Willow Yoga

Willow Yoga is an excellent studio that is located in such a convenient area. I truly look forward to attending classes. I am new to yoga and love taking classes with Kim. The classes are small, so it is as if you have one-​on-​one instruction throughout the whole class. The classes are even tailored to the student’s intended areas of focus. I highly recommend giving Willow a try! You will not be disappointed!

I seek yoga classes that nurture the inner self through focus, relaxation, flexibility, and philosophy. Consistent with the other Unilocal reviewers, I found the classes here were more of a social hour than serious yoga, with participants talking throughout, and the instructor joking about going for margaritas nearby instead of holding class! Relaxation at the beginning and end of class was perfunctory. The owner holds a physically challenging session, but it is more about exercise than yoga. I found the other instructors were not as strong.

Ok. It was ok. I have gone to lots of yoga studios in the US so I admit my expectations are high. I was disappointed though because the atmosphere felt more like a fitness class and like the other reviewer wrote it was hard to concentrate because of all the chatting going on. I didn’t feel like any yogic philosophy or emphasis on proper alignment was integrated into the teaching at all either. Im sure it is a great place for some people but it wasn’t for me.

Ever since returning from a month-​long stay in LA, where I found and fell in love with Yoga, I’ve been searching for a new yoga studio back in the Chicagoland area to call my own. But so far, nothing has compared to the Yoga Works studios in California.
The Willow Yoga studio itself was nice, located on a busy street, but easy parking. But as soon as people began to walk into the studio for the class, I was instantly disappointed. The standard for a Yoga studio, is peace, quiet, serenity… I was unable to attain any of this as the women who walked in were chatting away. Most studios I have been too, even around here, have under their FAQs, that talking should not be done in the studio, as people want to use the opportunity to calm themselves and meditate before class. With people chatting away, this was impossible. Also, I was very disappointed to see that the studio did not require everyone to remove their shoes prior to walking into the studio. Very disappointing, especially since in Yoga, your body and face regularly are touching the ground. In order to ensure cleanliness, shoes should not be allowed in the studio. I was pretty shocked to see that this was not required, as in my experience, this is pretty standard at Yoga studios.
The class itself was crowded (I went to the 330pm on a Tuesday), which was fine, but again made for a louder experience than should be allowed for a serious Yoga practice. Once the class began and the women surrounding me quieted, I began to see how unfortunate it was that this studio was on a busy street as the trucks were screaming by while I was trying to settle myself in Savasana. Very disappointing.
The teaching as well, was a bit of a let down. The class moved far too fast, without holding the positions for long enough, and there were definitely not enough suggestions on correct positioning of the hips, arms, and feet, nor were there enough consistent encouragements and reminders to straighten the arms, legs, and to flex the feet. What I loved about Yoga Works in LA was the detail that they put into describing and engaging in each and every single Asana. As being newer to the practice of Yoga, this was so critical to me in LA. I am still searching for this level of teaching in the Chicago area.
A couple of other things to note: (1) during the class, the teacher lost track of which side we were to be stretching next (right or left) and the class began to loudly discuss and laugh as they debated the correct side to move to for the next position. The teacher even participated in this joking around. I found this pretty unprofessional. (2) The studio was freezing and never really warmed up as the class progressed. This did not help me in the deepening of my stretches.
So for now, I will continue on my quest to find a new Yoga studio. There are a couple more in the ‘burbs I will give a try and then I am going to have to branch out into the city. I’ll also keep doing my Yoga Works DVDs… not as good as the studio, but it’s all I can get until Yoga Works opens a studio in Chicago!