Dupont Circle Yoga

Dupont Circle Yoga is a brightly lit space tucked above Emissary in Dupont that provides everything that you need for class. Though their Align & Flow is not your standard Vinyasa class, you’ll walk out feeling a yoga high all the same. The space is awkwardly set up, which can make seeing your instructor challenging, but the bathroom amenities make this a good pre-work stretch destination.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

This was not your typical vinyasa class. Don’t go in expecting to really move breath to movement and definitely don’t think that you’re going to have some time to flow on your own. Dupont Circle Yoga has a few different classes that they describe as “vinyasa” and Align & Flow skewed much heavier on the align; we spent a lot of time in static postures.

The top of class started with a few rounds of traditional Sun Salutation A followed by a single B variation. We then moved into our “flow” which entailed postures like Warrior I, Warrior II, and Triangle held for a few breaths in each pose. While we do like to dig deep for a first round of a flow, this round was our only round. No round of one breath, one movement and no time to flow on our own. Post “flow” section, we moved into the second half (or maybe even ⅔) of class which included our inversions, balancing postures, and restorative poses. We spent some time with tripod headstand (or dolphin with some forearm stand hops to take it down a notch), standing lotus pose (or tree as a variation), and then good old fashioned shoulder stand to plow. In plow we were into the grabbing-a-hold-of-your-toes variation. Class finished with fish pose and some seated half lotus and forward folds. Overall, it was a fine class. We did flow a little and we did spend some time aligning. That said, we weren’t blown away and wished we would have either really gone deep with the alignment or flowed more. We didn’t break a sweat and that’s not a good thing.

INSTRUCTOR

Jessica got the job done. She didn’t teach an amazing class, but at the end of the class we had moved a bit and gotten our stretch on. Walking in, she checked us in and we found an open spot. Once class got going, Jessica started playing some weird orchestral music that then somehow got more bizarre with it took a horror-movie-score turn which she did call out and change thankfully. Overall, not the yoga vibe we’re going for. Jessica did a few demos in the front corner of the room which were tough to see. Again, she noted this in the moment and course corrected. The class was pretty basic and we would’ve liked for her to get a bit more inventive.

SPACE

Dupont Circle Yoga’s studio space was really bright, with big windows looking out onto P Street. The studio was oddly designed, since it definitely used to be someone’s loft. While a round space in the corner may have been a nice reading nook, it made setting up yoga rows a little awkward. It also was pretty packed, which made seeing instructor demos challenging, and took away from the practice a bit. The studio provided complimentary mats, blankets, blocks, and straps, which makes it a great post-work spot. The bathroom was stocked with hair ties and dry shampoo making it a convenient pre-work spot too.