Yoga8: The Sequel

At the beginning of this journey, I visited Yoga8. I took the hottest class, and in full transparency, I struggled. After visiting other studios, I felt I had an unfair view of Yoga8, so I decided to try a class for beginners.

I had the same instructor, Angela, and I first noticed when I walked in that she remembered me and asked how I had been. Many attend her classes, so I appreciated the small gesture.

This time, I took the "tone" class, where I thought we would use handheld weights. But, the class incorporates resistance training and using your body weight instead. I typically think of slow movements when I think of yoga, but we moved at a face pace. Though it was a cooler temperature, it was still a very challenging class. I did not feel like I would pass out as I did in the "hot fusion" class.

Even though we did classic yoga poses, she incorporated more toning exercises, specifically in the core and arms. Many yoga poses strengthen the core, like the plank pose, and many of these poses sneak up and can tire the muscles very quickly. One exercise I struggled with was holding the plank pose, we would turn into left and right planks and keep balance. As said before, the class moved quickly, but we did "holds" of positions, which felt like forever.

Courtesy of Yoga8

*Pictured above is the “tone” class in session.

As the end of class came near, we started a cool down. It was similar to the previous cool-down, but Angela featured many standing balancing exercises. The point of the standing cool down was to decrease heart rate before finishing class on the mat. When we did go to the floor, we laid down, and she placed a cool towel next to everyone to place on their heads.

The price was $20 again for a drop-in fee, and they offer many memberships. For $99, the "Intense YoPack" package entails unlimited monthly classes. With the variety of classes they offer, this package is most beneficial for students.

Overall, I am happy I tried Yoga8 again and will probably return. Even though I wanted to take the "flow" class, I am very satisfied with the "tone" class. I can confirm that on this visit I was sweating due to the workout itself, not the temperature in the class. My final thought on Yoga8 is this: I recommend this to students!