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 la franquicia de yoga más grande en los Estados Unidos, y se ha expandido internacionalmente a Alemania y Japón . 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.
Para muchos, solo puedo asumir el formato estructurado, la marca de estudio consistente y el sentido de comunidad que conlleva ser regularmente aquí podría atraer a alguien nuevo en el yoga o buscar un punto de entrada de baja barrera. Hay una accesibilidad inherente a entrar en un espacio familiar, sin importar en qué ciudad se encuentre. Ese es el atractivo de una franquicia, ¿verdad? Sabes qué esperar, sin importar la ciudad o el estudio.
ropa de los 90 para chicos
Yogasix no ofrece clases de yoga tradicionales (ni dicen), sino más bien un estilo de fusión que se ha vuelto popular en muchos gimnasios y estudios. Opté por tomar una restauración Y6, que se describe como una práctica para liberar grupos musculares principales de todo el cuerpo y tiene lugar en una habitación cálida. Por lo general, evito el yoga con calefacción como una preferencia personal, pero tenía curiosidad sobre la elección del estudio de agregar un ambiente cálido a un estilo de yoga conocido por sus movimientos relajantes y lentos.
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.
Aún así, se sintió tranquilizador y acogedor que el maestro ya hubiera establecido los accesorios para cada alumno antes de nuestra llegada. Yogasix tiene su propia versión de un refugio, que llaman una almohada. Tiene forma de refrescos, pero también es muy suave y no tan resistente como un refrescante típico. Cuando lo usé debajo de mis piernas en Savasana, ofreció menos apoyo del que estaba acostumbrado para mi espalda baja. El maestro también nos dio cajas de almohadas aterciopeladas para ponerlas, lo que calmó a mi fanático del gérmano interior. (En la mayoría de los estudios, solo haces las paces con el hecho de que los accesorios han visto mucho uso, y probablemente absorbieron mucho sudor. Trate de no pensar demasiado en eso).
tatuajes de chicos en la espalda
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.
peinados con trenzas para hombres
Aún así, obtengo la apelación. Este tipo de estudios ofrecen una experiencia familiar y repetible sin importar dónde se encuentre. Y tal vez esa sea la compensación: algo más accesible, incluso si es menos personal y muy lejos de mi práctica preferida. Tal vez el futuro del yoga deja espacio para ambos, para el enfoque boutique más renovado y las tradiciones más tranquilas que nos mantienen regresando a nuestras esteras por razones que no siempre pueden ser marcadas.
