Yoga Source

not bd studio if you’re looking for mostly hot/​Bikram style yoga. lots of sweaty hard-​bodies in there, as they seem to cater to the Stanfor athlete crowd.
only been once, but have to give a mediocre review for 2 reasons: the young women at the front desk was really nice but didn’t seem to know how to sign people in, and then when Johnny (also the teacher) came to the reception area (shirtless and sweating profusely, but hey it’s hot yoga!), the poor girl was almost cowering in fear as Johnny almost pounced on her, calling her «sweet heart» or some other inappropriate name, as sweat literally dripped onto the desk in front of her! it was just weird, and clear that the other 3 or 4 people in the reception area were uncomfortable and feeling bad for the subordinate staff member.
ok, so onto the class… Johnny taught a pretty standard but I would say better than average Bikram class in the classic sequence, but gotta dock another star because of the way he went around the room cracking everyone’s spine as they were lying down between poses. Pretty sure that’s a chiropractor’s job, and seems a bit reckless to do this in a public yoga class! To be fair, when he got to me he asked «is this ok» as he applied pressure to the middle of my back, and I meekly said yes because I wasn’t sure what he was doing. Then… CRUNCH!
I don’t think this is appropriate, and can be a real liability for this guy and Yogasource. I will probably go back (bought the intro pass), but will not be going to Johnny’s class!

Like other reviewers, I purchased $ 40 unlimited per month. I think it is the best deal around town and after wandering into a packed room of seriously hot pilates devotees, I have decide to join my second month. All the instructors are superb and after going to a few of hot pilates classes, you will see the extra pounds melting away from your body.

I’m updating my review based on the 7am Vinyasa class I took with Brooke this morning. The class was amazing! Not only was Brooke so sweet and zenful, but the flow she led us through was challenging (without being impossible) and unique. I will definitely be going back to her class! The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because the girl working at the desk was not very friendly, and the studio floor was not cleaned in between classes (there was a hot class in the room prior to the Vinyasa) — sticky!!!

Jennifer’s 5pm yin class on Saturdays has become the most relaxing part of my week! I work in the alcohol industry, which means long crazy hours and typically burning the candle at both ends. It’s not too often that I make the time to relax, restore and reset! The class is candle lit and the essential oils Jennifer offers are so unique… wild orange, peppermint, frankincense. If you need some time to stretch out your muscles and relax your mind after a busy work week, this is the place!

Overall, this place gets a 3.5 average rating and this is largely dependent on which class that you attend. A major drawback of this establishment is that there are no formal reservations for the class, meaning that you show up and hope that you get a good spot.
Hot Pilates — 2.5 to 3 stars
This class is very popular. The establishment appears to have the intention of squishing as many people in here as possible. At the 5pm class, all the yoga mats were literally an inch apart from one another. The room was heated to 95 degrees, but given all the participants in the room, it was much hotter than that. I am a fairly fit individual, and even at times, the heat was so bad, that I and other individuals had to go into the cooling room because of the dizziness that we had felt from the heat. The room is so cramped that there is no space for the instructor to perform the pilates moves herself and there are so many individuals in the room that there is no chance for the instructor to correct individuals’ forms, etc. I would say for the most of the class, the forms that we did, were done largely on the instructors descriptions and looking at the people closest to me. Most of the time, I was not even sure if I was doing the moves correctly.
Bikam (hot yoga) — 3.5 to 4 stars
Although this class was heated to 110 degrees, this class was not as packed as the hot pilates class mentioned above. The workout consists of 26 different yoga stances that are held in two intervals, one for a 1 minute interval, and the second for a 30 second interval. All stances were able to be completed despite the heat of the room without any issues. The instructor, Johnny, was attentive and made corrections on participants’ forms as needed which was very helpful.
Note: For the heated classes, it is very helpful to bring a large towel to cover up your yoga mat, and a smaller towel to wipe your face off with.

I purchased the $ 40 for 30 days pass. What a freaking deal, first of all. Despite my almost passing out and getting slimed by my neighbor in HOT pilates (*Caveat: there is a reason HOT is in caps, people), I am a big fan of Yoga Source.
Second, these instructors are top notch. I’ve taken Vinyasa & HOT pilates with Mara (Mara is the bionic woman incarnate), Yin with Lorraine, Jivamukti with Marelle, and Vinyasa with Steve. I don’t think HOT pilates should exist, but clearly I am the black sheep in the fold, because those classes are muy popular. And I must admit, I was that good kind of sore for 2 days after Mara’s class. I shall avoid Mr. Popular’s Bikram. I don’t mind full classes, but I don’t like them packed like sardines. Plus I’ve never been yelled at during yoga, but I don’t think I would like it… I don’t even like to think about it and I trust your judgements, ye fellow Unilocalers who seem to think similarly.
Third, nice loos and there are two of them. This is helpful when you’re doing the pee pee dance as you enter the studio.
Finally, the folks at the front desk are all friendly and helpful. That’s key.

I’ve been doing Bikram yoga for over 10 years now and have taken classes in various states and cities as I’ve moved. My preference is to do it the traditional way with 26 asanas, quiet and focused, and with little variation. There’s too much variation allowed in this class which I find distracting. What’s also distracting is that the instructor plays music throughout the class, and amps up the volume during shavasana, which I prefer to do in silence so I can meditate. It’s nearly impossible to focus. I thought I could handle the variation but the big band music is just too much for me so I won’t be returning. The studio itself is nice.

I took a yin yoga class here and the instructor Jennifer was very nice. I’m not familiar with yoga at all, I am not entirely sure if i’m holding the stretch poses correctly, there wasn’t any correction at all. It was quite relaxing and I fell asleep a few times in class, oops! I was a little turned off by charging $ 2 for mat rental. Most places would at least offer them for free the first time to customers. I’m used to going to barre workouts where you don’t need to bring anything.

This review is for yoga teacher Edna Barr — she is amazing!!!
I absolutely love going to her heated classes. What always impresses me most about her is that she is so knowledgeable. She will ask the class what they would like to work on, and instantly will create a whole hour based around that specific request.
Every class is different but every class will have you sweating from an amazing full body work out. She also plays fun music. Her classes are dynamic and have lots of movement.
I also love that Edna is so motivating. She will assist in my alignment in poses and help me to push myself, such as encouraging me that I can go farther in a stretch or helping me work on shoulder stand.
I am so sad when I have to miss one of Edna’s classes! Thank you Edna!

classes here are great. the studio isn’t very big, so it’s nice and intimate. the power classes are challenging, and i like the heat.

Hot pilates?! Thought I would hate it since it was at 5:45am, but definitely can’t wait to come back.
Took Maria Aldeguer’s class — such a good work out even if the room wasn’t hot. Not all this froofy breathing and crazy yoga position names that I don’t even remember — had a great leg workout (think squats, lunges, etc.) and ab workout (so many reps! so many different exercises).
Great music, not some hippy dippy out there music. Sorta dubby/​house-​ish, so you can workout to the beat as you sweat and get your ass kicked.
$ 18 for drop-​in. New student special: $ ⁴⁰⁄₃₀ days of classes.

Great place and environment.
BUT, being one of the only places in the bay area that offers Hot Pilates and power yoga, it would be nice if they offer more classes. I drive from San Mateo to attend those classes, but I work 9 – 5 in the city, so it doesn’t really make sense to drive down to Palo Alto, although if they had more hot classes, I would. :)
I’d recommend to anyone who likes the combination of classes.

At $ 18 per class, you expect some basic customer service, and better interior design.
I used to be a regular a year ago, for lack of a better alternative since I did not own a car. Now, when I showed up today to see if I could use the remaining 7 classes that I purchased, the receptionist asked me if I had used up all my classes, and did not remember it. In the end, Johnny had to step in, and it turned out that my classes had expired. Instead of apologizing for the wrongful accusation against me, they simply demanded $ 18 for the class.
I would have gladly bought another packet, had I known the classes expired. But the lack of etiquette is disappointing.

I have taken many hot Pilates classes now from Mara Reinin by now and she is absolutely incredible. She knows her craft very well, is completely competent in demonstrating the positions and the desired effect you are supposed to achieve. Her passion for her work is quite apparent, and that goes a long way with instructors and their clients. I always look forward to her classes and so do most people in there as well! She is simply magnificent and it’s always a pleasure to be in her class. Hot Pilates is intense enough and when you have an instructor who really cares about her clients and provides an exhilarating hour of results-​driven work out, it’s a win-​win-​win. Love her!

I’ve only tried 2 classes so far, so it’s hard for me to give a solid rating yet.
The classes seem to be pretty full, though not as crowded as some of the popular classes I used to take at Yogaworks in LA. The classes themselves are okay, but not quite what I’m looking for. They flow nicely, but I like classes that are sequenced so that every pose is a part of the flow for a reason, with that reason being to work towards a peak or challenge pose. The classes I’ve taken here are just a flow through a set of poses and nothing more.
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*** VINYASA (Mara) ***
PROS:
–I love studios that attract advanced yogis and this one apparently does. There was one guy doing handstand transitions and floating back so incredibly slowly and lightly into chaturanga.
–A lot of the classes I’ve tried at other studios don’t offer any challenging poses during the flow, so I liked that this class in particular went through some arm balances (crow and flying pigeon)
CONS:
–I absolutely love teachers that provide adjustments, but Mara doesn’t
–I have a strong personal preference in the structure of my vinyasa classes. I like classes that start off with sun A’s and sun B’s, then flow through poses that lead up to a challenging pose or poses, and then finish off with inversions, backbends and stretching. This one flows through warrior poses but not really through the sun salutations and left out backbends.
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*** NON-​HEATED VINYASA (Molly) ***
PROS:
–Unheated
–There was time reserved for practicing inversions, but we weren’t allowed to go upside down against the mirrors. A little frustrating because I was at the front of the room facing the mirrors and the class was pretty full so I didn’t want to move around.
–Core! Instead of inversions, we had the option to do core with Molly.
–Molly didn’t personally provide me any adjustments, but I did see her going around doing so for others, and I love yoga teachers that do so.
CONS:
–No peak pose.
–Unnatural breathing pattern. Every yoga teacher I’ve practiced with does: inhale — plank; exhale — chaturanga; inhale — upward facing dog; exhale — downward facing dog. Molly was instructing the complete opposite, which felt really unnatural to me.
–Sometimes she’d forget to do the same things on both sides, which left me feeling unbalanced.

The five-​star rating is exclusively for Mara Reinin, whose hot Pilates classes have helped me heal chronic back and knee injuries.
Her Pilates routines are a freakin’ BEAST, but they work.
Mara gives anatomically precise instructions and sequences things at an intensity and pace that catalyze lasting healing, strength and endurance. She’s also an all-​around bad-​ass warrior-​mama who fills the room with her warmth and grace.
I highly recommend Mara’s Pilates classes to those in need of effective physical therapy to redress injuries from ballet, running, yoga or other types of athletic activities.

It’s been a number of years since I’ve taken the Bikram yoga classes at Yoga Source & I was eager to jump back in, given that Yoga Source is perfectly located 10 seconds from my office & since I’m already parked it’s logistically a fantastic option.
Unfortunately, this was a whole new type of yoga.
I took the 430pm class with Johnny as my instructor. His teachings are very different from what I am used to & I left that class, feeling a bit angry & unsettled.
1. Never have I ever had a yoga instructor pull my bun to assist me into my position
2. Never have I ever had a yoga instructor flick my butt telling me to put my butt higher to get into the correct position (I must have been really far off)
3. Never have I ever had a yoga instructor yell to get everyone into their positions
4. Never have I ever had a yoga instructor play the banjo dueling scene out of deliverance. He tried to say it was a deleted scene out of the Sound of Music 0₀
5. Never have I ever had a yoga instructor walk around & rub rancid oil onto my feet & then later my arms. I could see the feet of the woman in front of me & there was nothing on the bottoms of her feet that I wanted to share, so this was just thoroughly disgusting to me, but the fact that the oils he used had gone bad & he didn’t seem to notice this was just doubly f’d up.
Overall, the facility is nice although crowded, which is expected given the location.
The class itself was fantastic & challenging.
I loved the hot yoga and will definitely try this again… with another instructor.

I love this yoga studio. It is currently my favorite in the area for heated vinyasa/​power yoga (my preferred style of yoga).
The studio itself is clean and well kept. I love the minimalism of the space. A beautiful Buddha and skylights add just enough aesthetic but simple beauty to a room with decently high ceilings (an important preference of mine – low ceilings in yoga studios feels oppressive to me).
My favorite classes are power yoga with Tracy (mornings) and Jonathan (evenings). Both of them are wonderful teachers in many ways — presence, instruction, voice command, assistance, personality & encouragement are all strong points for both of them.
My one small wish is that there were more heated power classes offered in the daily schedule. There are Bikram classes offered in addition to heated power classes, but I tend to get bored with Bikram easily (same sequence of poses). This is a personal preference so I won’t take any stars away.
Pricing is standard-​to-​high for the area, but considering the location (downtown Palo Alto) no big surprise there.
All-​in-​all I really love & appreciate this studio and its teachers. I highly recommend it!

Bikram purists beware! I would give this 3.5 stars, but Unilocal makes me round, so I rounded up.
First, I do really like this studio– the location is nice, the teachers are great, the staff and the studio itself are pleasant (though I would complain about the lack of showers, especially since they offer hot yoga and pilates classes). I’ve been to a Vinyasa Flow class, a Restorative class, and a «Bikram» yoga class here. I loved all of them, but my main comments are about the Bikram style class.
It has been my experience that non-​Bikram studios are somewhat loose-​y goose-​y/​hippy dippy («Do whatever you feel, man») when it comes to postures, the practice, and the meditative space before and after class– people can do any variation of the postures, they leave the room whenever, they talk loudly with their friends in the actual room before and after class. Fine. I know that going in, and don’t really expect people to «respect» the space and the overall practice.
But when I take a Bikram class, I expect a more disciplined space. If you’re looking for a traditional Bikram class as it’s meant to be practiced, you won’t really find that at Yoga Source. The teacher does goes through the 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises, but he/​she doesn’t follow Bikram’s dialogue, the second sets of some poses are modified (standing splits during the second set of balancing stick, for example), and some things just aren’t Bikram’s (standing bow pulling pose is not Bikram’s standing bow pulling pose, neither is the first breathing exercise). Also, the teachers encourage the use of hand towels, which Bikram does not (no props, rely on your own body). And also, there’s music playing in the background, as well as during savasana (which I actually enjoyed, I always felt that yoga could use a little light soundtrack). It also didn’t feel as hot as it should have been (ideally, 105 degrees, 42% humidity). My background is traditional Bikram Yoga, where I started my yoga practice, and I’ve been practicing for years. I get that the Bikram practice can be a little rigid for most people, so maybe Yoga Source is making it more palatable for the general yoga practitioner, which is fine, but Bikram purists should know what to expect when they take a «Bikram» class at Yoga Source. Manage your expectations and it’s actually pretty enjoyable. Overall, good job, Yoga Source.

I’ve just moved to the Bay area and I’m looking for a yoga studio. This was my first stop mostly due to the Unilocal reviews I read about it. Before I go into my review, I should say that my expectations of a studio are pretty high considering the quality of studio I left back in Chicago (Om On The Range. TEN stars). So basically, I’m a bit picky.
I went with the $ 40 new student special and I’ve done two classes so far and I’m one week into the 30 day unlimited trial. I’m not sure I’m going to go back for a third class. I went to the Restore and Tune Up class and a Yin Yoga class. I was really disappointed in the Restore class that wasn’t actually yoga at all. It was rolling out body parts with a rubber ball and that’s pretty much it. I didn’t consider that consistent with the description of the class. The Yin class was okay. At least it was the yoga I was expecting.
My problems with the studio start with an unfriendly front desk. Perhaps it was just the one girl I had contact with but it didn’t start my experience off right. I also had a bit of an issue with the instructors not introducing themselves or giving any sort of introduction to the class at all. I’m not new to yoga but I remember when I was and an attentive/​informative instructor was always appreciated.
Then there’s the studio. It doesn’t seem particularly well kept and in my first class (which was unheated), I had to dodge puddles from the previously hot class, which was kind of gross. The blocks are kept in the studio which makes them also very wet and gross to work with if not using them in a heated class. Studio etiquette seems lacking as well. Studios I have practiced at in the past consider the studio itself a place of quiet and calm but not so here. There were ladies talking and laughing in the studio without regard for the rest of us who were trying to relax and prepare for class. This was very off-​putting to me.
Lastly, there isn’t any secure area of the studio to leave your things. There’s a front area and a back area and both are left open during class. When I inquired about having to drag all my stuff in the studio (I rode my bike and had a bag, helmet, and change of clothes) during a hot class or a crowded class, the girl at the front desk just said «I don’t take the hot classes».
Anyway, there isn’t anything overwhelmingly horrible about the studio. It’s just not the place for me, that’s all.