Hot Power Yoga at Pure Yoga and Detox Retox Yoga Beach Retreat

I am not usually a fan of working out in a heated room but when I was invited to take one of Kay Kay Clivio's classes, the hot power yoga class was the only one that fit with my schedule.

Source

Kay Kay is one of the senior instructors at Pure Yoga, and for good reason. She counts Bikram, John Friend, Baron Baptiste and Ana Forrest, all big names in the yoga community, among her teachers. Her classes are known to be highly popular, which I evidenced at the Hot Power Yoga Hour class I attended on Friday afternoon.  As I opened the door of the hot studio I was met with a blast of hot air.

People began lining up their mats. I decided to wait outside until it was time for class, and enjoy this gorgeous view instead!

Within the next few minutes the room became full. Kay Kay introduced herself to everyone taking her class for the first time (always a nice touch when teachers do this), and we began.

The 60 minute class was full of power yoga sequences, plenty of balance poses and a good measure of shoulder and hand stands. Kay Kay gave the most eloquent instructions. I could not see her all the time (as she was walking around the class)  but I knew exactly what to do. It was the first time I heard a teacher tell the class that in the baby cobra pose you should be touching the ground with only eight points of your body. Apparently I had been doing baby cobra incorrectly all these years! She also gave me some great postural adjustments, especially with "the bridge" where she told me to lift my back higher and pull my shoulder blades closer together, opening my chest much more fully. So this is what a bridge should feel like!

I really enjoyed the class and to my surprise, the heat did not bother me at all.

The Good:
1. The instructor: Kay Kay gave great direction. The instructions were clear enough even for somebody taking yoga for the first time.

2. The class: I loved the flow of the class and how variations were provided to allow all fitness levels to participate. I am still not entirely convinced of the link between a heated room and increased muscle flexibility, but I will say that there was something detoxifying about it.


The Not-so-good:
1. Mats too close to one another: This is not a criticism specifically of this class but of yoga classes in general. Classes try to pack in as many people as possible and as a result you are brushing elbows with your neighbor who is sweating bucket-loads in a hot yoga class.

Overall:
This is a fast-paced and very fun class set to great music. Pure Yoga really has some incredible instructors, and Kay Kay was no exception. I have a taken class with three Pure instructors so far and after each class I always promise myself that I shall incorporate more yoga into my life.

Detox Retox Yoga Beach Retreat:
For those yogis in need of a rejuvenating and detoxifying weekend you can experience Kay Kay's technique in a much more immersive setting as she, along with acclaimed yogi Tanya B, is holding a Detox Retox Yoga beach retreat at Eau Spa at the Ritz Carlton in Palm Beach, FL from Nov 4-6. Participants will be able to take six classes over the three days, ranging from the more vigorous Core Flow yoga to the more restorative Yin yoga. Price is $1100 per individual per room. Check out the schedule below. For reservations call: (561) 540-4811.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I was invited to take a complimentary class with Kay Kay Clivio at Pure Yoga and was under no obligation to provide a review and was not compensated for this post. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Vino Y Yoga Event at Pure Yoga East: Ki Power Vinyasa Yoga

A few weeks ago I sent out a tweet asking other fitness-lovers for yoga recommendations in the city. One of the recommendations I received was for Isauro Fernandez's Ki Power Vinyasa class that he teaches at Pure Yoga and also at the 'hot yoga' studio, Earth Yoga. Out of sheer inertia on my part, I did nothing further. So I was thrilled when Sofia, who writes a great blog called Insightful Appetite, invited me to the Vino Y Yoga event that was taking place at Pure Yoga East. The class was going to be 60 minutes of a Ki Power Vinyasa class taught by Isauro, followed by a 30-minute guided wine-tasting focusing on wine regions throughout Spain.

Isaura Fernandez, also a practicing lawyer, created Ki Power Vinyasa, which according to his website is 'fusion of the movement and breath of vinyasa yoga with the grace, focus and physical intensity of martial arts." A dynamic and athletic style of yoga? Sounded like my kind of work-out.

Isauro

Prior to starting class, Isauro spoke about his love for wine and his affinity for Spain (the home of his parents) even though he's originally from Queens. We then began the class with a tranquil meditation where Isauro asked us to dedicate the practice to someone. Before I knew it, the pace suddenly sped up, charging head-on into a fast-paced vinyasa flow which we repeated many many times. Interspersed into the sequence were balance poses like so...

Um, nope, I did not even try to attempt this. I know my limitations!

 ...shoulder stands, and  martial arts-inspired moves. The latter half of the class focused on abdominal core work including crunches, oblique crunches, reverse crunches, all done slowly, intensely magnifying the burn.

The class was amazing! It was just what I needed. I had had a few tough work-outs in the days prior and I really needed something to stretch me out and yet also be challenging and Ki Power Vinyasa did the trick. I felt completely stretched, leaving class with my shoulder blades pressed back, my neck long, my back straight. It was rejuvenating and also such a fantastic work-out. Isauro encouraged us to work at our own pace and to take a break if we felt it was needed. His calm demeanor, hands-on correction, and phenomenal music (oh, the music!) choice really makes this class.

The music is what really stood out for me! Classic rock staples such as Aerosmith's 'Dream On' and the Rolling Stones' 'Play with Fire', melded beautifully with guitar-strumming flamenco instrumentals. It was divine. It really transported me to another place. Music can really make or break a work-out for me and this Ki Power Vinyasa class really nailed it for me!

After class, I chatted with other bloggers, old faces and new, including Sofia, Ali, Melissa, Jess, Dori, Leslie and Danielle. Always fun!

Top (l-r): Dori, Danielle, Leslie, me, Ali
Bottom (l-r): Jess, Sofia, Melissa

Subsequently, Alex Elman from Alex Elman Wines led a tasting of wines from Spain's various regions. There were four flights; the first was a cava, followed by a rosé and then two reds. Before each flight Alex would give a brief introduction about the wine, its composition, where it was from and what to pair it with. To go with the wine she also brought some delicious hor d'oeuvres including roasted artichokes, manchego cheese, olives, tortilla espanola and dark chocolate. Yum!

Alex and her assistant

Good work-out. Good eats. Good conversation. All components of a great evening! I am so glad I was able to try out Ki Power Vinyasa. It is something I would love to incorporate into my life, and if you have not tried it yet do it now!

Cheers!

Thanks so much to Sofia for inviting me to this event and to Isauro, Alex and Pure Yoga NYC for arranging such a lovely event.

Forrest Yoga at Pure Yoga East

If you have been reading my blog regularly you can probably safely assume that I like to work out. Also, that I like to work out hard. While I did once enjoy yoga (my preferred style was vinyasa), it has taken a back-seat in the scheme of all things fitness in my life!


Last week I was invited to try out a class at the east side location of Pure Yoga. Of the classes I was being offered the only one which worked according to my schedule was the Forrest yoga class. Not knowing too much about it other than that it sounded very earthy and grounded, I decided to give it a try. Best case, I would find something else to fit into my workout schedule and worst case I could still write about it on the blog. Also, I had been wanting to check out the east side Pure Yoga facilities so off I went.

Pure Yoga East reception desk. Source: Pure Yoga

Pure Yoga East is a calm and serene oasis off the bustle and chaos that is 86th street. There are six yoga studios located over the studio's four floors. My class was going to take at a studio one flight below the reception (see above). At 730pm the place was bustling with yogis! The women's changing room was really large with a lot of lockers (bring your own lock though) and showers. The waiting area outside the yoga studio was very zen with wooden floors and was lined with seating arrangements in neutral colors. 

Waiting area. Source: Pure Yoga

The studio itself was lined with maroon yoga mats which we claimed as we entered the room.

The studio. Source: Pure Yoga

I chose a spot in the front row so that I could see my instructor, Erica Mather, clearly. This being a studio for hard-core yogis I expected the instructor to be regimented and intimidating but Erica had an ease about her that made me like her immediately. She also gave great direction and explained the philosophy behind Forrest yoga. Forrest yoga was created by Ana Forrest, who, as per her website, "took poses and modified or created new ones to address today's lifestyle physical ailments." At the beginning of the class Erica went over the basic moves we would need to familiarize ourselves with for this practice. The first one she made us do was 'active feet' where you raise your toes off the ground and keep them that way. She added that it is very hard to do continuously and is meant to increase awareness and concentration. She was right! Next she taught us about 'active hands' which involves spreading your fingers apart. The aim is to open up the bones and stretch out the soft tissue in our hands and, again, have a greater connection to our whole body.


The class involved holding poses for long periods including the longest warrior one I have ever done! At least that's what it felt like. There were backbends, dolphin poses, abdominal crunches with side twists, all while staying in "active hands and feet." This added a more challenging element to the class. There was a set of sun salutations that we performed near the end of the class and ofcourse the class ended with savasana (corpse pose). 


The difference between this class and the traditional vinyasa classes that I have taken in the past is that Forrest yoga is slower paced, but involves holding positions for longer periods which can get really challenging. We also held poses such as tilting our head sideways to our shoulder and staying that way for a while. Initially, I was concerned that I would not get anything out of this pose but after coming out of it I immediately noticed how open and stretched out my neck area felt. 

The class lasted an hour and 15 minutes and while I did not leave dripping in sweat, I did feel stretched out and limber especially around my neck and shoulders. Neck and shoulder pain are two of the "lifestyle physical ailments" that Forrest yoga aims to address, and based on the one class I took, I would say it did its job. Erica placed a lot of importance on breathing and alignment and that helped me get more out of this class than I initially thought going into it.

The Good:
1. Instructor: Great instructor who knew exactly what she was doing, gave great cues and was watchful of the clients' alignment.
2. Studio: Beautiful space offering tons of classes with umpteen different yoga styles to choose from.
3 Location: Being on 86th street it is easily accessible by both subway and bus.

The Not-so-Good:
1. No Drop-in classes: Pure Yoga is membership-only. For someone like me who likes to drop in for the occasional class, this is not ideal. However, if yoga is your thing, getting a membership would be worthwhile.
2. Music: My Forrest yoga class was music-less. This is a personal preference and I prefer music.
3. Slow pace: While I appreciated the slow pace and poses held for long periods, I think I still prefer the faster-paced vinyasa style.

Overall:
Pure Yoga East is a great studio offering many different styles of yoga. While Forrest Yoga was a little slow for me I did appreciate feeling more elongated and calm after the class. There was also temporary relief of the neck and shoulder pain I deal with daily (constantly having a baby attached to your hip does that to you...). Additionally, my instructor was great- she was knowledgeable and provided a lot of hands-on corrections. Since yoga is not something I practice regularly, obtaining a membership would not be worthwhile for me.  However, I left feeling taller,with my neck long and my shoulders pressed back, and that has made me reconsider the back-seat yoga has taken in my life, and because of that I am glad I tried something I ordinarily would not have.