The People’s Yoga Southeast

I love this studio! I haven’t had a bad class yet, and always feel like I get something out of every class (whether it’s stretching achy muscles and/​or clearing my scattered mind). The classes I have attended are a bit on the slower side, but I feel so good after every session no matter the level of the class. All of the instructors are great! Rachel is super amazing, though. She always walks around and talks to each student at the beginning of the class. I love how much of a community feel this studio has.

This is my first review! I had to do it for this place, because they are so awesome and accommodating. I recently signed up for a membership, but I acquired an injury about a week and a half after signing up. Such a bummer, as I’d been putting off signing up with a studio, and right when I finally did, I had to stop. I was hopeful that I could put my membership on hold, and these guys were MORE than accommodating. They immediately held my membership, and patiently waited a few weeks for me to get into a doctor, get a note, and send it in to verify when I could resume practice. They were friendly along the way, and even made sure via email that I knew how to best modify poses, etc. to ensure that when I took up practice again, I could feel successful. This doesn’t even touch on how warm and welcoming their staff is; most know their students by name. You really feel like you are part of a community here.

You get what you pay for. My class was taught by a woman who did not speak clearly and had no interest in whether the class was with her. Her instructions could easily lead to injury, as she had no concern for body alignment or people’s abilities. She focused on the men in class and was weirdly arrogant and unfriendly. Also the facilities are uninviting and dirty. Yoga in your living room would be cheaper and better.

I love this place. All of the teacher’s I’ve had so far are fantastic. It’s clean but not too expensive and there are lots of classes to choose from. Just beware that weekends are pretty full and I think it’s always cold. It may just be me, though. I think they keep it around 70 – 72 F. I bring lots of layers and wear socks until I get warmed up a little.

Attended a class here at 9:30 on ⁹⁄₄ on the recommendation of a friend while visiting Portland. The studio was beautiful and seemed to be well organized and managed. My only issue was that the class was listed online as a «vinyasa flow» and lacked some key postures that I have come to expect from those labels, upward facing dog and low plank, etc. It was really more of a slow flow and with the fans on on a cool Portland morning I was never really able to get warmed up. Teacher was very good at what she taught, might have been subbing or maybe unaware of the online label. Also would have been awesome if they had extended a price break for national yoga month or first time visitor.

I love this shop. Everyone (including the students) are so kind and inviting. It really feels like a community here. I love the teachers. Jessica is funny and awesome, Audra is so endearing and challenging, Abby is amazing, she really cares and it shows. I love the yin classes with Linnea too. Perfect addition to the faster paced vinyasa classes. Not only are the teachers amazing but they have the best prices in town. They don’t charge an arm and a leg to be a part if their awesome little community. I love it here.

I had a great experience at this studio. Audra is a unicorn! I loved the laughter and was able to ‘get outside myself’, so to speak, enough so that I didn’t notice myself accomplishing a sequence that I hadn’t been able to do in the past. I almost want to move to Portland so I can visit the studio more often.

I am, in my mind, a perpetual level 1 yoga student. I’m not naturally flexible, and I’m a visual learner with difficulty relying solely on verbal instructions. I mention these things not to be self-​deprecating, because I am totally fine with all of it. It just gives a basis for the kind of student I am in case you share some of these traits.
I have been to a few classes and enjoyed them all but this review is mostly for Rachel Stern’s All Level Hatha class which currently happens 3x a week. It has made yoga something that I look forward to. Rachel is the best yoga instructor I’ve ever had, and so perfect for me.
She encourages students to honor and listen to their bodies and facilitates a safe environment to do what feels right even if that means doing a modified pose or something totally different. This reinforcement empowers me to come to my mat where I am, rather than feel frustration from comparison to the instructor or fellow students. She’s gentle and kind in suggesting adjustments.
I love that Rachel takes the time to greet every student individually and inquires about special requests, injuries, energy level, etc. It only takes a few moments but it’s such a demonstration of consideration.
She is amazing at remembering names and how students are progressing. I had been working on improving a specific pose in vinyasa for a couple of classes and one day I nailed it and heard her yell a «YES! YOU GOT IT!» from across the room — I didn’t even know she was watching but that moment was the highlight to my day, week. heck it still moves me when I think about it and drives me to continue my practice.
Some yoga classes I’ve been to are more «Om chanty spiritual» and some are strictly movement and then it’s over. this one is in the middle with brief opening and closing thoughts that I appreciate because they bring focus to the group energy and context for how practice can be related to the rest of our lives.
Aside from all that, it’s just fun… Rachel has an infectious laugh, great socks, and creative, uplifting spirit. It feels really good to have an instructor that is so supportive and has made me find a love for yoga. If this review sounds like a fangirl letter then. guilty.
People’s Yoga SE is a nice clean studio, the room fits about 30 people when completely full, has nice huge windows with white curtains for lots of soft natural light to spill in. You can sign-​up and pay online before you get there if you want. they use the Mindbody system which my dance studio and sauna spot also use so I appreciate managing all of that in one mobile app. Drop in price was recently upped to $ 10 which is still one of the best deals in town.
I am happy to live walking distance from such an amazing place. Thank you Rachel & People’s for this gift to the community.

I thought this was a fun place. The instructor was cute and quirky and the mini organ was hilariously awesome. I enjoyed the yoga moves, however I pulled a muscle in my back, I honestly don’t think there was enough warm up moves before the more intermediate ones. I also think that the class was too crowded. When you cant do the poses without accidently running into someone next to you its too crowded. Maybe that is why I pulled a muscle, not being able to spread out to do the moves properly. I would go back if the classes were not so crowded. A limit on the number of people per class would be nice.

I feel really bad writing this review, but the class I took was honestly akin to bring slowly tortured over an hour and 30 min. I’ve been practicing for 10+ years, and I am also a fellow teacher. I have a very profound level of empathy for instructors. that being said, I am so from New York, so I also have access to a high caliber of instruction. the class I took was labeled «active» level 2. perhaps it was, for geriatric clients. there were maybe all of 3 chatturanga, no surya A, no dynamic movement. the attention to alignment was astute — and also profoundly boring. it what capacity could this class have served the myriad levels of practitioners in the class? I’m also a runner and a crossfitter, and there was no possible way I could have gotten warm enough to actually impact my physical body in any way. if anything, I could have actually hurt myself from doing passive and static stretches without proper warmup. moreover, there was no dharma talk, no fundamental substance to the class. I would have honestly benefitted more from taking a vigorous walk. I feel sorry to write this, but I really felt the class description and overall presentation of the class was false advertising.

My favorite yoga studio! Great teachers, excellent and convenient schedule. Plus, if you ride your bike you can get a card punched for a free class!

Like most people I hold stress tension, well, pretty much everywhere in my body and I’m not as flexible as I’d like to be. Fitness buddies I spoke to couldn’t recommend yoga highly enough to help with stress reduction and flexibility, so I began looking up studios. Unilocal led me right to The People’s Yoga SE. Excellent instructors, a beautiful minimalist studio, and $ 8 drop in fees to attend classes? Sold! I began with the Gentle Hatha class and I am hooked. I now can’t think of a better way to cap my work week than a blissful, stress-​reducing class here.
Pros: Excellent instruction, beautiful space, can’t beat the price.
Cons: No showers or extras other than clothing/​mat storage and cold water. But for $ 8, or at the other end of the spectrum a monthly unlimited contract membership for $ 60, who cares?
Please do keep in mind the prices I mention in this review are stated on TPY’s website as of the date of this review. If you stumble on this review a year in the future, please exercise common sense and check the studio’s website for updated information.

I went here on a Thursday evening after my cousin dragged me out of the house to try one of their Gentle Hatha classes. We’d never been before & we’d both been dying to stretch our muscles (& our minds). So, we dropped in & paid $ 8 to join the class for the night.
The studio was smaller than I expected, but the more I sat there, the more I liked it. It made the class intimate, communal. It was terribly hot/​stuffy inside too, which I assume was done on purpose to warm up our muscles & joints so that we could stretch & stretch without injury. But I wasn’t prepared for that & I wore these very heat-​trapping leggings (note to self: wear short-​shorts next time).
I forgot the full name of my instructor that evening, but I do remember that her name started with a Z & she told us to call her that throughout the class if we forgot her name (very helpful for my monkey mind!). She was incredibly sweet & friendly, & made a point to kneel down to each person’s respective mat & introduce herself to us, asking us what brought us to yoga that evening. Voices were kept low, almost to a whisper. I felt safe, warm, cozy, & strangely at home.
Gentle Hatha is exactly what they say it is – gentle. Slow-​paced, easy-​going, relaxing, calming. We spent about 3 – 5 minutes lying on our backs (what’s the name of this pose?) before ending our practice, & resting in that way really calmed my body after such a long, work-​filled day. While sometimes I found myself in poses that were a bit taxing on my out-​of-​shape, couch-​potato body, I felt bliss as my body became more oxygenated & open. I worked up a sweat, but not so much that my body was exhausted. On the contrary, I walked out of the studio feeling exhilarated, heavy & buzzing with divine comfort, ready to sleep soundly.. . which I did. And in the morning, my muscles were delightfully sore, indicating that I indeed got a good workout even though I felt so relaxed.
I will definitely be coming back. Perhaps not to the Gentle Hatha every time (I’d like to try something a little less sleepy & more challenging), but I will definitely be coming back.

Lovely little studio, excellent teachers.