CorePower Yoga – Walnut Street

First time Yoga. Well, not exactly but pretty much, cause it’s been years. Somewhat warm room and it’s always intimidating stepping into any new class and frankly learning anything is humiliating. Try Social Dancing lessons if you doubt it. But the class was paced so well and the instructor was off the charts good (don’t know her name, but she was a powerful petite little patient teacher).
They have levels, which is great. The first is T-​1 and it’s a really good hard workout so I’m guessing those at the top levels are really really in shape.
It’s def worth trying, the first week is free right now so…

Went to their free, one-​month anniversary Glow Sculpt class on Wednesday night. It was super crowded (because it was free!) but the staff were really friendly and accomodating and tried to make sure that everyone had a spot/​mat/​water/​etc.
The fire alarm went off for a while, which sucked, but Nanci, the manager, did a great job calmly keeping us informed and when the issue had dissipated she and Danielle got everyone’s energy back up and us right into class!
In hindsight, I maybe shouldn’t have jumped back into hot yoga for the first time in a while with Sculpt. It’s INTENSE. Vinyasa flow plus bodyweight and dumbbell intervals. It was TOUGH but the playlist was AWESOME and the instructors did a great job working us through it. I’m excited to go back and try a regular hot yoga class, too!

Tons of classes, you’ll always find a class when you want to, and great instructors. Love the variety of classes– beginner, intermediate. So happy core power finally opened in Philly! A great addition to the Philly yoga scene.

I was able to snag a 3 month unlimited membership coupon from
for about $ 225. I was a bit nervous at first due to the price tag and 3 month commitment and the fact that it’s a new studio but the savings were steep (from the Gilt coupon), the location was perfect, the schedule had super early classes (6 a.m.) and late classes (8:30 p.m.), and I was looking for more cross training than just yoga zen. I’ve been to half a dozen classes so far and I love it. This studio will definitely get you in shape and help gain and tone muscle a lot faster than a traditional yoga class. However, do keep in mind that this is not a traditional yoga studio. If you’re able to overlook that aspect than you will fall in love too. Only catch, membership rates are super steep. Even though it’s a good fit for me as far as style, after my three month membership experience, I won’t be renewing unless I win the lottery or they decrease their rates… I’d rather join the Bellevue’s gym for all that money.

Upsides:
HEAT! In my perfect yoga studio (I miss you Center for Yoga Ann Arbor!) it would be super hot, plus humidity, there would be pop music for flow and ambient music for savasana, little to no lighting and only a few mirrors. Here, I’ve got 4 out of 5, which is really great! I love the
class times — I’m so glad they have late night weekday classes (reliable 7:30pm class and 8:30pm class), it’s a great location, the studio design is beautiful, and there are impeccable bathrooms and shower facilities. So far my favorite teachers are Kate Br and Mary Ha for C2 and Josie R’s Hot Power Fusion. Nanci, I haven’t been able to make it to you classes yet, but I will! Please bring on C3! We can take it! :)
Downers:
Expen$$$ive! I just finished my two free weeks — I went to 10 classes in 14 days — so I really can’t complain about the cost now, but the single drop in and monthly unlimited prices are one of the highest in the city! The founding black tag member deal is great, and they’ve got a gilt city deal going for a huge discount if you can snag that before it’s sold out! I’d say the one thing I wish Corepower had was guest passes with their highest tiers of membership — maybe 2 free guest passes a month or something like that — I’d love to bring my friends but can’t really suggest a 23 dollar cost for a one hour activity.

I was stoked when I heard CorePower was opening in Philly. I had heard about it in other cities and with Philly being a mecca of yoga, it was only a matter of time.
The space is upbeat and bright, despite being located in the bottom level of a building. There’s a huge retail space with cute yoga tanks, leggings, and pretty much anything you can imagine. Prices are rather steep, but it’s fun to look!
There are two studios — one where there’s a large weight rack for classes like Yoga Sculpt and a small one at the front of the studio. I took classes in both and enjoyed them equally.
Speaking of classes, all of them are 60 minutes long, which I sometimes enjoy given my busy schedule. Classes start and end on time too, which is much appreciated!
There’s a huge variety of classes and they almost always have one starting every 30 minutes during peak times. I really think this is awesome, especially for those of us with weird schedules. One thing I hope they do is change up the classes/​time slots each month. I tend to take classes at the same times during week, but I would rather not have Yoga Sculpt be the only 6am option M-​F.
The instructors are knowledgeable and many also teach at other studios in the city. The studio manager, Nanci, is a doll and so helpful and friendly!
Classes are expensive here ($ 23), but you get what you pay for (luxury-​style locker rooms stocked with everything you need, cleanliness, etc.) While CorePower isn’t something I can afford on the regular, I will certainly find some time to treat myself to a class here and there.

So the girl below me got a 2 week trial. Melissa, teach me your ways!
Anyway I found a week free trial somewhere online. I currently belong to a gym that I love thats great for many different classes and cardio, but their yoga is lagging. Since Philly has an abundance of yoga studios, I guess you could say I’m shopping around.
My experience at CorePower yoga has been really great! The location is obviously super convenient on walnut street. The space is very interesting. It’s more the «gym» vibe than Yoga studio. This translates to «gym» type classes. You’ll be doing bike peddling and crunches in class. While theres attention (and intention) involved in breathing this is not the dim lit room, chanting type yoga. I’ll be honest, at first I was kinda turned off from the gym vibe, but practicing here will absolutely result in major body strength. What can I say, I’m a convert.
You walk in and see a large retail space and towards the back is the locker room that’s beautiful. Usually at other studios, you just put your things in a cubby (which is fine for me,) but for someone who wants a fancy type studio, this is a plus. The yoga room is SMALL. I think part of this might be that they do hot yoga and the room can heat up quickly. Speaking of, they do mention on their website that because of other classes the room could get up to 85 degrees even if you’re NOT taking a hot yoga class. So be prepared to sweat. I personally was into it.
Both classes I took so far had great teachers, awesome vibes, and I felt great the rest of the day, which is all you can ask for. After my first class, the teacher even gave the class a little face rub. I forget her name, but nice bonus!
Check this place out. It’s a standout. BUT make sure you do the trial, don’t do drop in. $ 23 for a single class is nutty.

This place is the Vetri of Yoga in Philly. (In that it’s the most expensive, only time will tell if it’s the best)
I find that you can often tell the quality of a fitness studio by what’s in the bathrooms. Here: qtips, tampons (!), deodorant, mouthwash, a blow dryer, and a row of clean showers equipped with bodywash, shampoo, and conditioner. Not bad. With a few hairties and bananas you could be at FlyWheel level.
This place is brand new, has tons of class times, a variety of classes with different levels of heat and difficulty, but it will cost you drop ins are $ 23 (insane!) but they’re running some specials since they just opened so get at it!
Nanci, the manager teaches an awesome and challenging C2 class and is super friendly. Ashley Rufo’s C2 class has had my abs sore for 3 days now (and counting). The HPF class is like Bikram hot, the same poses every time, but adds a few hip openers and ab sequences to the bikram routine.
They also have an apparel store with really cute (but extremely expensive) stuff.
The classes are much more core, power (whodathunkit?), and fitness focused than many of the other studios here. Zero chanting, no oms, 1 namaste and LOTS of crunches. This is yoga for fitness, not meditation or mindfulness as a priority. I find some of the instructors here have more of a spinning or kickboxing instructor voice than a yoga teacher voice (why are you yelling, it’s only 730am!)
Just started my 2 week trial and will update as I go!