Bendi Yogi

Category: Yoga

  • Visiting Peloton New York and London for In Studio Classes

    If you are lucky enough to visit an in-person cycling class at Peloton New York, you are in for a treat! It is truly a magical experience. But it is very hard to get one of those classes, so here are some tips and tricks and a write-up of my experience. [March 2023 update: I was also able to visit Peloton London and the booking tips and tricks are the same so I’m combining it into one below.]

    Key things to know to successfully book a ride:

    • Classes become available to book 6 weeks in advance at 9am PT / 12noon ET on Thursdays (their website still says it becomes available on Mondays, but it’s wrong). you are added to a virtual queue (this applies for both New York and London studio bookings–see screenshot below)
    • You must have at least one class pass ($35/class for New York) purchased (or £25.00/class for London) already in your account to complete the booking–I suggest you do this in advance (like the day before) because the classes sell out very fast
    • You must also have at least one class pass purchased already in your account to sign up for the waitlist, which can be risky if you don’t live in the area because the class credit expires in 12 months and you don’t get a refund if you don’t get off the waitlist

    Updated June 15, 2023: Last year, when Peloton returned to in-studio live classes, I was able to get into classes. However, now that everyone knows they have returned to in-studio live classes, and it’s the summer, it’s becoming nearly impossible to book a seat. You have to log in to get in the queue at least half an hour before seats release (so I think around 8:30am PT / 11:30am ET) and get lucky with the technology Gods. I think I logged in too early initially (at 8:10am PT) and it sent me through the queue to the booking page (at 8:25am PT) but there wasn’t anything available to book, and you only have 10 minutes to book; so I cleared my browser’s cache and started over again at 9am PT and that put me in the back of a queue that was over 2,600 people long, so I’m going to try it again but log in at around 8:30am PT / 11:30am ET to see if I can time it with the release of the seats (see screenshots below.)

    You are too late if you log in at 9am PT / 12pm ET, when classes release
    But you are too early if you log in at 8:10am PT / 11:10am ET
    (you will be sent through to the booking page with only 10 minutes to book, and no classes available yet, since classes don’t get released until 9am PT / 12pm ET)

    🗽 New York Studio Review

    The Peloton NYC headquarters at 370 10th Ave, New York, NY 10001 is massive. You’ll want to enter on the 10th Ave side for classes, not the plaza side, which is only for retail shoppers. The Peloton studio is probably the cleanest and most beautiful fitness studio I have ever been to, and might be even nicer than Equinox. When you show up, you are greeted at the check-in desk and then a concierge is assigned to you and walks you around to give you the tour of the studio. Here is a video of that experience.

    After Class Meet & Greet and Photo Opportunity

    They are really efficient about the photo opportunity and have a designated photographer who takes your pictures and emails it out to you the same day. For yoga, your photos are taken inside the yoga studio and for cycling, it’s taken near the big Peloton “P” logo. The instructors are all extremely friendly and try to get to know you (to the extent they can), by asking you questions in the short duration that you interact with them.

    I got a photo and fist bump with Alex Toussaint after class
    Kristin was so good at remembering that I flew in from San Francisco, even though my location says “Cindy’s House” (that’s Cody Rigsby’s Mom)
    I snagged a photo of the members who took class before me getting photos and chatting with Emma Lovewell

    Amenities Review

    You have everything you could possibly need provided inside the studio: Lockers, MALIN + GOETZ, shampoo, body wash, lotion, sweat towels for practice and big towels for showering, really nice sweaty clothes bags, cleaned yoga mats, and they even let you borrow the cycling shoes for free. They are clearly not trying to make money off of the in-studio experience, and make their money off of the streaming experience.

    They provide the nicest sweaty clothes bags with a drawstring cord; they are so nice that I don’t want to throw it away! Definitely can be re-used
    The yoga mats are laid out before class with all the props in place and they do not want you to bring any of your own yoga accessories because this is all perfectly placed in the studio for the live stream and filming (they even want water bottles at the back of the yoga mat); the studio is spotless

    Kristin McGee’s 30-minute In Studio Yoga EDM Flow

    The playlist is quite fun and high energy in this yoga flow and it has a good combination of stretching and strength. Compared to other “normal” yoga classes I have been to, this definitely felt more “tense” in that it was very clear exactly how much time was left in class and you didn’t want to do something that might make a commotion. If I was a local, I would do the in studio yoga flows to experience it and see what it’s like to be on the other side, because it doesn’t “feel” as much like a yoga class as it feels like a film production where you are an extra. Also, my favorite part about yoga in person are the hands on adjustments, which of course, you will not get in a Peloton in studio class. But I’m really glad I did try it out and it was fun to hear from my friends back home who did the class and saw me in the video, and Kristin was so sweet to give me two shoutouts: “Flew all the way from San Francisco to nail flying pigeon”. If you want a spot in the front where you are more likely to show up on camera, you should get in line about 25 minutes before the class starts, and be the first one to enter the room.

    Alex Toussaint’s 45-minute In Studio Club Bangers Ride

    The in studio Peloton cycling experience is absolutely incredible. I have been to SoulCycle Classes and even with the best teachers, (like when I went in West Hollywood, the class also sold out in seconds, and celebrities were in class with me,) SoulCycle just does not compare to the level of energy in a Peloton in studio class. 90% of people have flown in from somewhere else to attend this class, and they are all rabid fans of the instructor (see this video). In addition, the handful of Peloton instructors are putting on a show first and foremost, so they are just in another league altogether; there is no comparison to SoulCycle instructors–they are just so much better. And I’m not hating on SoulCycle, I enjoy SoulCycle and biked with SoulCycle for years before I touched a Peloton, but this is my honest opinion. The space itself is gorgeous, they use the basic Peloton bikes with a smaller screen so you can still high five people in the class and those taking the class live (although the in studio stats are 30 seconds ahead of the live stream stats, so you can’t compare your stats to the live stream.) I was curious how they were going to do the music in studio since the sound quality on the live stream is so high. Unlike SoulCycle, where they blast the music and I have to wear earplugs so my ears aren’t ringing after class, they put the volume of the music at an energizing level, but it’s kept low enough that the video production can still mix the sound appropriately for the livestream. If I was local, I would definitely come in person to the in studio cycling classes as much as I can. It’s the same cost as SoulCycle, but shoes are free to use, and the studio space is spacious (unlikely a lot of SoulCycles, which have cramped changing rooms.) If you want to show up on camera, you should line up 45 minutes before class in front of studio 1 so that you can be in the front row or near the mirror in the second row. They assign you a bike number when you book your class, but that bike number is ignored and your bike assignment is based on “first-come, first-served” when you are in line. You do have to check into class 45-minutes before hand, so it’s more of a time commitment than a SoulCycle class, where you can show up a few minutes before the class starts.

    Here are the number of spots for each class in the New York studios (courtesy of PeloBuddy):

    • Cycling studio: 38 Bikes
    • Tread studio: 16 Treads
    • Strength studio: 8 mats
    • Yoga studio: 6 mats (not 7 as it says on PeloBuddy, but maybe they are counting the instructor’s mat?)

    🇬🇧 London Studio Review

    Peloton London is located on the most adorable street in Covent Garden: 11 Floral St, London WC2E 9DH, United Kingdom. This is the cleanest, nicest fitness studio you will visit in London. Similar to Peloton New York, they don’t make money off of their in studio classes, so it’s very reasonably priced at £25.00/class and they take care to make sure you have a fantastic experience, because it’s all about making sure members feel great so they spread the word. If you are a Peloton addict, this studio is also cool because you can see how the production is made (this isn’t visible in the New York studio.)

    Amenities Review

    Peloton has the nicest and cleanest studios of any fitness studio I have ever been to (it’s even nicer than the Equinox.) At this location, they have gender neutral areas and private showers and changing stalls, instead of a “Mens” and a “Womens” area. They have Malin+Goetz shower products, unlimited towels, and free cycling shoe rentals.

    After Class Meet & Greet and Photo Opportunity

    I did a cycling class with Mila Lazar who teaches in German and in English (all the German classes are filmed out of the London studios.) Her class wasn’t full, as she isn’t one of the more famous instructors, but she is SO nice because she isn’t constantly mobbed by fans. For example, she offered me a hug, and because I was right in front of her in the studio, she noticed me and complimented me on the amount of energy I had in the class. In Peloton New York, for example, the more famous instructors are accompanied by security and you aren’t supposed to hug them.

    I would definitely visit Peloton London again, although it only offers cycling and treadmill classes (there aren’t any live yoga or strength classes filmed at this location.) But if I just wanted a good workout, this is the nicest studio and being live with the high energy crowd pushes me to go harder than I would in a regular cycling class.

    ***

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  • London Yoga Studios

    BLOK Shoreditch
    Principal Place, 2 Hearn St, London EC2A 3BL, United Kingdom
    Shoreditch

    [February 2023 review]

    BLOK is a chain that has several exercises classes; it has the feel of an Equinox with the “cool” vibe and its own London exposed brick feel. However, it doesn’t have an open gym (it only offers group classes for yoga, barre, pilates, and boxing). There is a place to get healthy snacks and it’s quite spacious for mingling before or after class. They do have showers but they don’t offer free towels for use (you have to bring your own). I went to a class with a substitute for Alan’s Rocket class and felt it was still quite advanced; it was clear that the yogis in the class were also keen on deepening their practices.

    Pros
    1.) Relatively advanced set of instructors and practitioners for those who want to keep growing their yoga practice
    2.) This studio has several group fitness classes, which gives you lots of choice if you want to come here regularly
    3.) It looks like if you are a regularly member, you probably get access to quality live-streamed classes (based on the setup I saw–see picture below)

    Cons
    1.) The facilities are nice for London but not super nice by American Equinox standards (e.g. No towels, not spotless like an Equinox)

    IMG_2706

    FLOW LDN
    11 Tottenham St, London W1T 2AG, United Kingdom
    University of London area

    [February 2023 review]

    I took the Flowlife45 5:45pm class on a Friday. The class was pretty easy and what you would expect from a standard yoga flow. I found the room to be really cold though, and asked the instructor to turn up the heat, which she did during the flow. I didn’t get sweaty at all though.

    Pros
    1.) This studio has 3 rooms (for barre, pilates on the reformer, and yoga); this gives you lots of choice and options (although I think they may be priced differently–at least they are priced different on Classpass, with yoga requiring the fewest number of credits
    2.) There are ample changing and shower rooms (but I don’t recall that they offered free towels)
    3.) They have Manduka PROLite mats available for use, although they are a bit beat up

    Cons
    1.) This doesn’t feel like a “deepen you practice” kind of yoga studio; it’s convenient and accessible to all
    2.) The facilities are nice for London but not super nice by American Equinox standards (e.g. towels, cleanliness)

    Practice room studio at FLOW LDN with Manduka PROLite yoga mats laid out

    Yotopia
    13 Mercer Street, London WC2H 9QJ
    Covent Garden

    [2017 Review]

    Upon the recommendation of a local yogi friend I met at a Wanderlust yoga festival, I took Dharma Yoga (Asana 2+) (L2) with Emi Tull at Yotopia. This class is full of yogi regulars. All of them are serious about growing their yoga practice and some are professional dancers. That meant Emi could teach the class at a very advanced level and this was one of the most phsyically challenging yoga classes I had ever been to. We aren’t supposed to compare ourselves to those around us in yoga class but I was definitely one of the lousy students in the class and I have been practicing for 8 years. Handstands are common between transitions and you are expected to know scorpion pose or can modify with forearm balance easily. Emi, who has a “just do it, don’t complain, fall and get up immediately” attitude, flawlessly demonstrated some of the more advanced yoga poses and transitions like Peacock Pose (Mayurasana.) She also offered many hands on adjustments throughout the practice to help move you into more advanced sequences and challenged you to stretch further and hold your pose longer.

    Pros
    1.) The classes billed as “advanced” or “L2” are actually advanced (at least Emi Tull’s class is)
    2.) The teacher (Emi Tull) offers many hands on adjustments to help you into or out of poses that you can’t practice by yourself
    3.) Studio practice space is conveniently located near food, Lululemon, shopping, and a train station; it is clean and has showers but you must rent towels

    Cons
    1.) Emi’s class is packed so you must sign up online and you are side-by-side next to your fellow yogis (the studio space itself is not that big so there were about 26 students in the class and the teacher still has time to help everyone out)
    2.) The practice is a bit fast so unless you are extremely advanced, there may not be enough time to get into poses or gracefully transition (I fell once when transitioning from wheel back to downward dog)
    3.) There is a lot of chanting (this class was 2 hours long and about 25 minutes of it is singing and chanting) so if you aren’t into singing songs in a different language than your native tongue, it can be a surprise

    Fierce Grace
    200 Regent’s Park Rd, London NW1 8BE
    Primrose Hill / Chalk Farm

    [2017 Review]

    Fierce Grace is a hot yoga studio chain in London. I visited Emma Croft’s class at the Chalk Farm location on a Saturday, since she was listed as a senior teacher and I had high hopes of what I could learn. Fierce Grace is not for the lighthearted yogi–it’s heated to 38 degrees Celsius / 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the room and you will sweat just sitting there, motionless. This type of hot yoga is not for me (especially because I went during a week when it was 85+ degrees every day in London) but also because I find it difficult to work on the physical aspects of your practice when the room temperature is higher than 85 degrees–you are far too sweaty and slippery to do anything other than sun salutations. To add salt to the wound, I was next to a gal who reeked when she sweat and that was quite unpleasant. A quick heads up for Americans: You will get very sweaty and want to shower immediately after. There are 4 showers in the ladies locker room but the caveat is that you must not be shy; the showers don’t have dividers and it’s just a trough with 4 shower heads so you shower butt naked right next to the other ladies. I have never seen this type of shower set up at an American yoga studio. The studio provides some general purpose body wash but you have to rent towels for about a pound. Note that you may also want to bring a lock since the lockers don’t have locks on them and it’s a bit precarious to bring your cell phone into the 100 degree practice room (I did, but only after turning my phone off since I feared that it would overheat.)

    Pros
    1.) Convenient locations with many classes available each day
    2.) The heating mechanisms in the yoga rooms are quite nice (there are no exposed metal grates that turn red, as I have seen at some other hot yoga studios)

    Cons
    1.) The practice isn’t advanced and contains a basic sequence of poses
    2.) The room can feel suffocating or too hot, if you are not used to or do not like hot yoga or it may be a bit smelly
    3.) The teacher (Emma) doesn’t offer any hands on adjustments

  • Paris / France Yoga Studios

    EPISOD, Hub Bourse
    115 Rue Réaumur, 75002 Paris, France
    2nd arrondissement Neighborhood

    (Reviewed in February 2023)
    I stopped by this set of studios (yoga, boxing, and Barry’s Bootcamp like HIIT) after finding it on ClassPass, and tried out their vinyasa yoga class. It was completely in French and the instructor did not use any sanskrit terms. Because I don’t speak French, I was looking around a lot and can’t really review the instructor’s directions. The class itself felt a bit like a series of poses, not necessarily one that was flowly or strung together with an advanced instructor, but it was nice to get to experience as a part of exploring Paris.

    Pros
    1.) This is one of the nicer fitness studios in Paris, although pictures make it look like as nice as an Equinox or Barry’s (it’s not quite that nice, but certainly comes close and has showers, lotions, shower products, feminine products, and free towels to use)
    2.) They provide all the props you need, including assigned yoga mat spaces (although they aren’t the nicest yoga mats)

    Cons
    1.) The instructor didn’t seem very advanced in the instruction or the flow, but I think it was fine for a class geared towards beginner students and for those who don’t speak French (like me–I would have had a hard time following along a more advanced sequence)

    Rasa Yoga Rive Gauche
    21 Rue Saint-Jacques, 75005 Paris, France
    Monnaie Neighborhood

    (Reviewed in July 2017)
    I took a morning Ashtanga 1/2 class and there were 2 other Americans amongst a group of 10 or so French yoginis. As with traditional Ashtanga practices, the practice begins with a set of Ashtanga sequences and then diverges based on what the teacher wants to work on that day. The teacher (I believe her name is Anais) offered many hands on adjustments and demonstrations throughout the class. At the request of one of the Americans, she also included some English into the practice. The skill-level of this class is accurately advertised as a 1/2 class but the skill-level of the participating yoginis was generally a 1 so the teacher didn’t lead that many advanced poses–just a few, geared towards about 2 of the yoginis. The studio itself is quite nice: It is clean and they offer mats for you to use for free and mat cleaner (although the cost of a yoga class is about $25 / 22 euros–interestingly, I found the yoga classes in Europe to be more expensive than the yoga classes in the Bay Area.) Like many apartments in Paris, the studio is located inside one of the building complexes that has a code to unlock the door (the studio doesn’t face the street.) I didn’t know the passcode to enter (I think it may be buried somewhere on their website but I didn’t find it.) Luckily, another yogini was exiting right when I needed to enter so I didn’t need to enter in the code. The studio isn’t that well-marked (see picture below to help you identify its location,) but Google Maps does take you to the right location if you follow it precisely.

    Pros
    1.) Clean studio, large retail interior for hanging out, changing rooms (bring your own locks)
    2.) The one class I took seems to indicate they have high quality teachers–she was good at mixing the right amount of demonstration with hands-on adjustments

    Cons
    1.) The building’s courtyard is currently undergoing renovations (as of June 2017); that means there is loud sawing and hammering noise that permeates into the yoga studio during your practice
    2.) It’s pricey for yoga–for the same price, about $25, I was able to go to Barry’s Bootcamp in London. For those who haven’t been to Barry’s, the workout space offers many amenities including spacious and clean showers, shampoo, body wash, toiletries, and towels. For $25, you get much better amenities at Barry’s Bootcamp (which is usually $32/class in the San Francisco Bay Area and in similar metropolitan cities in the US.)

    Riviera Yoga
    8bis Rue Martin Seytour, 06300 Nice, France

    (Reviewed in July 2019)
    I was the only student who showed up for the class on a Wednesday morning in July so I was fortunate to get a one on one session with the instructor for only 19 Euros. The instructor taught to my level, challenging me with harder and harder poses until I could no longer do them. The class was taught by the owner, Anais, and she spoke a bit of English but it was actually quite wonderful to challenge myself doing yoga while listening to her lead the class in French.

    Pros:
    1.) Pleasant and relaxing space to practice yoga in and located close to downtown areas in Nice
    2.) Instructor gave me quite a bit of hands on adjustments (I was the only person in class) but she seemed to be the type that would give adjustments even if there were a few more others in class

    Cons:
    1.) If you have your own yoga mat, bring it because the mats they have for visiting students are the cheap / thin mats that fall apart.
    2.) This is a cash-only studio (from what I could see) so you should bring Euros to the class (I didn’t see that she had a card reader machine)

    Screenshot_20190703-112334
    First time getting into this pose (lotus with balancing shoulder stand)
    IMG_20190703_085137
    Sunny and airy practice studio space at Riviera Yoga
  • (Covid Update) Palo Alto & South Bay Yoga Studios

    (Covid Update) Palo Alto & South Bay Yoga Studios

    I previously wrote a series of reviews on Palo Alto and South Bay yoga studios, but so much about the teaching staff and the studios have changed since covid hit in March 2020 (some have gone out of business, many have changed ownership and teachers,) that I thought I should start completely new with fresh perspectives now that things are opening up again.

    YogaSource of Los Gatos
    16185 Los Gatos Blvd, Los Gatos, CA 95032

    I had heard of this studio from other yogis, who talked about how beautiful the physical practice space is. I finally made my way there and found an oasis of yoga and spin amenities. They have two yoga rooms, one for heated practice and one for unheated vinyasa and a spin room with Schwinn bikes. It’s worth noting that they do keep the door propped open for a period of time for fresh airflow, so if it’s cold outside, you might be cold in the unheated room. I would imagine that it feels amazing in the summer, but I was a bit chilly when I went to Linda Schlamadinger’s 75-minute vinyasa class. The class started off with some really great guided myofascial release with a tune-up ball and the sequence of the flow was well thought-out and interesting, although I would say it’s pretty accessible and easy. While this studio is in Santa Clara county, they allow you to take your masks off when you are on the yoga mat practicing. In fact, most of the students, and the teacher did not have their masks on when they were on their yoga mat (they only put them on when they moved around the studio.) I personally do not like wearing my mask at all when I’m working out so it was a relief to me that the studio operated this way, because as of February 2022, Santa Clara still had an indoor mask mandate. At the same time, the studio is spaced out enough that I didn’t feel like I was pushed up against anyone–I thought they did a great job keeping the studio available to yogis while maintaining the right level of covid safety precautions. If I didn’t live so far away, I would definitely give their 3-weeks new-student special for $59 a try.

    Pros

    1.) Showers, spacious, bright, airy, and welcoming feel

    2.) Lots of free parking in their garage

    3.) Felt like a community, people said hi to me and made eye contact, and I could see that the regulars were chatting and connecting before and after class

    Cons

    1.) For me personally, I didn’t find that the classes were challenging or advanced enough to warrant me going regularly, but I have been practicing regularly for nearly 15 years

    Retail area
    Heated practice room
    Main entrance area
    YogaSource of Los Gatos has ample practice space and a big retail and socialization area

    Yoga Six Mountain View
    555 San Antonio Rd Suite 37, Mountain View, CA 94040

    The studio space at Yoga Six is really nice–it’s heated yoga, so you will get sweaty, but the heat isn’t oppressive. They have a really nice filtration system so it feels like a dry heat, and it definitely leaves you feeling refreshed and physically and mentally free after a sweaty practice. I would recommend you bring a full-length Manduka mat towel and a hand towel, since you will be very wet. They also offer a free first class if you sign up here. The studio has two unisex bathrooms / changing rooms and a few cubbies for you to store your things in the retail area, but the lounge area isn’t very big. Inside the studio, they use different colored lights and music to set the mood and after class, they hand out cold towels. I thought the small touches they added to the studio were really nice, and the class was packed (probably 40 people inside, mat-to-mat)–granted, it was the first weekend after Santa Clara lifted their indoor mask mandates. I think I saw about 2 people who continued to wear their masks to practice.

    Pros

    1.) Very friendly staff, great facilities, FloWater machine (my favorite!) really nice finishing touches to the experience (e.g. bathrooms have extra hair elastics, tampons, etc.)

    2.) Actual studio space is nice and the ambience is great

    3.) Easy parking at the San Antonio Shopping Center

    Cons

    1.) The studio and the practice itself is great, but for me, I am looking for a more technical / advanced kind of practice (which usually is in a studio that isn’t as hot, not that heat is a bad thing; it’s just that when it gets that hot and sweaty, you can’t really practice any arm balances because you’re slipping everywhere–I, and the most advanced yogi teachers I have practiced with, like to wear shorts so you don’t use the friction from your pants to compensate for core strength as much.) I did get a great workout, but their style is more pilates and yoga fusion, as opposed to vinyasa flow–so this “con” is more of a personal preference for me. I would absolutely go back, but I just have a preference towards classes that end up teaching you a new skill.

    Retail area of YogaSix Mountain View; the studio is to the left

    Hot 8 Yoga Santana Row
    355 Santana Row Suite 1050, San Jose, CA 95128

    This is a hot yoga / barre / fitness fusion studio near the shopping area Santana Row. I went to a barre class and a power yoga class there and they definitely heat the studio up pretty high–it’s one of those studios where you start sweating even if you are not moving (I think they keep their humidity pretty high so it seemed to feel a bit hotter because of that too.) It was one of the few times that I sweat so much, I had to replenish with electrolytes and actually felt dehydrated and light-headed after (and I am one of those people who does cardio and yoga every single day). Therefore, I would recommend that you do prepare with electrolytes before and after class, especially if you are taking their barre or sculpt classes. I saw many people have to leave in the middle of class to take a break from the heat. The facilities are nice, there are showers and free towels (which you will want to use), although the locker and shower area is a bit crowded in between classes. You will definitely want to bring your own yoga mat towel (they have them there as well, and they might be free to use or for a small fee.) There is also free parking right across the street from the studio.

    Pros

    1.) Very involved and friendly staff (they sent an email and text reminder before hand on what to expect and how to prepare for a heated class); two instructors I took classes with were engaging and good at what they did (they didn’t get left and right mixed up, etc.)

    2.) The facilities are very nice (cold towels, free shower towels, etc.) The only thing I would change is make the locker room and changing area bigger. In between classes, it feels too packed. In addition, I had originally thought the floor of the room would be gross because it looked like it was a gray carpet, but it’s actually a rubbery porous surface. I wonder if they clean it periodically but it didn’t have a bad smell or anything from all the sweat.

    3.) There are a wide range of classes to suit the intensity you want.

    Cons

    1.) For me personally, both the barre and yoga classes were too hot. I like moderate heat because it does loosen your joints but this studio has a “slip and slide” hot, where you really have to adjust to the heat and I felt that I couldn’t do as many of the strength poses as I would have liked to, because it was so hot. You have to want a very hot class to enjoy this studio. For some people, they love this level of heat, but it was a bit too high for what I want to achieve with my practice.

    The following yoga studios were my personal favorites before the pandemic, but have unfortunately permanently closed. I blogged about them pre-covid here.

    YogaWorks Palo Alto
    (Formerly on 440 Kipling St, Palo Alto, CA 94301)

    The entire YogaWorks chain filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of the pandemic and moved towards an online streaming only service. I really liked going to Nathalie Bakker’s classes because I was always pushed to learn something new. However, she seems to have moved away from the Bay Area and I don’t know if she is still teaching anymore.

    Avalon Yoga Palo Alto
    (Formerly on 370 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306)

    This studio abruptly closed one day. I was just there in late December 2021 and the owner was telling me to renew and get more passes, and then abruptly in mid-February, everything shut down, the website was taken down, and the students were not notified. I am not sure what happened, but I used to like practicing with Elena Milyukova on Sunday mornings.

  • Free Online Yoga Classes

    Having taken several virtual yoga classes for the past 8 months, I’m recommending the best online yoga classes I’ve found while you are keeping yourself and everyone else safe by staying at home.

    1. Leigha Butler teaches some of the most interesting vinyasa flows and her videos date back several years. The audio and picture quality isn’t as high as that of some other creators, but I find myself going to her channel for more advanced flows that leave you feeling like you just went to a yoga studio. Her classes are similar to Nicole Wild’s in terms of flow thoughtfulness, but Leigha’s flows are more “flowy”. In addition, Leigha has uploaded more videos.
    2. Boho Beautiful is a lifestyle and fitness channel that has 1.7M subscriptions. This channel is selling more of their lifestyle and isn’t purely yoga videos. The production quality is extremely good though (she dubs her voice over the videos after she makes them and weaves in yoga background music so you don’t even need to think about that, the setting is always in a beautiful location so you can virtually transport there yourself, and she has an extremely calming voice.) The channel does feature a super skinny and fit woman (which you may or may not like–some may say she is pushing an unattainably body image, some may find her body shape inspirational). While the yoga practice sequences she leads are strong, I don’t think the transitions are the most interesting and innovative, but I do still watch a lot of her free YouTube classes. Her classes are a good fit for you if you are looking for a 20-30 minute sequence.
    3. Nicole Wild’s yoga flow sequences are some of the best full-length online yoga classes. They are good quality, free (she doesn’t put ads in the YouTube videos and if any show up, it’s because YouTube’s algorithms put them in,) and they are challenging for advanced yogis, interesting, and accessible for an at home practice (doesn’t require many props.) The people who leave YouTube video comments are constantly saying that this was the closest experience to an in studio practice. Her classes focus on interesting transitions and are not “flowy” so you will be disappointed if you are looking for a power flow class. I have subscribed to her YouTube channel to get alerts of when she puts out new videos (which is a one to two times a month.) January 29, 2021 update: Nicole is now only uploading 30-minute classes to YouTube and for longer classes and more offerings, she is launching a paid membership on her website.
    4. Breathe and Flow is an active YouTube channel maintained by a couple, Bre and Flo, who used to teach at YogaWorks in Palo Alto, CA. However, right now they have taken a break from teaching in Palo Alto and are traveling the world. They have started a paid platform on Patreon to support their work but they continue to regularly put out 30-60 minute yoga flows and tutorials on YouTube. One interesting thing about their channel is that they try to bust the stereotypes around yoga, and Flo actively tries to introduce yoga to more men, with “Yoga for Men” videos. They also publish the best modern yoga playlist I have found across all streaming platforms–you can get theirs on Spotify and they update it monthly.
    5. If you want to work on your back bending or flexibility practice, Yograja tapes his classes and has a few flows where he is teaching directly to the camera audience. His studio is in Vietnam but he teaches in English (with some Vietnamese sprinkled into the classes.) The production quality of this channel is not as good but I have learned a lot of new stretching and back bending training exercises. His classes don’t have a feel of “relaxation”; they are more “training” classes. Also, his classes that are marked as “beginner/intermediate” would be considered “advanced” at many other Western studios and his “advanced” classes are actually very “advanced” and require many years (if not decades) of flexibility and strength training to follow along successfully. His classes are purely skill training (there is nothing about your mental health here.)
    6. I got a free subscription to MyYogaWorks from my company so I tried it out. Although I tried practicing alongside ~10 instructors in various videos, I didn’t feel like any of them were that advanced in teaching and the flow felt choppy and disjointed. I wouldn’t pay for a MyYogaWorks subscription but if you get one for free, I would check out some of their level 3 classes (which are still quite introductory when compared to the free YouTube videos shown above.) As a separate subscription from MyYogaWorks, YogaWorks offers live classes via Zoom which cost the same as in-person classes. I believe the Zoom classes are the replacement for in person classes going forward since in October, YogaWorks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to relieve the company of its studio and brick and mortar liabilities. I personally found the Zoom yoga classes to be really basic and pretty bland–I think folks still went to them to support the teachers that they practiced with in person, who may have offered more challenging flows when they were in the studio compared to when everyone is on Zoom at home.
    7. I have also tried the Peloton app and the Equinox Variis app: The Peloton app is by far more popular and has new classes uploaded daily. However, their style took some adjusting to: They play pop music, rap music, everything that isn’t traditional yoga music, and they do “shout-outs” during class, which was birthed from the Peloton bike experience, which I found to be very annoying. Despite all this, I think Anna Greenberg‘s classes are challenging and interesting enough to spend time on and she teaches advanced skills. On the other hand, I gave Ross Rayburn‘s classes a couple tries and just couldn’t get through them–he sounds like “that very LA Yoga teacher” who abbreviates chopasana as just “chop” when he is instructing. Besides for Anna Greenberg, I didn’t enjoy any of the other instructors on Peloton with the exception of Aditi Shah for meditation (but not her yoga classes.) Equinox is a different story: Unlike Peloton, they upload new videos infrequently but their yoga classes are much better. Equinox owns Pure Yoga, a luxury yoga studio based out of Manhattan, and their instructors seem to focus on yoga only. Their music is less “pop” and more “meditation”, allowing you to focus on your transitions and your body. Personally, I would prefer this kind of vibe for my yoga classes (as opposed to trying to fit a spinning bike class’s style into a yoga class.) However, it’s unclear to me whether Pure Yoga will make it through the pandemic or whether Equinox will just get rid of those studios, as sadly, many other yoga studios have already closed their physical spaces permanently.
    8. If you only want to learn interesting yoga transitions and skills, Nathalie Bakker offers very unique and interesting yoga challenges on her Instagram page for free, but they aren’t full yoga practices. For another high-technique teacher, Carmen Aguilar’s website offers paid yoga class streams. I haven’t taken them myself but I did go to her in-person workshops (pre-covid) and you do learn a lot of very challenging skills (just check out this YouTube video of her practice and her Instagram page.) For both instructors, I have found that a video stream cannot ever come close to an in-person practice with these ladies because they typically offer hands on adjustments to move you into the right position so you can build that muscle memory. I remember Natalie giving me a small assist so I could do lotus pose in headstand and after that one time, I was able to repeat it every single time by myself after I got the feeling of doing this novel pose on my head. At Carmen’s workshops, her husband assists too so they both make help you move into some of the more challenging poses that would be difficult to achieve alone (especially if you don’t have mirrors at home.)
    9. Alessandro Sigismondi is a YouTube video photographer who makes beautiful yoga videos and occasionally, he’ll upload a video that you can follow along as a full class (but it usually doesn’t have narration like a traditional live stream); the video and picture quality will be amazing and inspirational though.