Anchorage Yoga

I love the quality of teaching. I feel like I have the space to practice to the best of my ability, while being fully supported, but also challenged by the teachers. I also really like the physical space, it was very thoughtfully planned out.

The instructors are awesome. Check in staff are super friendly. I like the whole experience from the time I arrive to the time I leave.

Beautiful, spacious, modern studio with friendly staff and teachers. Modern, well-​appointed locker rooms and showers. Great studio!

I was excited to find somewhere in Alaska where I could practice Bikram yoga. I purchased a one month pass. The first class I tried was Hot Flow. I found it difficult to follow as there was no instruction on poses whatsoever and I spent my time trying to see what everyone else was doing. But the worst part was that the two girls next to me felt the need to talk the whole time, criticizing the instructor. My next class was Bikram which I know by heart. But it’s not true Bikram. The room is supposed to be heated AND humidified but they didn’t have any humidification. And the instructor messed up a couple of poses. I went in early to quiet my mind, relax and adjust to the heat. But the other yogis were talking loudly in the room. Every studio I’ve been to has kept the room a «Quiet Zone.» I found this very disruptive and detrimental to my practice. I couldn’t even go back and finish out the month. It’s a beautiful studio, but poorly run.

I am IN LOVE with this place! I have been going to Anchorage Yoga for over 5 years now and I haven’t found one studio or instructors that I like better! I’ve taken yoga classes all over the US and Anchorage Yoga just feels like home to me.
Anchorage Yoga has changed my body and my mind. I suffer from extreme ADD and coming to a yoga class helps keep my mind clear and connected to my body.
Whether you are brand new to the practice or a seasoned yogi, this place is for you!

I have now been attending AY for a year and joined their cycle studio as well. Since then I have noticed a lot more interaction with staff and customers in a positive way. It also appears there has been a change in front desk management. Whatever it is, the hype is positive, friendly, clean, modern, and it’s still my favorite place to practice hot yoga. Some of the classes are fuller and you won’t receive as much attention or adjustments (if that’s what you like) verses the smaller classes. They still do a lot of teacher trainings and travel outside AK for further knowledge. I haven’t been to any of the newer instructors, I just stick to my favorite teachers. And I believe that’s the moral, just stick to what you like, persevere, and your face will become a familiar and likable one.

I like that with zero yoga experience I was able to walk in and feel like I was welcome and never once felt out of place or awkward.

Looking for a studio with the worse possible customer service?- then this is the place for you!
I’ll split this review into two parts–
First, the instructors are great– Melissa, Rick, Patrick, Allison and David– I really enjoyed their classes. Melissa encourages you to push yourself and I appreciated that.
Now the second part– I don’t like to give bad reviews, but I also didn’t like how a situation was handled here. After a late Bikram class, I had changed and left my yucky workout clothes in a bag in the locker room, honest mistake. I called as soon as I got home and spoke to Kristin, how told me it would be fine to come in the next day to grab them. Around noon the next day I stop in and Nicole said yes, they were in the back. She returned with my top, but my $ 80 pants were nowhere to be found. Nicole called Kristin, who said that she had put both in to the washer and dryer together. This really bothered me, as these weren’t cheap. Nicole gives me the managers name, I call later in the day and leave a message. Amanda, the manager called the next day, says she’s asked around, doesn’t know what else to do. I inform her that I would like the pants replaced– I was told they were both there together, a replacement is fair. She gets back to be a couple days later, and nope, nothing else she can do, they have never had a situation like this before, and any expensive gear they make sure to leave behind the front desk. Yet, another girl working with Nicole the day I came to get my clothes tells me after a class, she had left an expensive top behind the desk only to come in a few days later and it was gone. Huh. Amanda goes on to tell me that Kristin must have misspoken, those obviously weren’t my clothes, ect. I had two weeks left on my yoga pass, and I told Amanda I felt very uncomfortable returning, after the theft and her way of handling this situation. She replies back with a curt «sorry you feel that way.»
Yes, I am sorry– sorry that I no longer have a place to practice Bikram, sorry I was screwed out of my remaining yoga pass, sorry that I took the staff at their word, and sorry someone was that spiteful to steal something that wasn’t theirs.
Very upsetting and strange situation, with the conflicting stories I received from the staff here at Anchorage Yoga.
Update: The day after I posted this review, one of the staff members, Rachel, called me. She apologized for the frustration I felt with the situation and assured me should my leggings show up she would let me know immediately. She also offered a free week of classes, which I did decline, but appreciated her reaching out.
**NEW** (1÷20÷16)
I received a very nice email from one of the owners, Joshua Love. He had been out of town and when he return he became aware of this situation and offered not only to replace my pants but five free classes as well. I was very impressed and pleaded with the way this was handled, thank you so much!

I’ve been practicing at Anchorage Yoga for several years now and there is no better studio or instructors. It’s more than a studio. AY is a community. The instructors are knowledgeable, helpful, and are 100% present during class, focused on helping everyone with where they are in their practice. There are a variety of classes and the studio is supportive of all students at all levels. There are also offerings and programs that other studios in town do not have. Also, The AY app is easy to use and I’ve never not gotten into a class. Often, I’ll have to sign up for the waitlist, but with the app, you receive notice once you’ve been moved into the class. The studio space is warm, welcoming, and importantly very clean. I traveled to Costa Rica recently where I took yoga daily at a renowned yoga institute, and the instructors there were not as good as the teachers at AY. Anchorage is fortunate to have a studio of this quality!

Pissed that they changed their «late cancel policy» if you don’t book a week ahead of time then you can’t get into the classes but then if something comes up you must cancel 2 hours before hand which is fine. They used to charge you 10 $ if you had a late cancel, AND the class was full. Now the policy is they charge you 10 $ no matter what. I’m sorry, what? I got it when it was based on the class being full, you are taking away from money they could have made if some one else would’ve been able to go. But on top of my 100 $ membership I am getting charged for a class that isn’t full.
Money hungry is what I call that. Anchorage Yoga has become the big box store of yoga studios and yet they charge the same that studios that give you smaller classes and more attention do.
Definitely switching to Dharma next month, a yoga membership shouldn’t add stress to your life.

The app, the teachers, the staff, the décor, the music — wow wow wow! LOVE it!

I’ve been practicing yoga for over ten years and I’m happy with Anchorage yoga. I get challenged, although I prefer a variety and new asanas every class, and find some practitioners get stuck doing the same set of asanas. I’ve been coming to AY since they opened about 5 years ago. Every yoga studio is different, in fact, every teacher is different. As a lifelong Alaskan, yet well traveled and educated, Anchorage needs and wants AY. Their schedule begins at 6am and their last class typically BEGINS at 8:45pm with classes going on all day long. For Alaska weather, it is a pleasure to walk into a hot room. For those that have reviewed poorly on heat or cleanliness, the heat helps my body warm up from this cold climate and there’s a lady I see almost daily cleaning the place. I feel Shavasana should be longer as I feel it’s the most important time we can enter into meditation if guided correctly and come out blissful. All in all, I love this place because it gets people in and gets us sweating, it’s not for granola yogis that like to judge. I’m one that adores the calm of life and meditation but I also love AY with their hot rooms, energy, and classes. I recommend trying AY.

I’m not into bikram but the align and refine is the best yoga I’ve done since I was 15. Anne is very informative and helpful especially when you have a particular need or injury. I pulled a muscle and I hadn’t been able to do a downward dog again untill her class. She always makes me feel important and I leave feeling like I actually learned something. In a town where a most yoga leaves a lot to be desired anchorage yoga delivers! I bought a pass making classes only 13 $!! Love it! Thanks Anne for being so awesome!

Anchorage Yoga is a fabulous studio! They have wonderful experienced instructors, great classes to choose from and a very nice facility.

This place is a total waste of time and money for advanced practitioners.
I’ve practiced yoga daily for the past 7 years– I mainly practice jivamukti, with a mix of vinyasa and ashtanga. I would characterize my practice as intermediate-​advanced. I’m mostly familiar with the NYC and DC yoga scene. I’m in Anchorage for a year and have yet to find a decent studio – I’ve been practicing daily at home, but found myself really missing the community feel of a studio. I was also worried that I would be rusty once I’m back in my Manhattan home studio. So I set out to try the studios in Anchorage. I left this one for last because I’ve noticed that the people most obnoxious about the fact that they «practice yoga» are members here– a sure sign that a studio has no grounding in yogic philosophy. That said, I went into my 30-​day trial with an open mind.
Long story short, today was the last day of my trial, and I didn’t even bother to go in. Three major issues with this place:
1. As one of the other reviewers said, this place is more hot than yoga. Like most hot yoga studios, they use the heat to trick people into thinking that they are more flexible than they are. They also use it to make people think that the class was more rigorous than it actually was. There is absolutely no need for heat when you have a good teacher and an intense practice. I’ve sweat more in unheated jivamukti classes in NYC than I did here, in a 95-​degree room.
2. The asanas are extremely limited. Their most «advanced» class, Power Om, would be an upper-​beginner class at best in the NYC scene. The other classes are entirely designed for those brand new to yoga. And even in terms of introductory asanas, the ones they teach are extremely limited. I attended nearly 20 classes and not once did any teacher cue for malasana (so you can forget about bakasana entirely). Even worse, when I moved into advanced variations, some teachers actually got offended and told me not to do it. So much for the idea that each person’s practice is his/​her own. During the weeks where I forced myself to go in more often, this place actually stunted my practice. I had to come back home and practice for an additional 2 hours just to keep pushing myself forward.
3. The teachers lack a fundamental understanding of yoga philosophy. The classes are entirely devoid of any type of spirituality. The most spiritual element here is the muttering of a namaste at the end of class. Worse, the longest savasana here spanned a meager 1 minutes. Most savasanas last 30 seconds. It seems like they cue for it just to go through the motions. The kundalini teacher here is the closest they come to an actual yoga teacher (but that class, again, incorporated very limited asanas)– she actually seems to understand that yoga is actually designed for meditation, unlike everyone else at this place.
This studio is the quintessence of American bastardization of yoga. If you are a white woman brand new to yoga, and if you are mostly interested in wearing Lululemon, doing some easy stretches, and telling people you «practice yoga,» you will love this place. Advanced yoginis need not apply.

In Anchorage for a business trip and decided to give this studio a try. The customer service was amazing, the audio was modern, clean and accommodating for a large hot yoga class. I would be a regular if I was a local! Thanks for the amazing class!!! :)

This my first time in a yoga studio. I attended the 8am Bikram class with Melanie. They greet you as you enter and are so kind. I was introduced to the instructor since they saw that I was new. A mat is provided for you your first time if you don’t have one. The class was amazing. I loved that she knew a lot of the class members’ names and she even remembered the few first timers that were in the class. Melanie gives out endless reminders and pointers through the class so it almost feels like it’s a personal session.
I also used the ladies room to shower. It was very clean and provided blow dryers, curling irons, a few tampons, and there is Dove shampoo and conditioner and body wash in all the showers. I even enjoyed their selection of music.
I’ve heard others say that $ 18 for a drop-​in price is steep but others have said that it’s because it’s a higher end studio. There’s another one that has a $ 10 drop in and I’ll try them before deciding on that.
I say give them a try and see for yourself.

The studio isnt cleaned properly, the bathrooms are very dirty. The cancellation policy on your subscription is highly inconvenient and illogical. I would go to another yoga studio if I were you.

It’s irritating to see that most bad reviews are from people who only have one review out there. That usually just tells me they have a grudge against the particular establishment.
As far as AY is concerned, I’ve been going there for over a year & have never encountered a dirty situation. I see one of the cleaning ladies all the time, the bathrooms are immaculate, the showers are clean, & the instructors always wipe down the rooms after class. Needless to say, the place is clean. I can’t say much about the cancellation policy because I haven’t been in that situation. The bad-​dirty reviews on here strike me as grudge reviews or reviews from people from other studios.

I live in New York City and have taken classes at a lot of different studios there. Anchorage Yoga is completely on par with the best of those studios; I only wish NYC would adopt the prices! $ 108/​month is truly a steal for unlimited. I’m also loving the new studio. Well done!