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| - I've been practicing yoga for 5 years and I've been making it economical by scouring the web for yoga deals. Toronto yoga studios: "Heyyyy!" I usually look up reviews on the studio before I buy a deal but this time I just chanced it, arguing that the location and price couldn't be beat.
The comments other reviews made about it being "unfinished", constantly changing schedule and clearly cutting costs where they should have invested money, are all sentiments I agree with.
On my first visit I was not expecting the studio to look and feel so prematurely open: equipment piled in corners, everything seeming random and a lack of that warmth I feel upon entering a yoga studio. I reminded myself though that a big part of yoga is challenging yourself to find stillness amidst uncomfortable situations. So I changed, collected my valuables in the baskets they provide, and went to Wally's Core Yoga class. I did not like it at all and in fact left more stressed than before I got there. Wally talked the ENTIRE time, was more pushy, almost bootcamp style, than I would have liked and wasn't very good at explaining anything.
Other class reviews:
- Yoga in Pilates (Marta)- a decent class but nothing spectacular, 50/50 yoga & pilates
- Yang and Yin (Aaron)- really mindful class, vinyasa first half & yin second half, great teacher
- Hatha Flow (Rachel)- a pretty good class, what you would expect (hatha poses with extra vinyasas), good teacher
Wally and his team are clearly trying to do something good here: bring yoga to their community at an affordable rate. That's amazing offering, but a poorly executed good idea, is still a poorly executed idea. Aum Centre Yoga needs an office manager to create more consistency and cohesion.
Overall I wouldn't recommend Aum Centre but I'm only 5 classes into my 20 class card so maybe by class 20 I'll be singing a different tune. I'm trying out a new class tonight, Warrior Yoga; wish me luck!
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