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 den største yoga -franchise i USA og har udvidet internationalt til Tyskland og Japan . 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.
90'er tøj
For mange kan jeg kun antage det strukturerede format, konsekvent studio-branding og følelse af samfund, der følger med at være en regelmæssig her, kan appellere til en ny til yoga eller på udkig efter et lavt barriereindgangspunkt. Der er en tilgængelighed, der er forbundet med at gå ind i et velkendt følelse, uanset hvilken by du er i. Det er appellen til en franchise, ikke? Du ved hvad du kan forvente, uanset by eller studie.
Yogasix tilbyder ikke traditionelle yogakurser (de hævder heller ikke), men mere af en fusionsstil, der er blevet populær på mange fitnesscentre og studios. Jeg valgte at tage en Y6 -gendannelse, der beskrives som en praksis for at frigive store muskelgrupper af hele kroppen og finder sted i et varmt rum. Jeg undgår normalt opvarmet yoga som en personlig præference, men jeg var nysgerrig efter studiets valg om at tilføje et varmt miljø til en stil med yoga, der er kendt for sine afslappende og langsomme bevægelser.
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.
Det føltes stadig betryggende og indbydende, at læreren allerede havde oprettet rekvisitterne for hver studerende inden vores ankomst. Yogasix har sin egen version af en bolster, som de kalder en pude. Det styrker formet, men det er også meget blødt og ikke så robust som en typisk styrker. Da jeg brugte det under mine ben i Savasana, tilbød den mindre støtte, end jeg var vant til til min korsryg. Læreren gav os også fløjlsagtige pudebetræk til at tage på dem, hvilket gjorde min indre kim freak. (På de fleste studios skaber du bare fred med det faktum, at rekvisitterne har set meget brug - og sandsynligvis absorberet en masse sved. Prøv ikke at tænke over det for meget.)
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.
mode i 1920'erne
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.
Stadig får jeg appellen. Disse slags studios tilbyder en velkendt, gentagelig oplevelse, uanset hvor du er. Og måske er det udvekslingen: noget mere tilgængeligt, selvom det er mindre personligt og langt fra min foretrukne praksis. Måske giver yoga fremtiden plads til begge - til Buzzier Boutique -tilgangen og de mere støjsvage traditioner, der holder os tilbage til vores måtter af grunde, der ikke altid kan mærkes.
