My second official studio trial began at Bfree Yoga on Friday. I'm doing a one-month trial for $60 and have friends who are excited to do the $20 10-day trials throughout my month, so we should have some guest bloggers!
My first class was Friday during lunch, I knew this would extend my lunch hour but since everyone else at work was out having drinks and watching the NCAA tournament I was still ahead! The classes are organized very well and are very clear, they offer BFlow, BHot, BGroove and some others. I have to admit I LOVE her branding strategy. It is easy to remember and allows for a lot of play on words, for example, she could add BAge-less for an older crowd or BMommy for pre-natal yoga..you see where I'm going with this. Anyway, I think it's genius and the marketer in me went to town :)
The class schedule is very flexible which I really like. There are 6-7am classes everyday which is great for early risers like me, but also multiple evening classes to choose from, including a new 9:30pm class on Thursdays. There seem to be many instructors, some of which teach only at BFree and others who I've seen on the schedule at various yoga studios around the city. Shelby, the owner, just purchased BFree a couple of weeks ago (it used to be Bodhi Yoga).
Because the name has recently changed I had a little trouble finding the place. I had the address and all but the sign isn't on the building yet so I wasn't sure how to find the studio...I would suggest putting a quick blurb on the location portion of the website that explains it is "on the San Gabriel side, on the first floor by the stairs." Just for us who are easily confused :)
So, on to the studio. My first impression was a good one. It has a lot of space which I like and is very open. There is a small locker room with two showers (which was perfect for going back to work Friday). It is clean and has an earthy feel, very yoga. The hot studio is huge, so when practicing there is enough room not to be on top of each other, I personally enjoy the space. There is another studio but I'm not sure yet if it's used...Shelby has a huge blackboard right when you walk in with announcements and information which is fun to read while you are waiting for class to start. April is bring a friend free month!
It seemed as if there were mats that one could use for free if you forgot and hand towels for during class. The one thing missing was a water cooler or a small refrigerator to buy a bottled water. I am not one who likes water typically so I tend to forget and be the person who buys a bottle or finds an empty something in my car...so maybe just having a small fridge and water for purchase would be simple improvement.
The classes I've taken so far were both taught by Shelby. She was substituting because a few of the other instructors are traveling. Both were great, and very hot! I sweat more in her classes than I ever have before, so I walked out feeling like I lost 5 lbs. Her classes seemed more focused on strength than some other Flow classes I've taken, which I liked. There were quite a few holds, various versions of plank, and a lot of back bends. The music was great, especially in the Sunday class...she played songs like "Like A Prayer" and "Handstands" which were very fitting.
Overall, I'm excited to really get started and try out the different instructors at Bfree, as well as classes other than just BFlow. I'll hopefully get some friends to check it out with me and give their thoughts over the next couple of weeks!
Showing posts with label studio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label studio. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
First Impression: Breath & Body Yoga
My first official studio trial is with Breath & Body Yoga in north-central Austin. They have two deals available, $20 for the first week unlimited or $60 for the first month unlimited. I did the month because I think I'll get more out of it with my current busy schedule!
The first thing I did when I decided to start with BBY (their own abbreviation) was to look at the class schedule. I have to admit I was a little disappointed because there is only one class per day during the week that I would be able to go to (6:30-8pm) and most of my other yogi friends would be in the same boat. The others are during work hours and I am not able to get out for that amount of time to attend. The weekends are better with 3 viable class options per day. I am a big fan of the morning classes, it wakes you up/stretches/all kinds of good stuff, but there is only one on Wednesday mornings when we have MyEdu corporate yoga at night so that's out for me.
Anyway...moving on from that was my first impression of the studio. It was small, but intimate, which I like. The facility is very clean and everything is neat and put together. They don't have a locker room which is a bit of a bummer because the one bathroom gets backed up when everyone must change into their yoga clothes. I did experience this problem :( There are cubbies and because the entrance is in the back of the center it seems safe to leave things there, in addition you can see out into the foyer while you are in class. The actual room where you practice was nice...it was open with a lot of windows and a high ceiling - this was great because it made the room and the amount of people attending seem less crowded and stifling.
A few more notes before I talk about the class...if you are a new trial member you can use mats and towels for free, but if you become a member you need to rent or bring your own. I figure if you buy a membership to a yoga studio you should have those things anyway. They have water for purchase but also a water cooler for you to fill up your bottles.
The class was AWESOME. I have to say it was one of my favorite yoga classes to date. The instructor was Georgette and I was told she was great but of course always want to form my own opinion. The hour and a half class flew by and was hard yet do-able. I loved the speed of her power flow, it was fast and rigorous, which really gets you sweating! The last half hour or so was dedicated to more floor work with strength integrated for the arms and core. She didn't do any adjustments which would've been my only critique. The class was made up of a variety of people, a little older crowd than I'm used to at Black Swan, but they had blocks and straps to help them so everyone could develop their practice.
Overall it was a good experience and I look forward to attending the classes of all instructors over the next month and will definitely keep you updated! I won't rate the studio until the very end so stay tuned...
The first thing I did when I decided to start with BBY (their own abbreviation) was to look at the class schedule. I have to admit I was a little disappointed because there is only one class per day during the week that I would be able to go to (6:30-8pm) and most of my other yogi friends would be in the same boat. The others are during work hours and I am not able to get out for that amount of time to attend. The weekends are better with 3 viable class options per day. I am a big fan of the morning classes, it wakes you up/stretches/all kinds of good stuff, but there is only one on Wednesday mornings when we have MyEdu corporate yoga at night so that's out for me.
Anyway...moving on from that was my first impression of the studio. It was small, but intimate, which I like. The facility is very clean and everything is neat and put together. They don't have a locker room which is a bit of a bummer because the one bathroom gets backed up when everyone must change into their yoga clothes. I did experience this problem :( There are cubbies and because the entrance is in the back of the center it seems safe to leave things there, in addition you can see out into the foyer while you are in class. The actual room where you practice was nice...it was open with a lot of windows and a high ceiling - this was great because it made the room and the amount of people attending seem less crowded and stifling.
A few more notes before I talk about the class...if you are a new trial member you can use mats and towels for free, but if you become a member you need to rent or bring your own. I figure if you buy a membership to a yoga studio you should have those things anyway. They have water for purchase but also a water cooler for you to fill up your bottles.
The class was AWESOME. I have to say it was one of my favorite yoga classes to date. The instructor was Georgette and I was told she was great but of course always want to form my own opinion. The hour and a half class flew by and was hard yet do-able. I loved the speed of her power flow, it was fast and rigorous, which really gets you sweating! The last half hour or so was dedicated to more floor work with strength integrated for the arms and core. She didn't do any adjustments which would've been my only critique. The class was made up of a variety of people, a little older crowd than I'm used to at Black Swan, but they had blocks and straps to help them so everyone could develop their practice.
Overall it was a good experience and I look forward to attending the classes of all instructors over the next month and will definitely keep you updated! I won't rate the studio until the very end so stay tuned...
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Sunstone Yoga
For my first review I'll go ahead and cover a studio that I tried through a Living Social Deal. It was $30 for a month unlimited, they have a variety of classes that are all based on the elements, so they call them Earth, Fire, Water, etc. They are based out of Dallas, TX but I went to the location at the Triangle in Austin.
I tested out the Fire, Wood and Earth classes, and found that Earth was the only one I really liked. Fire was a 98 degree class and that is too warm for me so I only went once...Wood was good definitely more like pilates than yoga. Earth is what you would think of as a typical power yoga class so it was my favorite.
The entire month I only had 2 different instructors...and wasn't super impressed with them. They were a little rigid and not very helpful, I never received an adjustment during my practice or any real guidance as far as improving my poses. They were not very "good" at their practice either as far as I can tell from what I've seen. So, the classes themselves were fine, definitely a step-up from the ones at Gold's Gym (duh) but not near the caliber of others.
Now for the facility, etc. They had a locker room which was nice, with showers, towels, etc. but it wasn't always very clean. The mats and towels were complimentary and there were always enough but the towels were a bit ratty, many had holes in them and were fraying at the edges...it would probably be worth it for them to invest in some new towels. I like the rooms, they had carpeting instead of wood or concrete floors so that helped for the poses on our knees and elbows.
Overall, it was a fine experience, I don't know that I would pay their pricing structure, especially with some of the iffy things I mentioned above. As far as marketing, they never followed up with me after my trial or tried to get me to sign up...bad business but I appreciate not being bothered! If there is another deal and you want to try yoga, go for it, but I wouldn't suggest a membership there.
Ratings:
Classes: 2/5
Facility: 3/5
Overall Experience: 2/5
Website: http://www.sunstoneyoga.com/
I tested out the Fire, Wood and Earth classes, and found that Earth was the only one I really liked. Fire was a 98 degree class and that is too warm for me so I only went once...Wood was good definitely more like pilates than yoga. Earth is what you would think of as a typical power yoga class so it was my favorite.
The entire month I only had 2 different instructors...and wasn't super impressed with them. They were a little rigid and not very helpful, I never received an adjustment during my practice or any real guidance as far as improving my poses. They were not very "good" at their practice either as far as I can tell from what I've seen. So, the classes themselves were fine, definitely a step-up from the ones at Gold's Gym (duh) but not near the caliber of others.
Now for the facility, etc. They had a locker room which was nice, with showers, towels, etc. but it wasn't always very clean. The mats and towels were complimentary and there were always enough but the towels were a bit ratty, many had holes in them and were fraying at the edges...it would probably be worth it for them to invest in some new towels. I like the rooms, they had carpeting instead of wood or concrete floors so that helped for the poses on our knees and elbows.
Overall, it was a fine experience, I don't know that I would pay their pricing structure, especially with some of the iffy things I mentioned above. As far as marketing, they never followed up with me after my trial or tried to get me to sign up...bad business but I appreciate not being bothered! If there is another deal and you want to try yoga, go for it, but I wouldn't suggest a membership there.
Ratings:
Classes: 2/5
Facility: 3/5
Overall Experience: 2/5
Website: http://www.sunstoneyoga.com/
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