Bend & Bloom Yoga

One of my two favorite studios in Brooklyn. I mostly stick to the Open Flow-​Pay What You Can on Wednesday morning with Amy. Perfect amount of challenging and stretching and spirituality. It’s a tough class and you will be challenged but it’s a truly great yoga experience that sticks to a lot of classic style while incorporating different things each week. Amy in particular gives great pointers and adjustments. Additionally, they have a great store you can get apparel or yoga items. I’ve not indulged yet but they also serve some tea and cookies which is always nice, and often have special events going on. Altogether, an awesome community and space!

Overall, the classes are good — we like the teachers and classes. Staff is usually friendly and helpful. The only complaint is the front desk, which could use a little more organization or training.
I purchased a 10-​pack tots yoga for my son. My nanny often brings him to this class. Every time, the person checking them in tells her that I no longer have any passes left. My nanny asks if the she’s looking up the right person because there is more than one person with my name — she even gives my phone number and middle initial. And each time they «can’t» find me in the system, or tells my nanny I’m out of passes. My nanny asks again to double check and the receptionist insists that we ran out of passes. Until I get on the phone with her and then all of a sudden they find me. And each time they say, «oh there’s two of you in the system! (which both my nanny and I have told her repeatedly!) — and yes you still have passes remaining.» Then she tells me they’re going to fix in the system — except it never gets done and we go through this same confusion again at our next visit. It’s not like they’re rude about it, but the fact that this happened a few times is pretty aggravating. Front desk needs better training or better organization.

I’ve had a handful of AMAZING instructors and a few that I found sub par. Very cute studio with two rooms and nice welcoming lobby with tea and some cookies. After dropping Class Pass I took advantage of the first timer offer and continued to purchase class packages.
First, Saysha has the best Open Align on schedule. Such a bummer she’s only there on Thursday evenings (I may, or may not, have reworked my schedule to see her). She has great instruction/​cueing. She’s encouraging and when she finds that certain cues she provides doesn’t capture everyone in the room, she has a magnificent way of finding the right words that strike a cord for everyone in the room to be on the same page. I always leave the space feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.
Also a big fan of Maya’s Open Align with Massage Balls. This class makes you cringe and gasp for air in the best way possible. She helps you discover those sticky/​tough areas that need a lot of TLC.
Jason Orrell has a shining personality during his practice which made it very light and fun but still very challenging. During his Hour Flow, it almost feels like you’re having a conversation with him during the class even though you don’t say a single word. LOVED his energy.
Unfortunately, couldn’t give this place 5-​stars. Recently took a class with Aditi. I’m not one to write negative reviews but the way I felt after leaving her class made me more frustrated, which to a certain extent, you shouldn’t feel after a practice. The energy she brought to the room left a profound impact on the tone she set for the rest of the evening. She came off very brash and you could hear her frustration in her voice when we weren’t quite getting certain movements or flows. Her passive aggressive comments were unnecessary — making multiple comments about how the blankets weren’t properly stowed and how it drives her crazy. I get it, it’s frustrating to come into a space that isn’t tidy because the PREVIOUS CLASS didn’t respect the space but say it once then drop it. Don’t bring it up multiple times. She was even cleaning/​rearranging props during the class which I found distracting.
All in all, even with a few mediocre experiences, this studio is a gem in Park Slope.

I bought a 3 class/​$ 30 introductory pack and when I showed up for the third class, the receptionist told me my 30-​day trial had expired the day before. While I might have missed the window, I don’t understand the harm in extending my trial the extra day, and would have appreciated the courtesy.
The classes seemed promising but I found this experience less-​than-​hospitable.

Bend & Bloom Yoga offers a large variety of classes — prenatal, vinyasa, and my personal favorite thus far, forrest yoga. If you’ve never tried forrest yoga before, I would say the class with Denise is where you should start. It’s a lot of repetition and holding poses for longer than in a typical vinyasa class; she does a great job of connecting your mind and body with your emotions, all while putting a lot of soul into each pose. She’s incredibly helpful — don’t feel afraid to ask her to demonstrate a pose. It’s a class that has many regulars.
Another thing I love about the studio (aside from the location), is that there are no mirrors NOR clocks in their studio rooms. The space smells good too, although sometimes it can get a bit warm as the front room does not have any ventilation. Their new student special is 3/​$ 30, which is pretty standard pricing.
I would definitely recommend new yogis and practicing ones to venture to this quaint neighborhood studio!

What a cute studio. Friendly but not overly-​so front entrance staff. Seemingly committed and kind practitioners. I went there for Jule Dorhmans class but there was a sub instead. she taught an excellent class, full of thoughtfulness and precision. It’s clear she has been around the yoga study block and her class was one that took me deep into my own body. I will definitely return.

I had a wonderful class with Christine last night. It was the Open+ class from 7:30 — 8:45 and I especially appreciated her adjustments and wonderful playlist. The class was challenging but I enjoyed it and the 75 minute class was over before I knew it. I will defniitely be back, especially since they are on ClassPass.
Bring your own mat as they charge $ 1 to rent.

I’ve been doing yoga in Brooklyn for the past 15 years, and I’m so happy to have discovered Bend and Bloom 3 years ago! It’s by far the best yoga center in Park Slope.
I love so many of the teachers: Lindsay A, Amy QS, Kate R, Saysha, Jason O…) they have all helped me with alignment, breath and strengthening my ailing back.
I had only one negative experience with a teacher here, and that was with Julie Dohrman who was verbally aggressive with me in front of the class, and pulled my pony tail to indicate I should be holding my head up a bit higher. Not sure if this was on off day for her? But it definitely stayed with me.
Bend and Bloom’s studios are quiet, clean and have excellent air quality compared to many of the other studios I’ve been to in the area. The front desk staff is extremely friendly and efficient. The waiting room offers tea and ginger cookies, water, and you may peruse the rack of cute clothes and yoga books for sale while you wait.
Bend and Bloom offers Yoga in the Park for free in the summers which is a dream, and their retreats are awesome!
I love this place.

I love this place. Open Align on Monday nights with Aditi is a fantastic start to the week. She’ll usually pick a couple of things to workshop like a move or a body area (I didn’t realize I hadn’t been doing plank right until we practiced it for about half an hour!) and what I’ve learned in her class have stuck with me for a long time. It’s not the most energetic workout I’ve ever gotten from a yoga class, nor is it the most relaxing, but it’s probably some of the best body work you can get for $ 18 and 90 minutes. Overall, the employees are friendly, the reception area is spacious and inviting, and the space is oasis-​like (at least for Brooklyn!).

The studio looks beautiful. They have 2 bathrooms, but no showers. There are 2 changing rooms, but it doesn’t have a lot of privacy. Anyone can see you changing while they’re signing in at the front desk.
I love the way the studio looks and they a variety of props: blankets, straps, blocks, bolsters, and even eye pillows. There’s always enough to go around and I never have to worry about not getting a prop.
I gave it 2 stars because the studio looks great but half of the classes I went to didn’t have properly trained yoga teachers. Sometimes I felt like I was just in an exercise class. One teacher with blue hair and shorts so short that I can see her butt cheeks popping out repeatedly told the class that down dog is the same as hand stands and if you can do down dog you can do a hand stand. Another teacher told me that the front of your body is the future and the back of your body is the past. Another teacher decided to encourage us to literally touch your neighbor’s butt with your foot. I’ve never been upset with so many teachers in a single studio.

I’ve been to a few studios through class pass but bend and bloom is definitely on the top of my list. It’s not the closest studio to me but I’m willing to make the extra trek for classes here!
One of my favorite things about it is the space. it gets a good amount of natural light from the beautiful skylight (and two windows). It feels spacious even when it gets a little crowded. Also when the weather is nice outside, they leave the windows open so you can enjoy the fresh air.
I really like all the teachers here. I usually take the sunrise flow class and it’s a great way to start the day! I haven’t had a single teacher more than twice here yet but I don’t think you can go wrong. They all seem to have a similar style here. It seems they’ve figured out the key to creating a soothing practice (and challenging if that’s what you’re looking for).

This yoga place is on the pricier side but the 3-​class pack is a good deal as it comes to $ 10/​class. I’ve taken Basics with Eric Lawrence and he is great. As a newbie to sessions, his pace was mindful.

I have to knock my review down a star now that Beth is no longer teaching at Bend and Bloom. She is just one of those irreplaceable, life-​changing teachers. It’s great that she’s now teaching others how to follow in her footsteps, but she is missed! All of the teachers there now are fine, but there’s no comparison. Without going to close to see a prenatal guru of sorts, the very crowded classes and rather indifferent front desk reception are less overlook-​able.

3 stars because I loved the space and variety of classes offered, but I just did not love the class. From the look of things, a lot of the other students didn’t seem to, either. But I want to give B&B another shot, so I’ll probably be back some day.
It was an Open Flow on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with lots of sunlight peeking in through the window.
As an intermediate/​advanced student, I have taken enough classes to know what I’m looking for in a teacher… and what red flags to stay away from. And while the instructor was clearly an expert on alignment, her sequence was questionable and confusing, her tone often rude/​harsh (not sure if she meant to sound this way, but a lot of students seemed very caught off guard by it).
The good:
— Big focus on hips and hamstrings (sore spots for most people)
— She was well-​versed in anatomy and alignment
The bad:
— The beginning of class consisted of lying on a rolled up blanket for 5 minutes, which just did not feel good on my body. I wanted to get into a child’s pose but didn’t feel comfortable going against her directions.
— Starting us off in very intense, deep poses before warming up. Why are we holding lizard pose before we’ve flowed?!
— Focusing entirely on one student and neglecting the class (we hung out in downward dog for what seemed like 5 minutes while she adjusted a student)
— Being obsessive and overly meticulous about alignment. It’s one thing to emphasize alignment. It’s another to speak down to students and make them feel bad about doing a pose wrong. There has to be a gentler way to get people to adjust and modify their poses.
— Being impatient with us. The sequence was often confusing, and students were doing different things, so she would occasionally get short with us. This is a big no. As students, we’re looking to YOU to give clear breakdowns and directions and if we’re doing different things, that’s because you aren’t making sense.
This is a more general note (sorry it’s getting ridiculously long), but I just want to relay one more point: Classes should always fit the name. «Open flow» implies that we will be flowing a lot, and it should be accessible for all levels.

Although it’s quite expensive when compared to its competitors in the area, I really like Bend and Bloom. It’s very pretty and airy, at least in the large back room. The smaller front room is a bit more cramped.
I’ve been going to prenatal yoga for about 9 months at this point. Cassie is my absolute favorite prenatal instructor. She manages to be intense enough, where other prenatal teachers are almost too gentle, while including a great deal of time for deep relaxation. Marley is only slightly behind Cassie in my affections, merely because she’s so incredibly calming. Good for when you’re not feeling up to anything strenuous.
Only one complaint about the place in general, aside from the steep cost: Every time that I go and do not take a shower ASAP afterwards, I get a cold that sometimes turns into a sinus infection. This has happened four times, always just post yoga. I know that pregnant women’s immunity is low. But I also suspect that they may not disinfect their blocks and/​or clean their floors as often as they should. In other studios, I see people coming through with a mop between classes, and students being encouraged to wipe down their blocks after use. This does not happen here. It’s a bummer, because I’m going to B+B to feel better, and there’s nothing worse than being sick AND pregnant.

5 stars for the class itself, 2 for the facilities, 3 for the vibe, 3 for the price. I purchased an intro special 3 classes for 30 (which is great but it’s something like 20/​class after that) I’m interested in seeing what the experience will be when I return for my other two classes. I really enjoyed the Friday night flow and restorative a few weeks ago and despite my dislike for excessive prop use had some nice discoveries using them. It’s always lovely to be surprised! There is no real locker or dressing room here, so if you have a busy life and don’t live walking distance there’s little chance to get ready and change (or shower) for your next commitment. There’s a small room though partitioned off from the main room with a sheet for basic changing. I did experience the front office environment to be spacious, airy and calm, but actually experienced the staff to be a little hostile and snooty.

RUNNERS DREAM
So I’m a runner and have has a tight itband issue for the last three years which has increasing affected my posture my breathing and has been frustrating. I’ve gone to physical therapy to help but its reoccurring because I’m active, don’t stretch enough,
sit all day, and am getting used to the tension so feel like it’s an everyday part of life.
I signed up for the align your spine yoga and rolling class. The instructor (Jason) was very nice. I was 10 minutes late and was not shamed. I felt more than welcomed. He was very friendly in an up beat way but not overly talkative which is a blessing for a post-​work class.
The class helped stretch out the winter tension caused by scrunching inward to preserve heat. We most postures from the floor which helped isolate the sides the back and the arms.
I loved it and feel like my chest is less heavy and my bank and hips feel amazing. I’m going back next week

Went to my first prenatal yoga class there today, really enjoyed it. The facility is very clean and relaxing, and the instruction was great. For me it was just the right speed, not too much, not too little and I felt great afterwards. I’ll definitely be going back!

Prior to January I had at tented a receptive nest workshop, a yoga for labor and delivery workshop with a doula client, and two classes. New Years Day I was sitting at home and googling around and saw that they had a ten class deal for $ 130. This was good for any classes. (In other packages they differentiate between 60 and 90 minute unless it is the unlimited or hybrid pack)
I have been attending the Thursday 4 – 5 pm pretty regularly and have been enjoying it. The style is different than I am used to but that is one of the reasons I wanted to check out some different studios. I have also been to the Wednesday night restorative a few times and one week I was the only student which was a treat I got lots of TLC.
Bought a ten pack of the 60 minute classes and depending on my schedule I might get the 20 class hybrid or even the unlimited.

Just went here for the first time yesterday. Lindsays int/​adv class was incredible. Though challenging both mentally and physically there was never a point in class where I was thinking «how much longer…» Total engagement.
The studio is also very clean and warm feeling.