| rev:text
| - **4.5 stars**
Illness and yoga seem to go together for me. After being yelled at (seriously, yelled at!) numerous times for trying to do intensive exercise when ill ("What? I'm just trying to boost my immune system!"), I've come to the realization that notta one friend will kybosh my yoga attempts when ill. So this week, when I was completely under the weather and off sick from work, I took my sniffling, headachey, sore-throated self to Octopus Garden. What a treat!! From the moment I walked in, I was greeted more warmly than EVER having been greeted at a yoga studio to date! The woman seemed genuinely happy to see me! I was RIGHT on time, and concerned that I would be holding the class up, but she assured me it would be alright. AND THEN informed me of the First Week Free deal for new students! Amazing - 7 days of yoga for free AND THEN another passport day! She showed me where to put my things and I was off and running. I'll also mention that, on the way out, my friend was speaking to the gentleman at the front desk about her difficulty making 7:45 evening classes when she works Thursdays, and he offered to put a mat down if she calls to ensure she makes it! Exceptional service :)
As the fate's would have it, a good friend was also in the class that day; we saw each other in the changeroom, and she was kind enough to save me a spot in the class. The class was well attended but not packed. And when I popped in a minute or two late, the instructor, Alix I believe, did not seem angry or pertubed. And what a class it was! Over the next hour and a quarter, I SWEAT my sick bugs out and even woke up the following day to a stiff back! Not a "Oh my God, back pain! Back pain!", but a "Oh, right... I have those muscles!" stiff. I haven't felt that in awhile, and it was a great feeling :) It was a Level 1-2 class, and I would say the same level of difficulty that the 1-2 at Downward Dog is; challenging without being impossible. I also appreciated that Alix seemed to really support where ever you were that day; she suggested when you could flow through after a pose, but also stated that you could also go straight into downward dog if that's what you were feeling. I also attended the Thursday night restorative class with Scott the following day; as you may have read in my review of Kula, I'm still a little on the fence about restorative or yin classes; I'm used to vinyasa or ashtanga, where I'm feeling like I'm working things out by literally working them out. That said, I think I'm getting a little more accustomed to the quiet and stretch of restorative. And Scott was an excellent instructor; he was very good at explaining each position prior to leading us into it, in some cases demo-ing.
This studio also houses a whole holistic therapy center, with naturopaths, dieticians, RMTs, and more, as well as an Urban Herbivore. I didn't eat at the location here, but have eaten at the Kensington location, and love love LOVE the food! The banana chocolate chip loaf would be a delicious treat at the end of a good yoga session :) That said, I'm not sure if they have all of the options available at the kensington location; can anyone confirm or deny?
What's holding back that final half-star? Sadly, it's the prices, or at least the option of prices. Octopus Garden offers only a 5 card pass for $75 or Monthly membership for $80. The class pass would make each class $15, not awful, but certainly a little more than other studios, while for a once-a-week yoga'er like me, the monthly just wouldn't do the trick. If there were a reasonable longer-term class pass, say 10 or 20, I would be down to yoga in minutes. Perhaps something to think about, Octopus Gardeners....please?!?!?!?
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)