Despite the fact that I’m rarely motivated to try a new-to-me yoga class—especially at one of the many big-box-style studios popping up everywhere with their sleek cubbies and branded tank tops—I recently stepped outside my comfort zone to take a class at YogaSix. Billed as a modern yoga boutique, the brand has opened more than 200 locations across the U.S., quickly becoming cea mai mare franciză de yoga în Statele Unite și s -a extins la nivel internațional la Germania și Japonia . In a post-pandemic time when many independent studios have closed their doors, that kind of growth is hard to ignore. So while I prefer practicing yoga at small, independent studios, I signed up for a restorative class at my local YogaSix to see what’s drawing so many people in. Having practiced an array of yoga styles for more than a decade, I wondered whether this modern, chain-studio version of yoga could possibly work for someone like me.
Pentru mulți, pot să-mi asum formatul structurat, brandul consistent de studio și sentimentul comunității care vine cu un obișnuit aici ar putea apela la cineva nou la yoga sau în căutarea unui punct de intrare cu barieră scăzută. Există o accesibilitate inerentă să meargă într-un spațiu familiar, indiferent în ce oraș vă aflați. Acesta este apelul unei francize, nu? Știi la ce să te aștepți, indiferent de oraș sau studio.
ținute albe pentru bărbați pentru petrecerea albă
Yogasix nu oferă clase tradiționale de yoga (nici nu pretind), ci mai mult un stil de fuziune care a devenit popular la multe săli de sport și studiouri. Am optat să iau o restaurare Y6, care este descrisă ca o practică de a elibera grupuri musculare majore ale întregului corp și are loc într -o cameră caldă. De obicei, evit yoga încălzită ca preferință personală, dar eram curios de alegerea studioului de a adăuga un mediu cald la un stil de yoga cunoscut pentru mișcările sale relaxante și lente.
Despite my initial panic when I started to sweat before class even began, I tried to keep an open mind. The room was dark, which was ideal, but when dramatic neon blue and green stage lights turned on, the room felt more like a nightlife venue than a yoga studio to me.
Cu toate acestea, s -a simțit liniștitor și primitor faptul că profesorul a înființat deja recuzita pentru fiecare elev înainte de sosirea noastră. Yogasix are propria versiune a unui Bolster, pe care o numesc o pernă. Este în formă de consiliere, dar este, de asemenea, foarte moale și nu la fel de robust ca un bolster tipic. Când l -am folosit sub picioarele mele în Savasana, a oferit mai puțin sprijin decât eram obișnuit pentru partea inferioară a spatelui. Profesorul ne -a oferit, de asemenea, cazuri de perne catifelate pentru a le pune, ceea ce mi -a asumat trupul interior al germenilor. (În majoritatea studiourilor, faceți pace doar cu faptul că recuzita au văzut foarte mult - și probabil au absorbit multă transpirație. Încercați să nu vă gândiți prea mult la asta.)
tendințele modei „blugi bărbați”
For the majority of the class, the vibe was a hybrid between a stretching class and physical therapy, except when it turned into a workout class, in which the teacher cued reps of Chair Pose. She mostly offered verbal cues, which were a little too vague to follow without a visual demonstration. There were very few variations offered and, more than once, I found myself lingering in limbo because I didn’t want to do the stretch as she showed it, but I didn’t know what else to do with my body.
She did, however, make an intentional effort to cue students to breathe multiple times throughout class, which I appreciated. She guided our awareness to specific areas of the body—like the ribs and belly—where we could direct the breath. Her prompts to notice where the breath is in different poses helped me deepen my stretches and relax more fully into each posture.
In the Y6 Restore class I attended, the teacher put her hands on me to adjust my leg in Reclining Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose without asking. I was surprised and disappointed, as in recent years, there’s been increased awareness surrounding student consent when it comes to a teacher’s hands-on adjustments. Different studios tend to handle the matter differently. Some have strict policies, whereas others leave it to the teacher’s discretion. In my class, when the teacher later returned to offer an adjustment, she did ask for consent beforehand, and when I said no, she respected that.
While in Corpse Pose at the end of class for Savasana, Etta James played loudly while the teacher handed out cold lavender-scented towels for our eyes during the final resting pose. (I don’t mind Etta, but this felt out of place to me.)
For a week following my class, I received several texts, calls, and voicemails from both a wellness advisor and the yoga teacher at Yoga Six asking me if I was interested in continuing my yoga journey with them. I’m not used to that level of follow-up after a first class and it turned me off to the experience. (I usually practice at small, independent studios where that kind of post-class outreach isn’t the norm.) After the fifth time I was contacted, I opted to block the number. Ultimately, this wasn’t the type of yoga class I want to take again.
Of course, this was just one class at one YogaSix studio with one teacher. I can’t speak for the entire brand or the experience someone else might have in a different class or city. But I can say that, for me, this version of yoga—highly structured, branded, and studio-lit—felt worlds apart from what originally drew me to the practice.
stil de îmbrăcăminte de lucru
Totuși, primesc apelul. Aceste tipuri de studiouri oferă o experiență familiară, repetabilă, indiferent unde vă aflați. Și poate acesta este compromisul: ceva mai accesibil, chiar dacă este mai puțin personal și un strigăt îndepărtat de practica mea preferată. Poate că viitorul yoga face loc pentru ambele - pentru abordarea boutique mai zgomotoasă și pentru tradițiile mai liniștite care ne țin să ne întoarcem la covorașe din motive care nu pot fi întotdeauna marcate.
