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November 25, 2005 7:02 PM

NYCYogaFilter: Any NYers who attend yoga classes? Do you have a school or teacher to recommend?

I'm relatively new to the yoga world, so I'm not really sure where to start. Where better than here?

My criteria are the following: good beginner level classes, broad class availability (I work crazy hours), teacher quality as well as quality of students (serious students dedicated to it as a lifelong practice, as opposed to someone merely there for a quick workout). I'm looking for something relaxing yet rigorous and difficult enough to get me in some shape. And, of course, affordable.

I live in Brooklyn, but I'm pretty sure the best places will be in Manhattan.

That's what I need...a clean place, reeeeeasonably priced.

posted by nevercalm to health & fitness (5 comments total)

See if you can get a class with Lily at the Laughing Lotus. I'm not sure how many classes she teaches a week- she comes to our office and teaches a private class, and I know that's the majority of her teaching, too. She is awesome! So sweet, so kind, so wonderful.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:50 PM on November 25, 2005 [1 favorite]

That said, if you can't get a class with her, she also practices at the Laughing Lotus, so I'm guessing it's a very good place.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:55 PM on November 25, 2005

I go to Life in Motion in their 105th and Broadway location and I like the place a lot (affordable, nice teachers and agreeable atmosphere). They have a Park Slope location too. Regarding instructors, my suggestion is to see what kind of yoga you like first and then choose the teacher. In a place like this you are offered several different options. Also, keep in mind yoga might take you a little time to get into. But it is very, very worth the time, and the effort.
posted by carmina at 8:21 PM on November 25, 2005

Fortune Elkins has a very discerning blog and she regularly talks about yoga classes she's been to in NYC, for example in this post on Elevation Yoga.
posted by amestoy at 4:22 AM on November 26, 2005

I am a serious practitioner and have been studying for a few years (slow progress) and have had some wonderful teachers along the way. They have all been wonderful and different and it seems like as I keep going another wonderful teacher will come my way. Presently I am studying with a 125 year old swami at a very old Hindu temple in queens (worth a trip to queens, the classes are on Sunday and cost $7.00).
My favorite form of Yoga is Iyengar they seem to take yoga to the next level, it is a science very precise. I've only studied with two teachers there and they were incredible, the class I took last night was one of the most informative and pushed the envelope . When I got home I had that feeling you get when you ski for a day and don't notice all the exertion you expended because you were in the moment I laid down and aaaaah
posted by aisleofview at 5:17 AM on November 26, 2005