether I was rocking the pose or in a ball on my mat. (keeping in mind again that I'm relatively new to the practice). read more