I'm addicted to yoga.
In the past two days I have taken two yoga classes. Saturday, Mom & I ventured to West Morehead Street to Yoga for Life for a gentle & spiritual class that focused primarily on breathing and stretching. Today, we sweated like pigs at Charlotte Yoga in the Hot Power Level 1 class. Whew! My hamstrings are talking to me.
Here's my take on these two studios:
1. Yoga for Life- Newly located right off of 77, Yoga For Life is easy to get to & find. It's location has good visibility & lots of space. The only downfall to this brand new studio is that it is still very bare & lacks style and atmosphere...it was so bare in fact that it felt almost institutional. Give it time, though. It seems that this studio has a good energy & lots of space. As it grows, so will it's style, most likely.
The new owner, Karen (didn't catch her last name), was our instructor for the level 1 class. She was very welcoming & had thoughtful tidbits and words of wisdom throughout the class. Yoga for Life prides itself on offering classes to yoga practitioners of all ages, from "tweens" to 65+. They also have special chair classes that allow those with physical pain/issues to continue their yoga practice. As Karen best put it, Yoga For Life makes "yoga come to you". Despite age and physical ability/disability, Yoga For Life has something for everyone. The Level 1 class, to me, was very gentle and focused on stretching & breathing. Although I did not feel like I got a true hardcore "workout", it felt great to stretch & breathe, especially after the hard Vinyasa class at Yoga One the day before. Yoga For Life would be a great place to plant your yoga practice, especially if you are looking for a slow-paced yoga practice.
2. Charlotte Yoga- Located only minutes from South Park Mall, Charlotte Yoga boasts a beautiful studio. Upon walking through the door you feel like you are in "Yoga land" much like at Yoga One. The energy is great there. The actual practice room is fabulous- it's a long, rectangular room with one of the short walls completely made of windows, looking out into a garden patio with beautiful flowers & vegetation. Complete with chandeliers and lots of space, the practice space has the perfect balance and feel. It was about 80-85 degrees in the room, but our instructor, Lee Anne, turned on the fans a couple of times during the class. This was nice after sweating buckets in the first 30 minutes of the one hour class. This class reminded me of the vinyasa class at Yoga One. Lee Anne seemed happy to be there and was nice to talk to even after class. She was very accomodating and thorough in her explanation of each posture.
Overall, I loved both studios, but I am a bit biased. I prefer Vinyasa flow over the Kripalu style, so Charlotte Yoga and Yoga One are more ME. However, I think Yoga For Life has a lot to offer to those more tuned in to the Kripalu style.
Tomorrow, I take a break from yoga. Tomorrow night I will go to a power pilates mat class at Iron Butterfly taught by Heather Obleada. I am a regular (when I'm home from college) at Iron Butterfly, and so I am excited for a change in my workout routine.
Yoga Flex is my final yoga studio in my yoga journey. Tuesday morning I am going to the Power level 1 class there, so look forward to my final yoga studio review!
Also to come later this week, a blog about Iron Butterfly Pilates, Diva Mama Chicken Pies, and moving back to college. In these blogs, I will uncover the mystery behind pilates, shed light on my mom's own private business, and let you all inside my head as I make the transition back to college life! (So excited!)
Until Tuesday!
Peace, love, & blogging
No comments:
Post a Comment