Flow at Yoga Co

I'm winding down with my month of unlimited yoga at The Yoga Collective, and I thought I'd share some reflections about visiting yoga studios as a new client and then talk about my experiences of flow classes at this studio. From living in West LA where everyone and their mom seems to take yoga (yes, guilty as charged, my mom practices yoga too!), I find it a little scary to go to a new yoga studio. On one end of the spectrum, some places are super hospitable towards new clients. On the other end of the spectrum, some studios seem to expect you to know everything before you even walk in the door...where/when to remove your shoes, what equipment in the back of the room to pick up before class, etc. It can be intimidating, especially when you see the other students walking in who each look like a yoga teacher themselves! 

So, if you are feeling nervous about trying a new place, just know that you're not alone. Everyone who is there already was once there for the first time themselves. There are probably some other newbies in the crowd as well. Yoga studios tend to attract a variety of people from diverse backgrounds; you surely will look around and wonder about some of the other people in there. So who cares if they are looking at you wondering why you have no clue what's going on? I expressed these things to my good friend, Debbie, who was new to yoga and ventured with me to The Yoga Collective to redeem our AmazonLocalDeal. She made it through her first anxiety-provoking class like a champ, and she came back for more each week! 

The stars were not aligned when I brought my camera to the yoga studio to take a more fitting photo of us...it was a 7 am class, need I say more? So, here's just a cute picture of us! 

What Would Buff Girl Do...When going to a yoga studio for the 1st time?

• Bring a friend. Sharing the new and intimidating experience with a friend definitely lessens the stress of going to a new place. You'll also have someone to laugh about whatever embarrassing thing happens to you in class!
• Call ahead to find out what is a good class for your level. If you are a beginner, give the studio a call and ask what they recommend for first-time yoga students. The schedules and class descriptions can be vague or confusing...just ask! Then, at least if you end up in the wrong place, you can blame someone else :)
• Introduce yourself to the teacher before class begins. If possible, just go up to the teacher, introduce yourself, and say that it's your first time doing yoga. Once you let that cat out of the bag, you can practice your yoga assured that she won't be judging you if it's your first time. 
• Pick a strategic place for your mat. And by "strategic," I mean back corner. In the back corner, you have as much privacy as you can get in a communal class. You are free to fall out of poses and resort to my final bullet point below...child's pose!
• Don't be afraid to child's pose any where, any time! Ok, maybe not any where. It'd be totally weird to just child's pose when you're signing in for class in the lobby, but in the middle of class when you're core is shaking and your knees are buckling, just take the small gift of child's pose, catch your breath, and start back up when you're ready.

The Yoga Collective

As the name implies, The Yoga Collective is truly a collection of yoga practitioners from the teachers to the clientele. I've taken three different flow classes here each with different teachers. For those of you who live in the Venice area, this studio offers a wide range of classes offered throughout the entire day, and there seems to be a strong community of yogis who practice here. Before diving into how I would rate these classes, let's dive into my mind on a typical day when I went to yoga flow classes here [crafted so cleverly into a "flow" chart].

Stretch Factor
Stretching represents one of my main goals when I set out to take a yoga class. Each of the flow classes I took at The Yoga Collective surely had its fair share of stretching from the warrior poses to body twists to full-on doing the splits. I didn't necessarily feel as Gumby-esque as I would have liked, but I was able to get my stretch on in these flow classes for the most part.

Shavanasa Factor
Relaxation represents my secondary goal when I venture off to a yoga class. By no means do I want the class to just be easy, but I do look forward to focusing my mind on breathing, stretching deeply, and releasing all of the tension I accumulate throughout the week. At the Yoga Collective, there were several things that helped me reach this goal. The instructor's choice of soft chanting or other calming music initially sets the backdrop. To further create a calming ambience, there always seemed to be a scent of candles recently being burned in the studio. Lastly, one teacher did my absolute favorite thing to end a yoga class...she sprinkled the magical, lavender fairy dust over my face during Shavanasa [in actuality, she puts lavender on her hands and rubs them over your face]. 

Sweat Factor
In the mixed level classes, my heart rate did not go up, and the minimal sweating that I did do seemed due to the warm temperature in the room rather than my warm body. In the Level 2/3 flow class, however, I was definitely glistening a bit more from the workout.

Strength Factor
In general, I did not feel like these flow classes focused significantly on building strength. There were some arm balances, planks, and the occasional push-ups or crunches to build muscles, but I definitely wasn't waking up sore the next day.

What's the deal?
Check out my post entitled Embrace Your Inner Warrior: Primal Yoga that featured this studio to see their promotions for first time clients!

A penny for your thoughts?

• What are your tips when you go to a new workout studio?
• What do you like about yoga flow classes?