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| - I have been taking yoga classes here sporadically for the past 5 years or so. I have to say I am kind of on the fence about the Yoga Sanctuary, as I've had some great and some not-so-great classes here. I did take some of my very first yoga classes here, so I have to give them props for being very welcoming to newbies. The location is great too - bonus points for being literally right next to the subway station. Yet, even though it's at Yonge-College, it still feels like a calm oasis (okay, there is the occasional ambulance siren, but otherwise it's very quiet because it's on the 3rd floor of an office building).
The studio is really large with high ceilings. The change rooms are kinda small and there's just a curtain (no door), so if you are modest, don't get naked in the middle of the room because sometimes people coming/going are not that mindful of the curtain swinging open! Washrooms are down the hall.
The last time I went here, I took the ashtanga 1 class with Emma on Sunday AM. The pace of the class was FAST, we were whipping through poses like it was our job. Despite this, I actually found I didn't work up much of a sweat or get as good a workout as I wanted. I think it was because we weren't holding the poses as long as I'm used to, and sometimes it's actually more challenging to go through things more slowly. At the same time, since we were moving so fast, I didn't feel that relaxed after. But yoga is very individual, so keep in mind, this was just my experience. The other people in the class seemed to like it. Note that Emma is kind of "anti-prop". Like most classes, we all got some blocks and a yoga strap at the beginning of the class. So, we were in reverse triangle and the girl next to me is using one of the blocks. Right then, our teacher informed us that she doesn't "believe" in yoga props because people become dependent on them and instead, we should learn to just use our own body. So the girl beside me tried to discreetly move her block aside. Aww, I felt kinda bad for her!
I'll give this studio 3 stars though, because most of the other classes I've tried have been pretty good. The teacher:student ratio is good so that you get corrections and personal attention. Also, they have tea in the lobby, which is nice after class.
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