Moksha Yoga Vancouver

Today I checked out Moksha Hot Yoga. What is Moksha, you ask? It's a new hot yoga chain that has roots in Bikram's but also in the hatha and vinyasa styles. It was created by a couple of Bikram's graduates who got fed up with the strictness of the hot style and its risk to beginners. I appreciate what they're trying to do - make hot yoga safe for all levels - but does it have to be another yoga chain with a pre-determined set of postures? I'm not sure if the flow is copyrighted, but it somehow pains me to see yoga becoming such a corporate thing, regardless of how good the yoga actually is (I quite liked Moksha yoga!) One yoga chain stealing students from the other...

What: Moksha Yoga Vancouver

Where: 242 - 2083 Alma Street, Vancouver, BC

When: May 16, 2010, 10:00am-11:30am

Class: Moksha 90 min

Teacher: Rose

Drop-In price per class: $18

Comments:

Space:

A small reception area, but very nice showers and changing area. The yoga studio was a descent size with nice hard wood floors and ambient lighting. I could see it getting quite sweaty in there with more people (my class only had about 8 people in it).

Atmosphere:

This was a very beautiful studio. Small decorative touches with beautiful fixtures and amenities made it a great place to practice. I loved the water fountain in the lobby - simple yet elegant. The teacher/front desk person was really nice and she was happy to answer any questions I had about the yoga. There was a friendly and inclusive atmosphere there that you don't always get at hot yoga studios.

Teacher/Class:

Rose was a great teacher! It was 40 degrees in there and man did I ever sweat! I had done Bikrams many times before and I was curious as to how the Moksha flow of 40 poses compared. I am happy to say that I didn't feel like barfing once! There were definitely challenging parts, but what I really liked about the class was how it flowed nicely from one pose to the next. There were similarities to the Bikram's flow, such as pranayama breathing techniques and some of the key standing and back bending poses. However, there were more hatha and vinyasa style postures such as down dog and warrior poses, as well as abdominal exercises. I appreciated the blending of different disciplines and the fact that not everything was repeated twice. I find that aspect of the Bikram's flow to be a bit boring and there is no real flow, whereas with Moksha, the class is in a sense a bit more intuitive. It's funny looking back on my first few years of Bikram's devotion and realizing that I never knew what a down dog was until after I had been practicing for 3 years! I loved the alignment and attention to safety that the teacher gave. I don't often hear teachers reminding students to engage the right muscles (especially the core), so it was refreshing to hear her give those cues. After the class I felt extremely invigorated and my skin was radiant after all that sweating! I really enjoyed the Moksha style and would love to check out the other types of classes they offer.

Rating: 9/10. A beautiful studio and space. If you like Bikram's, I recommend trying it out for sure. I do caution that hot yoga is not for everyone and for that Moksha loses a point.