East Yoga

my favorite yoga studio in NYC.. so peaceful on avenue B. every teacher is great. very solid schedule of choices any time you want to go . i love this place. with kind regards.
cheryl d.

I had never been to this particular yoga studio but received an email from a friend for a special one-day workshop to learn about stretching for your organs. The class was $25. The email also instructed for us to bring a pen and paper. I was truly looking forward to the class, which turned out to basically be a Bikram (hot-yoga) class without the heat. There was no discussion and the STUDIO WAS SERIOUSLY DIRTY. Not only did I waste my money but I wasted my beautiful afternoon. Never again.

This yoga studio has a welcoming, neighborhoody vibe. It is small, but that is a great thing. The instructors are on a first-name basis with everyone and that is a big part of the magic.

Class size always seems to be between 5 and 15 people, so I feel that I get more helpful instruction and attention than in the bigger studios that tend to feel more like yoga factories.

The atmosphere is informal and there is a lot of playful banter and joking around, which keeps things really fun, even when you are doing (or attempting to do as in my case) difficult poses. Let us just say if Hemingway found this "Clean, Well-Lighted Place" when he was in his mid-twenties, the world would have had one less tortured artist.

There are some really dynamic instructors whose classes tend to kick my butt. But in a good way! Some of the classes are as physically challenging as anything that I have ever done.

And "it is not the first time at the rodeo," for a lot of these instructors. The reason for the quote from the 1981 movie "Mommie Dearest" is that it is a more colorful way of saying that these instructors have much life experience and wisdom.

Anatomy, spirituality, Rumi, (my first time at the rodeo) keep me coming back almost everyday for more.