Juliana Rissi
I took a hot yoga class at Yoga Joint Midtown and ultimately would not return, though I hope this feedback is useful for the studio. The room was extremely crowded and hotter than I’m accustomed to (about 95–98°F). I recognize that temperature preference is personal, so I won’t frame that as a fault of the studio, not my style. My primary concern was the quality of instruction. The teacher taught almost entirely over a speaker and, for most of the class, provided no visual demonstration of poses. She remained at the front and mid-back of the room and never came into the space to observe students or offer adjustments. As a result, the experience felt closer to following a podcast in a heated room than being in a live, guided yoga class, which significantly reduced the value of being physically present. I also had an issue with storage. I arrived 15 minutes early, yet there were very few lockers available. I placed a small bag in the far corner of the room. About 20 minutes into class, an employee entered and removed it. While I understand the studio’s policy against bags in the room, this should have been addressed before class began, interrupting mid-practice felt unnecessary and disruptive. Finally, the stations were extremely close together. Multiple times I was bumped by neighboring people.
