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Review content:
I've been a fitness freak my whole life, and a yogini for five+, and this was the first time I ended a physical practice feeling worse than when I started. The one thing I liked was the heated room, though in a well-planned yoga sequence, you build your own heat-- heat in the room is just icing on a cake. Here, it seems more like a crutch you can use if you choose not to breathe properly. When I got there, one of the staff members made a catty comment about folks choosing the elevator over the stairs to get up to the studio (which I hadn't done), a red flag. But then the session-- eek! Regardless of the tradition, yoga is not supposed to be just a workout; it's a physical & spiritual practice that connects, cleanses and energizes the internal systems and opens the mind, clearing the way to connect to a greater power. The ""beach body"" is a side effect, not the goal. This, on the other hand, was more like boot camp with some disjointed yoga postures sprinkled on top. The instructor barked commands the entire time, and his only non-commands referenced the number of calories we might burn or how listening to him would ""change your life."" I felt none of the ""namaste"" energy I've felt elsewhere; indeed, the instructor walked out of the studio while everyone was in savasana without a closing bow or anything, something I've never seen before. I actually walked out feeling angry, also a first. If you're just looking for a workout that doesn't involve an elliptical or an iPod, this might be your spot (though I have to say, I'd still recommend Jazzercize or Zumba or belly dancing...pretty much anything over Bikram), but if you're looking for real yoga, this is not the place.
Pros: heated room
Cons: superficial, disconnected, unsupportive
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