Yoga Room

This is still my favorite studio. Try Richard Rosen’s Monday night class. It’s got plenty of room and you can put your mat next to mine!

So far, so good!
I recently signed up for intro to yoga, yup, I am a newbie, for the most part.
I was delighted with my first class. The class size was small, the atmosphere mellow and the instructor (Ben Flowers) was polite and helpful.
This is only the beginning of my journey, but I have high hopes about what it can do for me; balancing my other workout routines and my overall mental and physical well-​being.
Shout-​out to their instructor Jim Stockton for advising me and recommending Ben’s intro class.
THANKS!!!

My therapist, who has been long Iyengar trained, recommended and she’s right, the instructor I tried is very experienced. I like the space, nice and big, never too packed and older crowds. The teaching is very hands-​on which is well needed for my specific body issues. They don’t aggressively advertise or try to put you on the email list and ask for feedback, etc, either.

I love it here!
I’ve only experienced one instructor, who’s been teaching here for a good while and graduated from their program. She is amazing. I take a beginner level Iyengar style class, and the class is wonderful for the following reasons. This has been my experience for the last 9 months:
— Classes never feel crowded because the room is large
— They provide all equipment, but I chose to bring my own mat. I’m grateful for everything else they have: foam and cork blocks, wonderful thick wool blankets, etc
— The class is very reasonable cost when you buy in sets of 8 classes
— Instructor was warm and welcoming on my first day, and she always is
— Instructor walks around to every single person to do additional stretches to your body, like a massage. It feels AWESOME.
— Instructor has accurate, very helpful knowledge of anatomy; I really appreciate being told/​taught this technical part about yoga
— The classes are structured to build on top of each other… so it’s like you’re taking a long course with classmates. But, don’t worry, even if you miss a week or two or three (I’ve done all of that), you will totally be able to keep up with the pace and work being done.
— They DO NOT play distracting background music during class — I actually really dislike background music during yoga. Here, we just listen to the wind outside, or birds, or sometimes cars honking. Whatever!
— My classmates happen to be much older (women), and I really enjoy being surrounded by awesome women role models, who just have great, happy attitudes. I can tell they don’t sweat the small crap that young people (40 and younger) tend to worry about, and I appreciate that.
Because I’m taking a beginner level class, it’s a bit slower, but this is precisely as I like it. The instructor provides detailed suggestions if you want to take it a step further. She’s quick to notice anyone who needs help, and is so so kind.
In my 9 months of practice, I feel my body is stronger, with better posture. The benefits are awesome! I also like the 1.5 hour classes.
My long story short: this place is gentle, educational, and transformative. Try them out!
Oh, one tip: always bring your belongings into the classroom with you. There’s been petty theft along this area on San Pablo, and the thieves are so brazen they will walk into the Yoga Room and steal shoes, wallets, etc left out in the hallway, or unsupervised rooms!

For such a yoga town, Berkeley has a real dearth of Iyengar classes, but this gap is neatly filled by The Yoga Room. The Yoga Room offers an all Iyengar curriculum in a quiet space with white washed walls, raftered ceilings and broad skylights. The instruction is classic Iyengar — hyper-​detailed, alignment heavy with ample usage of props. Come here for a respite from your usual fast-​paced sweaty Vinyasa flow or for a restorative that’s not going to put you to sleep. A session of Iyengar can sometimes be better than five with a chiropractor, and you’ll discover parts of your body you’ll be convinced can’t possibly exist. Gay White’s classes are sweet and nourishing and Ada Lusardi somehow manages to keep you smiling even as you enter your 20^th inhale in Warrior Two.

I’ve taken a couple of classes here. They are very well-​respected and several regular yoga instructors I work with were trained here. But I do feel like they cater to yoga instructors rather than «regular» students and it’s a little cliquish.
I often go to new yoga studios — using the Prana Passport or some other coupon — and most studios have friendly people greeting you and acclimating you to the studio. Not so at Yoga Room. You have to find your own way around the different rooms.

Beautiful space, beautiful practice. Gay White is as good as it gets when it comes to leading a group through poses. Simple, pure, serene and lovely are the words that come to mind when I think about my experiences at the Yoga Room.

I have to agree with the person about Mary Lou. I hesitate to share any negativity, but I have a very similar experience. I could fee that the material was fantastic (Iyengar) and that Mary Lou is very well versed in it; however she was very, very touchy — irritable that I arrived late; never smiled, got annoyed when I asked about the bathroom. I am surprised that after all these years of yoga she does not embody more of the emotional equanimity that yoga is meant to bring a person. I’ll go back to the class because of the physical benefits, but I’d go elsewhere if I could find a more kind teacher.

I guess I will the sole somewhat-​dissenting view, but only on the basis of what I like out of a yoga class & instructor. Here are my thoughts:
The class I attended was a level 1 – 3 (I’m probably a level 1.5). I could instantly tell that everyone in the room (the 9:15am Saturday class with Mary Lou Weprin) had been going to this particular class with this instructor for a very long time. One woman even told me she had been practicing w/​Mary Lou for 25 years! I think that says a lot. But for a new student… it just didn’t pan out.
As a new student to the class I didn’t feel very welcome by the teacher (how am I to know that my bag isn’t allowed on the floor in the corner?) The real difficulty with this was that the instructions were almost always along the lines of «Ok, now do your beginning stretch», or «Ok, now do this», without much explanation of what any of that means (i.e. what is «this»?) For an Iyengar class I expected more on alignment and proper form and explanations, but that was spotty, if existent at all. I nearly walked out ten minutes in out of frustration.
But back to the positives: the studio is clean, the classmates are friendly, and the instructor clearly knows what she’s doing as far as anatomy. But, maybe she knows too well what she’s doing, and needs to remember that new people are being brave by showing up to a class in the first place, and that getting no instruction or barked at isn’t a way to ensure that someone returns.

Exceptional yoga teachers in an exceptionally lovely space. My particular favorite: Sarah Means’ Tuesday evening class: 6 to 7:30. Sarah is a gifted, experienced teacher.

Nice studio, fabulous teachers– shout out to Ada Lusardi, she is an amazing teacher

I used to have a hard time saying «NO!» let alone, «HELL, no!» to friends who offered things that I thought were repugnant, repulsive, useless or just plain suspect — if the offer was made with sincerity and a beaming face.
JEEZ, the things THAT little weakness got me into.
The Yoga Room trip is one of the few things for which I will forever owe a debt of gratitude to both the friend who invited me with so much sincerity and enthusiasm as well as the weakness that made me want to get it over with a quickly as possible.
I now go to the Yoga Room for meditation classes with Tenshin Reb Anderson as often as the budget allows. The classes are wonderful — I’ll review them separately.
The Yoga Room itself is just much of what I love about Berkeley all in one spot. It’s one of the ill-​est of the chill zones in my world.
I know they have yoga for mamas-​to be because they’re generally coming out as we’re headed in to sit zazen. Flyers indicate all kinds of bendy-​stretchiness going on, different levels of experience, depths of exploration and study. I don’t have time to go but would if I could. Donald Moyer runs the Yoga Room and is part of the group I sit with. A kind, gentle, knowledgeable man.
Wood, wood and more wood, The Yoga Room is housed in one of those dark shingled buildings I used to fantasize about growing up an owning.
While some might kvetch about the ‘noise’ during meditation, it’s kind of what I love best. Downstairs, ballet classes are going on, so there’s generally some sort of interesting classical music rising up through the floor boards as the instructor calls and cajoles the dancers into motion and posture. Murmurs and laughter of children drift up both from outside the building as well as from within. (Yeah, sometime it can be a little distracting, but mostly it’s like a massage for the spirit)
Huge old tree branches sway green just outside the windows of our second story perch and suddenly I’m just a passing thought chillin in the mind of Buddha.

I have been going to the Yoga Room for 10 years and I always walk out of my class feeling like I’ve just had a massage. They have over 30 classes in Iyengar-​style yoga, as well as series and single workshops in back care, breathing, meditation, pilates, and home practice. They also have an advanced studies program for people who want to train as yoga teachers. My favorite teacher is Barbara Papini, whose (levels 1 – 3) classes are both gentle and challenging. It’s a stress-​free class where students of various levels can work side by side. I’ve found it ‘s improved my balance, flexibility and strength.
The setting is a beautiful room with high ceilings with redwood beams and wooden floors and walls. The building was designed by the reknown Craftsman architect, Julia Morgan back in 1908, and also houses a theater and ballet school.

Beautiful space in an old Julia Morgan building (the Julia Morgan Center, actually).