December 2019 by Lee S.
Some background: I've been a yoga practitioner for ~10 years. Done several teacher trainings, teach regularly, have worked at studios, the whole deal. My partner's family lives in Cedarhurst and so I've been to 3 classes here over the past several months. This studio seems to cater primarily to the Orthodox population in the area, and all classes are segregated by gender. In the the classes I went to, the teachers did not use any Sanskrit names for asanas, nor any Sanskrit period - no "om" or "namaste." Two classes did not have any music, one had instrumental new-agey music playing in the background. Quality of teaching was good, albeit slightly uneven; of the three teachers I tried, two were fine, but one had inconsistent sequencing, did some poses on one side only, gave poor alignment cues, etc. My main criticism of this studio, though, is that it's just really unfriendly and unwelcoming. At other studios where I've worked/taught/taken classes, teachers make sure to introduce themselves to new students, ask their names, ask about their yoga practice, and generally make them feel welcome to the studio. That's never happened here. In fact, the only person who's ever spoken to me at this studio was one of the students, who came up to me before one class and told me I was "in her spot" and needed to move. And while it's perhaps unfair to hold a studio accountable for the behavior of students, in my experience, studios that really value being welcoming and friendly make sure those values filter down to their teachers and students too. The gender segregation, lack of Sanskrit, and occasional novice teacher are different for me but certainly not dealbreakers. However, it seems to me that being welcoming, friendly, and inclusive is a value that should apply to all yoga studios. Unfortunately, it's not a value at this studio, and I won't be back.
