Pure Yoga-Best Yoga Classes in NYC?

Does it seem like this fall everyone is obsessed with pumpkin?  I can’t turn around without seeing different ways to cook pumpkin, eat pumpkin, decorate with pumpkins, bathe with pumpkins.  I could go on and on.  Well, I guess I must have caught the fever.

What can I say?  I’m embracing fall!

So you remember Sweaty Saturday don’t you?  Well, I had the opportunity to head to Pure Yoga for an awesome hot yoga class as part of the day.  Pure is touted as the best yoga studio in NYC.  The studio is set up more like a gym than a traditional yoga studio.  Rather than pay per class or monthly lump payments, Pure offers memberships to the studio and although they do offer workshops open to the general public, to attend most classes you must be a member.  And membership is not cheap!  While Pure doesn’t disclose its prices online (you must meet with a membership consultant like most large gyms), it is my understanding that membership is over $100 per month.

If you have climbed back into your chair now, I’ll let you know that if you are a true yogini, the hefty price tag may be worth it.  The studio has a great zen vibe and the decor leaves no doubt in your mind that this is an upscale yoga studio for the well-heeled downward doggers in NYC.  Rather than one or two yoga rooms, Pure has seven (!) yoga rooms.  Offering 27 different types of yoga and Figure 4 barre class, Pure has something for everyone.

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For this Sweaty Saturday celebration, I had the opportunity to take class with Loren Basset.  I’ve taken with Loren before at other studios and most recently at Lululemon’s candlelight yoga class.  Her classes are always challenging and this class was no exception.  It is no wonder she has such a large yoga following around NYC.  The class was an hour long and held in Pure’s designated hot yoga studio, which is heated to approximately 100 degrees.

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Loren led us through a vinyasa class with lots of arm balances and plenty of stretching poses.  She did a great job teaching to the general class level while also offering modifications, including ways to go deeper into the poses.  With the heat and the vinyasas I sweating in no time and by the end of class I was literally dripping!  Luckily Pure has great amenities like cold eucalyptus soaked towels in a fridge just outside the yoga room.  So needed!

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As with everything else at Pure, the locker rooms are immaculate.  The best part is they are large!  I can’t tell you how many studios I have been to that offer great classes but their locker rooms are so small with only one or two showers.  Having to wait in line to shower after class can really kill the experience.  Not at Pure!  Plenty of space and showers!

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The only con I have about the studio is the class seemed more like a promotion for Pure than part of the Sweaty Saturday sweat-for-a-cause experience.  It definitely lacked the atmosphere of the other studios I visited that day.  But if you are looking for a great place to practice yoga, give Pure a try.  Personally I love variety in my workouts and would not be satisfied with a yoga only schedule so I can’t justify the large monthly fee.  That said, any opportunity at Pure open to the public and I’m there!