One day short of two weeks into the new year, I accidentally became a walking cliche: a newly dedicated fitness fanatic. The truth is, as someone who attended a regular yoga class for nearly a year until the studio I’d loved for its positive energy and intimate classes (sometimes so intimate it was me and one other person) closed down, its taken me about 6 years ago to commit to another studio. What started as one afternoon of yoga class over the holidays turned into more than I’d anticipated.
With studios in Williamsburg, Flatiron and SoHo, one of the first draws to Y7 Yoga was the ease in which I could coerce my friends to the multiple studio locations. The buddy system is one of the only ways I can trust myself to get started on a new workout routine. My friend and I first went to a class one freezing late December afternoon in Williamsburg. Despite my initial skepticism of a “hip hop” yoga class being nothing more than a marketing gimmick, after the first class I found myself attempting to negotiate my way into the 2 week unlimited pass I had initially decided against purchasing as a new student. Thankfully, rational and kind people still exist in this world and specifically at Y7 Yoga. With two weeks of unlimited hot yoga ahead of me, the anxiety of actually making the most of the two weeks began to set in.
When I invest in a pack of classes, disappointment seems inevitable. Not because of the classes themselves, but because of my schedule and my dedication (or lack there of) to a new routine. Maybe it was initially knowing a friend was expecting to meet me at class that got me to keep going back. Perhaps it was the moment in my second class where I couldn’t tell if I was sweating from the 80-90 degree room or tearing up as I let the instructions to think about who I would be if I was my authentic, true self sink in. If not either of those moments, then the David Bowie tribute class may have sucked me in. Or was it the Tupac class that inspired me for a full two minutes to dream about opening an off-shoot yoga studio dedicated to Mr. Shakur? With Drake heavy in rotation, things get fuzzy, emotions get raw. Feelings are best felt in a sweaty, dark, candlelit room after all.
What I can say is that I was reminded of the glory days when I was a regular at my former yoga studio — with the added edition of a room heated enough to make me sweat but to not make me feel like passing out or vomiting. After class my shoulders weren’t tight, my lower back didn’t feel crunched up. Each class follows a general protocol of a beginning warm up, three vinyasa flows where you progress from a slower pace to flowing at your own pace, then a final portion of yoga poses. Some level of predictability to gauge how much longer I had to survive through and music that made me forget that my legs may be shaking was just what I needed to get back into yoga, turns out.
If you haven’t yet tried Y7, I’m quite jealous that you still have the opportunity to purchase the New Student Package, $45 for two weeks or $99 for a month of unlimited yoga. You can also just purchase one class, but you may want to learn from my mistake and go straight for the unlimited. You can learn more about Y7 Yoga or just go ahead and book your class here.
beautyunbiased.com 