Donation Yoga

This is my second visit to DY. Before my first visit, I called to ask questions about the place (location, do they have showers, etc), and was told that classes were donation only, but that if I left a good review on Unilocal,and printed it out, I could go to 5 classes for $ 5. This was mentioned several times in that phone conversation, even when I said I would leave a review after I came to a class or two. This request just didn’t seem like good karma.
The first class that I came to was a vinyasa flow yoga class by Loranda. I was one of two people, which was a little weird. But, I chalk that up to them being new. Loran’s was sweet, but seemed inexperienced. She left us to practice our flow for 10 minutes. Now, I’m new here, so 10 minutes without instruction means I hung out in child’s pose. My bad.
Today, Monday, I am sitting in the studio at 1:30. I came here for a 1:00 class, and no one is here. I have called the studio number, and left a message. The place was unlocked (same thing last week, when I was the first to arrive), but it is empty. Free sound system and gong, anyone? It’s here for the taking.
From the sign in sheet, it looks like there were no students for the first class, 2 students for the second, 1 student for the third at 10am, then no sign in sheet for the 11:30 and now I’m sitting here realizing I’ve been waiting for a no show class for 30 minutes. It gave me time to plink out this review.
Back into my work clothes and back to my office.

I think that I have found my new studio. The space is clean and really well lit. There is a really nice feel to it that allows me to relax. I used to go to a studio around the block, but find that I am so much more content after Donation Yoga. Plus, I love Hilly’s class on Wednesdays. I’m so glad that I found her again. What an amazing teacher!

11:30 Class with Chrispy allows you to transform your outlook on any day starting out rough! So thankful for these wonderful instructors, huge open rooms, ample fresh cool water and peaceful sit space. Reaffirm, realign, realize!

I came to Melissa’s gentle yoga class and was the only student there. However, Melissa taught the class anyway, allowing me to get a one-​on-​one session! She listened to what I wanted to get out of the class and modified her class plan accordingly. I loved the class and the individual attention. Will definitely be back!

In a city where new yoga studios and workout fads pop up about as often as Kim Kardashian changes choice of male professional athletes, it can be hard to sift thru the good, the bad and the «well that was a waste of an hour and my money.»
Austin Donation Yoga is a somewhat hidden but both welcome and serene addition to the downtown yoga scene. Located a couple blocks past lululemon on West 6^th (adjacent to Public Storage— it can be a bit hard to find), Austin Donation Yoga is off to a strong start balancing relaxing simplicity with highly skilled instructors. Cari’s Rise and Shine class on Saturday (7am) actually got me out of bed on a weekend before the sun rose, which is a feat on its own, and was 200% worth it. I left the studio feeling rinsed and ready for the day — that empowered «i can do anything and I love every inch of my imperfect body» feeling. Austin Donation Yoga feels more authentic than neighboring Black Swan, that feels somewhat culty and overly hipster to some patrons
Austin Donation Yoga is still relatively unknown to the public and hitting its stride right on key, classifying it as an emerging «hidden gem» in ATX that certainly hope will continue to evolve and build a healthy community.

Went to an 8:30pm yoga class last Wednesday night. Our teacher Joy did a great job. She was knowledgable about how to poise and adjust your body to get the most out of a pose (and also to avoid injury!). The space was really clean and nice. I loved the ambiance — candlelit with nice soothing music. Made for a very relaxing yet vigorous experience.

«Mea Culpa» is defined as «my mistake or my fault» or in today’s vernacular, «my bad». It is often said in prayer as an act of contrition for sins committed. And if our bodies truly are temples, then Detox Yoga on Sundays is my Mea Culpa to the God of my Temple, my Liver. An hour of sweating and twisting my body is like wringing out a dirty dish rag and leaves me feeling pleasantly tired and renewed. Balancing, trembling on one leg makes me appreciate more the firm foundation of keeping both feet on the ground. Within that hour, all my sins from the Saturday nite before are purged and forgotten and my slate is wiped clean to start the stupidity all over again. Hey! I’m only human!
Austin Donation Yoga just opened this space about a month ago. The studio is large, clean and simply beautiful. There are numerous instructors and a wide variety of yoga classes to choose from, so if you are purer than I (which is probably true of most folks :), you can skip Detox and go right on to Happy Yoga Flow or Peaceful Warrior Yoga. There’s a class going on all hours of the day, so no excuses! Pay what you feel comfortable paying, and they donate one or two class’ donations to charity a week so you can feel good in body AND spirit.
Even tho I never really feel like going, I’m always glad I did in the end. Now, I only wish I could have Detox Yoga on Mondays as well!