Iyengar Yoga Institute of Brooklyn

This is an amazing yoga studio and the teachers are all really good. I love this place still. That is my update.
If you are new to classes here, try a few different teachers before you make up your mind. They are consistent in the poses they cover in each level, but everyone has a unique teaching style.

My first time trying Iyengar. I tried the Gentle class and the instructor (Richard?) was really great. Some of the previous comments had me worried. However I did not have that experience. I found the location to very convenient. The studio to be very nice and clean. The instructor to be very knowledgable, patient and kind. The practice was gentle indeed and both impressed and helped me. I found the props fun to use. Would love to return in the future with my husband.

I go mostly for Kavi Patel’s classes– he’s patient and explains everything beautifully, has a good sense of humor. He’s also sort of a genius about using the right words and a guiding hand to show you where your form is going wrong. (years of yoga and he’s the first to help me figure out why my ribs drop during downward dog!) I love Iyengar, too, because I’m very stiff and the practice is so focused on going slow, opening up the muscles gradually, and getting the form just right. I train for marathons and I usually go to Kavi after a long run– a 90 minute class flies by and at the end, my legs feel no pain. I’d go again and see another teacher for sure.

I’ve been going to the NYC location for over 10 years and am now happy to have one super close to my neighborhood in Flatbush. I love all the instructors, who are extremely trained, qualified, rich in their depth of knowledge and depth of teaching methods. The space is excellent, too. Warm, open, inviting.
That said, I sometimes find the Iyengar method is too persnickety, when all I want to do is decompress and get my blood flowing and mind cleared out. I have to think all day at work, don’t always feel like doing that much in my yoga studio. But I find this method a perfect counterpart to your mainstream hatha; it will definately deepen your practice and understanding of yoga.

What a disappointment. I was hoping to improve and refine my practice at this convenient location. Well, I gave it four classes (level 1) Four different teachers. Two were so outright mean and nasty that my jaw dropped. That is not an asana that I know of. Despite my years of yoga, my 62 years old hamstrings are just not going to do certain things. These teachers berated me for not trying hard enough and encouraging me to risk serious injury. Teacher three was just new, inexperienced and incapable of conducting a class. Teacher four was the real eye-​opener. He was perfect. attentive, helpful, encouraging, inspiring… but he was just covering for someone. He is a Manhattan teacher and doesn’t come to Brooklyn regularly.

While this is a lovely studio, I was very put off by my experience — both with the greeting staff and in the actual class — and would not return.
I went with a friend who had purchased a 3-​class pass. Upon arriving, she was told her pass was only good for 30 days and had expired. She explained that she was told clearly she had 90 days to use the pass, and while the receptionist acknowledged that she was given incorrect information, she refused to honor the pass. So — we each paid $ 25, which is the drop-​in rate. Listen, mistakes happen — but I think it’s important to show respect to your customers. It would have been super easy to say «Hey, we made a mistake. You can include today’s class in the pass.»
The class itself was underwhelming, and I didn’t appreciate that the teacher used the phrases «Don’t do that» and «Never do that» throughout. At one point, she asked students to «look at your neighbor and see if you can go further,» which in my mind, goes against what yoga is about — listening to and respecting your own body and its limits.
I love practicing yoga and usually really enjoy experiencing new classes and teachers, but this was truly a disappointment.

Amazing, Coretta «Cory» was wonderful at building the class from the ground up. I felt like I was getting a private class with the amount of detail and personal interaction I received. So much gratitude.

Same awesome teachers from the institute in Manhattan, so if you’re interested in the Iyengar method you’ll find some of the best yoga teachers in NY. They’re all super qualified from years of training/​certification so as a beginner I really feel safe in class.
It’s smaller than the NYC flagship so classes tend to feel more intimate
They each have different styles so it’s worth it to shop around before giving up.
From my own experience– some explanations by teachers just resonate with certain students more than others

It’s fine. The one instructor I had was good, though she did not explain enough what we were doing and what we should feel as we were doing it, which would be helpful for an intro series.
Staff is much less helpful. If you miss a class from an intro series because you are sick they will not give you a chance to make up for it in another intro series, and no gesture is offered to make up for it in terms of $$… so be warned.

I am so glad that the Iyengar Yoga Institute opened this Brooklyn location. Not only am I a huge fan of the Iyengar style of Yoga, but the studio space is beautiful and even has air conditioners. All the instructors are extremely knowledgable and will work with you if you have an injury or area you want help with.