CorePower Yoga

I love cpy. It’s a great way to tone and lean out. This is a great location. The instructors are awesome and the view is meditative and gorgeous.

I’ve been going here on and off for 6 months via class pass. They have a basic vinyasa hot yoga class that works great in a pinch, but I do find that it can be very touch or go based on the teachers. There isn’t a lot of consistency and it can be frustrating how different the same class is week to week.
The locker rooms are great and there are a ton of showers and sinks. The studios are consistently heated and everyone is very friendly.

Love this studio, the instructor was fantastic, beautiful space, pretty cool view from the top. I love all core power studios but this is one of my favorites!

I visited this studio while visiting Chicago, my experience was beyond amazing! I often find yoga culture to be somewhat elitist and made it 28 years without trying a class. Today I was blown away. The team was warm, welcoming and greeted me with open arms. I love that the instructor was at the desk and knew it was my first time upon entering the class; she provided guidance, support and gave a little push when needed. I love that this studio locks the door before people can be late to class. Lateness in any boutique exercise environment creates such a distraction for other users and I was soo please to see that this studio respects the time of those who show up early/​on time. I wish I could clone this studio and take it to NYC! Thank you for a great experience!

0 stars!!! They locked the door before the class even started and I couldn’t get in. They obviously have a list of people who have signed up. This has never happened at other core power locations before. It’s super strange. And the cleaning lady was incredibly rude.
I would not go back here.

I wanted to try yoga to exercise so I found this location. Signing up was really easy an the first week is free. I took Ciara’s class in a heated room. Man, did I sweat so much! Afterwards, I felt energized and relaxed. I had a great time and I’m actually heading back today!

I’ve been going to Corepower for years and years! first as a free week trial in Minneapolis (was visiting a friend and it was amazing), then when they first opened in Chicago’s gold coast (went there for 1 year but quickly this location lost its soul, not my crowd); then after moving to the South loop, and having had back surgery, I started going to this location (South loop) for a whole year and half. After all this time, no one knew my name there yet I made it to class at least 2 or 3 times a week. Anyways, what I liked about core (and why i stuck with it) was the good instructors and class-​times being offered every day. It gives you a lot of flexibility when trying to fit it into your daily schedule. This location is nice but a bit worn down, and far from train, I either walked from printer’s row or took the roosevelt bus. If you’re driving there is free parking.
To my opinion, it doesn’t really matter if you’re taking a C1 or C2, what matters is who’s teaching it at the time, there is a lot of variation in how difficult a class can be according to instructor. There were some classes that despite being labeled C2 were a snooze fest. I particularly liked the classes with Anna C, Juan and Tanya who were all there at the time I was going to core; they’re toughies but goodies, but they weren’t always a good schedule fit for me sadly.
All and all it is a good studio with good instructors and consistent class schedules, I guess I would have liked it to be more inviting and community oriented, and that wasn’t the experience for me there… which brings me to my next review…

Love this studio! Very clean, great instructors, great class times for those of us that have crazy retail hours.

Someone always smells like ASS in these classes. They kill my vibe! Goshdarnit people, wear deodorant, I am trying to breathe next to you! Eat a breath mint if you plan on exhaling loudly!
Gross experience, ewwww!!! Never coming back.

I love this corepower studio. They offer a ton of classes and it is very convenient to park at. The studio is beautiful and has a great ambiance to it. Our room this morning even had a fire place! All of the instructors have been exceptional but if you’re really trying to find your inner peace take Ken J’s class. He’s wonderful. Highly recommended

Okay ya’ll…I’ve been practicing yoga for well over 5 years now; I go through phases, and because of this, I have tried many studios in Chicago. I’ve tried hot yoga, regular yoga, work-​out yoga, and all of the studios, corepower takes the cake for several reasons.
1) you don’t have to pre-​register for classes, allowing for flexibility in scheduling. Some places, such as bikram yoga, require you to sign up 24 hrs in advance. If you cancel your class, they subtract a day from your package. Sometimes I get out of work a bit late, and can’t make it to the class I signed up for. This is the case for alot of gyms.
2)free parking at the roosevelt location. chicago school of yoga/​bikram yoga/​in motion yoga, all of these do not have parking, or you have to pay an additional 2 dollars/​hr for parking and walk in the freezing cold to the studio which is a deterrant itself in getting to class!
3)class times — there are many class times/​options to choose from, again allowing for flexibility.
4)awesome music during the work out — some people dont like this, but I prefer to have music in the background bc it gets me pumped up and helps distract me a little from me pouring sweat/​getting tired.
5) great view of the city while working out.
6) nice facilities.
If you’re thinking about trying it out, try the free one week unlimited. Corepower is expensive, which is why I have hesitated to join again. After exploring different options though, I really do feel like it is the best hot yoga experience in the city.
You leave feeling great, refreshed, and having gotten a good workout.
Just join!

Confession: I found this place by searching for free yoga in Chicago. They offer a free intro week that applies to any CorePower location — which seems to be a nice enough bit of flexibility (oh look, a pun), until you realize that this yoga chain is HUGE! If Unilocal allowed HTML in reviews, I’d be putting that in font size 200. The Denver-​based company was originally founded in 2002, but for better or worse now has locations throughout the Chicago metro, all the way to California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Texas, etc.
Membership means access to ANY CorePower studio.
During a recent stay in Chicago, I tried this location (W Roosevelt Rd) along with the one in Old Orchard (
). Note that this is NOT the «West Loop» location — it’s «South Loop.» Because of frequent confusion, the West and South Loop locations unofficially stagger their class times so you can still get into a class even if you looked up the wrong schedule online. My friend and I showed up 16 minutes «early» to a class only to realize we were really only 1 minute early.
If you do yoga for any spiritual aspect, CorePower is probably the last place you should try. Since it’s a huge chain focusing on heated «power» yoga, the practice is pretty standardized. CorePower Level 1 (at Old Orchard) used more advanced poses than I would expect — or recommend — a total beginner class to offer, and I was worried for my friend. I also didn’t love that poses were held for only brief moments. Still, it was a decent class, though only moderately sweaty with the temperature kept near room temperature during the summer. The instructor came around with cold lavender-​scented towels and placed them over our closed eyes during savasana, which was amazing.
CorePower Level 2 (at South Loop) was in a legit hot room, with a gas fireplace embedded in the wall burning away. The large room was again mostly empty (since we had limited our visits to weekday afternoons). Again, poses were not held for very long, but the sequences were much more rigorous. Unlike many power yoga classes I’ve tried, CorePower’s fast pace seems less like an intentional style, and more something that gets in the way of proper form.
Both studios have a modern gym feel and great facilities: friendly desk staff; clean, large, fully equipped locker rooms; plenty of showers with shampoo/​conditioner/​shower gel. Towels and mats are practically brand new, and free to borrow on your first visit ($ 2 each thereafter). Since the South Loop location is actually a separate little «building» on the rooftop of a mall parking structure, you get 360 degree views of the concrete of Chicago all around you. Also, tons of free parking. Old Orchard also has tons of free parking since the studio is located within a large shopping complex.
3 stars for the yoga, avalanche of brownie points for the convenience factor.

I like Core Power Yoga but it’s a little annoying that the app does not work and has not worked in a long time. What’s up?

PRO’s– The studio and locker rooms are beautiful and comfortable to practice in. For those who drive, parking is free and plentiful. Skyline view is AMAZING. There are plenty of classes to choose from. The reason I will keep going to Core Power over other yoga studios is because I can go at 6am before work, park without a problem, and shower and go straight to work. Other studios do not have this set up.
Favorite instructors so far are Dominika, Katya, and Jim.
CON’s– The early morning classes are way too hot with the rising sun streaming through the east facing windows. They really need shades for these classes. I can only make the early classes so this is extra uncomfortable. Also, some of the instructors seem inexperienced, while others are incredible. It’s really a mixed bag. I personally didn’t like the yoga sculpt class. What a hot, loud mess. You couldn’t hear anything the instructor said over the blasting music, which made most of my effort go into figuring out what I was supposed to be doing, not actually doing the sequence. Lastly, I wish they didn’t push teacher training so much.
Overall, this is a beautiful studio with a convenient schedule and parking. I love love love the locker rooms! If they just put up some shades, I could look past the occasional bad instructor and the pushy teacher training.

I read an article recently that said that yoga rebuilds neurons that have been destroyed by stress. That’s why I’m here. Too much work related stress and I need my neurons if I’m going to grow to be a happy centenarian.
Seriously though I really do enjoy the classes here. I love yoga but I don’t do heat. I never thought I’d be able to handle the heated rooms but I’m addicted! It feels so good to sweat out all those toxins. The best feeling ever. Better than wine or any delicious dish. Promise! I’ve tried the C1 class, the Hot Fusion and the Sculpt! I love all three. And they have high quality instructors and sub teachers. I’m so enchanted with hot yoga that I dream of the day when i can become a hot yoga teacher (in a hot room). lol. If I could live my life giving yoga classes I would be the happiest person on the planet. Someday. Nothing is impossible!!!

It was my first time every doing Hot yoga, I took the hot fusion yoga class or whatever its called and OMG. As a first timer I was completely amazed just by the kindness and helpfulness and just outright joy that the teachers had. It is nice and refreshing to see. Just waling through the door, it was clean and neat. The locker rooms were exceptional clean. Which is truly a plus.
Now on to the studio, as I walked in, I could feel the heat smacking me dead in my face. I never experience hot yoga before so this was a shock. You go in and look for a spot and basically wait on class to start. Since I was new, I really had no clue what to do but I didn’t want to bother anyone because everyone seemed to be relaxing and in a zone and so forth. Once the teacher walked in she proceeded to turn the heat up some more. OMG it felt like the desert in there. I do not know how high the heat was but I was sweating and not even moving yet!!! Anyway class proceeded and of course I had no idea what I was doing so I just tried to do everything that everyone else was doing. Guess it should that I was new and the teacher was more then helpful in trying to position me and my stiff limbs in the appropriate way. Which I was truly thankful for, I don’t want to do the moves incorrectly and I am there to learn. I have taken only two classes so far and I must say all of the teachers that I have meet so far are extremely helpful. I love that and appreciate it so much.
I am planning to continue practicing. I truly enjoyed this location and have nothing bad to say. Keep it up.

OK, I admit it, I love CPY and I really love this location. I have been going to CPY for over a year now (about 5 – 6 days a week). I have been to I think 8 or 9 of the Chicago locations. I love the fact that there are so many locations near by. Makes it really easy to find a class that works into my schedule. Although, like anything, I like some teachers more than others, I do have to say that most of my teacher experiences and interactions have been very positive.
I really like the hot style of yoga. I like the way my body heats up and gets loose. I always feel amazing after class, often spent but always good. I do the monthly unlimited. If you are going use CPY a lot as I do, its a pretty good deal. I think my cost per visit is like $ 6.00 or something like that.
Great views from the studios and free parking in the city is a great plus.

I got hooked on Core Power awhile back but had only gone to the Lakeview location. I finally talked my boyfriend into going with me and we gave South Loop a try.
The class was a C1 class, which I had taken before, however, even as a seasoned C2 client, I was struggling. Most the students in the class were brand new and were obviously struggling. People were falling left and right, frustrated, looking upset (my boyfriend and guy to my left included) but the teacher didn’t seem to mind. She hardly explained the poses, moved along very quickly and just seemed like she wanted to get it over with. Honestly, one of the worst instructors I’ve ever encountered in my entire life.
To make matters worse, I attempted to contact either the 800 number and reach out to the manager at the studio but with no response. It’s kind of turned me off to Core Power in general and my boyfriend refuses to ever returned.

Great things about Core Power:
SO many locations — makes it easy to meet up with friends in any neighborhood to enjoy a class of yoga together
Variety of classes and (good) instructors — They know what they are doing and are friendly
Facilities — Ladies rooms and exercise rooms are clean, organized, and welcoming. Certain locations have free parking right near the front door, which in the dead of winter is wonderful.
Music — Love the up-​beat music when we are in Hot Yoga Sculpt!
The ONLY negative feedback is one too cool for school instructor named Danny who my friends and I have witnessed on multiple locations berating CorePower members and staff. It’s uncomfortable.
Other than that one individual, my friends and I love CorePower and continue to enjoy the variety of classes and the good instructors!
Cheers

I just finished my free week here, and I really enjoyed it. The instructors were very helpful and kind. They did a good job of making you feel welcomed and didn’t look down their noses at beginners.
Their schedule really works for me, and I love that it’s close to my house and has free parking. The studio itself is very nice. There’s a great sitting area with modern couches to hang out before class and a fireplace. The studios are new and have large windows with panoramic views of the city. One thing I don’t like is that after particularly sweaty clases, they don’t clean the floors. I think they do if there’s time, but when classes are stacked, you feel really ick when a cloud of vapor is coming off the people coming out of the class knowing you have to go in there.
I’m debating whether I want to spend the money for a membership or not. I really enjoy class there and how convenient it is, but it’s a good amount of cash to pony up.