When ultimately choosing what studios to check out while traveling, I rely heavily on locals, friends, and my own encounters/knowledge of teachers. I generally like to let fate lead me to the right places at the right time, as it never disappoints. With that being said, back in March, a friend told me to head to Laughing Lotus for a an awesome yoga class. So what did I do? I put it off. And my only justification for that, now, is that I was meant to take 2 classes this time around – because honestly, the instructors were AMAZING and beautiful, and I learned so much from them!
First off: I chose Victor Colleti for a “Fly” Class on a Friday afternoon:
Our fearless FLY team share their secret tools for taking flight. This spicy class is loaded with inversions and arm balances! ADVANCED
Definitely right up my ally, because I do love to stand on my hands 🙂
Upon arriving at the studio, I walked up 3 flights of stairs and was immediately greeted with very, very bright colors. Orange, pink… Holy Moly. If I wasn’t awake, I was now!
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, so I just watched what everyone else was doing – walk through the hallways to a room that opened up to the main area. There were cubbies & benches to store your shoes & things, so I took my shoes off & walked up to the front desk. Everyone was so nice signing me in, and they directed me to the changing room/bathroom area (I was in sweaty clothes from a 4 mile run I had just gone on & realllly needed to change!).
Ok. So, this is my least favorite thing about the studio – the changing room is covered by a curtain, which means, if anyone walked in & out, people outside the room would see your bare butt peeking out if you were changing. There is also only 1 bathroom. There were a decent amount of people coming in & out of there, so I guess your only option is to wait for the bathroom to open up to privately change in there, or quickly get over your fear of being nude in front of complete strangers. I chose the latter, because honestly, I don’t care. It was just super crammed in there, and I just needed more space to crawl out of my sweaty clothes.
After changing, I refilled my waterbottle with filtered water & entered the room (SEE, i told you it was bright!!!). There were cubbies to my right where I stored my belongings, and I picked up a block before settling down.
The instructor, Victor, walks in – he seriously has the most wonderful long, brown hair ever, btw – instantly cheering up the class.
We started out doing a breathing exercise, and talked about Prana – it was such an amazing talk about Prana & life force, and I loved how he explained it. He smiled & laughed the entire class, encouraging students, calling them by name… and I couldn’t stop smiling! There were so many fun people in that class, and I loved performing the sequences being taught (um, super HARD but amazing!). By the end, I was super sweaty & so incredibly happy I chose this exact class to attend!
Following class, I chatted with Victor briefly and met one of the owners, Dana! She was so welcoming and wonderful, giving me a few free passes to hand out to my friends & encouraged me to come back! (yes, I will be in a few weeks!) Before leaving, I took a selfie with Victor in front of the selfie wall – because obviously, every cool studio has a selfie wall 🙂
Second time around: I chose to squeeze in a 1 hour class before flying back to Columbus on a Sunday afternoon:
The Lotus hour:
Our GLOBALLY-LOVED signature flow is fluid, adventurous and totally transformative. We could go on, but you need to get to class.
Get all the #lotuslove in 60 minutes ALL LEVELS
The teacher for the class was Felipe Gonzalez (who, btw, is originally from Cuyahoga Falls, OH – something I just found out by looking on the site.. I literally find Ohio people EVERYWHERE I travel!). He has shiny, beautiful black hair & the voice of an angel!
Class started out with Felipe chanting & playing the Harmonium – then the rest of the class chimed in. The flow was beautiful, non-stop, and the cues absolutely perfect. This man was made to teach yoga! At the end of the class, the Harmonium was brought back out, and the class finished with 6+ rounds of chanting – the room literally sounded like a choir of angels, I kid you not. This man has beautiful vocals!
One of the Amazing Murals at the Studio!
Unfortunately, surviving off of 1 hour of sleep, I got out of there and went to grab a bite to eat with a friend instead of staying and chatting. However, I will be back to take Felipe’s class again! Seriously, so so good!
In summary: Come take a class here. The studio is bright, the staff is kind, and the teachers are amazing.
Pros: Wonderful. Colorful. Inviting. Amazing Teachers & Staff. Can store personal items in room you were practicing in. Filtered water refilling station. Lots of blocks, straps, blankets available for use. Can rent mats/towels.
Cons: Small changing room & only 1 shower (bring flip flops!) + 1 bathroom – all pretty typical for most studios in NYC
Cost: $20 single class pass
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