With a large studio space and often small class size, YogaWorks 14th Street makes for an ideal yoga environment. Add in complimentary tea and a wide range of yoga apparel and accessories for sale and it’s easy to make a morning out of going to the studio. Even though the YogaWorks name brings with it some cache, a mixed bag of instructors and lackluster amenities makes this YogaWorks outpost less ideal than locations in other cities.
When “flow” is in the name of the class, you better bet we’re going in looking for some movement. But this vinyasa flow 2 class was much more like a yin class; we spent 60% of class in restorative poses, inversions, and balancing poses. Though the headstand to shoulder stand to plow to fish pose was nice, we would have taken just one if it meant more than one time through a sequence. Backbends and an extra long savasana left us feeling really relaxed, but we didn’t walk out feeling like we actually put the work in, or that the class was particularly second level.
Keith is the yoga instructor for yoga instructors. His class was HARD—throughout, he cued for an advanced practice, which left us sufficiently out of breath and impressed with what we could do. At one point, he had us transition from downward dog to dolphin to chaturanga to dolphin to downward dog and we thought our arms were going to fall off. We stuck it out because we wanted to hang with everyone around us that seemed to just be crushing it. Though many of the students in the class really knew their way around a mat, Keith still gave descriptive cues and hands-on adjustments. He also did some counting down in poses rather than just having us focus on our breath, which helped us to stay in the pose when we wanted to throw in the towel. It was clear that Keith has spent years on his craft because he was able to stray away from the typical structure of a vinyasa class while still hitting the stretch, balance, and restoration notes we expect from yoga. At the end of class, Keith walked around the room introducing himself to new students, just one more way that he stands out among other instructors.
YogaWorks is an ideal place to spend a Saturday morning; get your sweat on and drink some complimentary tea while you shop around the yoga apparel for sale. It’s not as great of a space if you’re trying to get in a class before work and are hoping to get ready there. Though there were Digilock lockers in the bathroom, there were no showers or amenities like dry shampoo or deodorant to make for an easy change-and-go experience. Some of YogaWorks 14th Street’s strengths were the wide array of props available (blankets, blocks, bolsters, etc.) as well as the large, naturally lit studio. Classes weren’t super full, which allowed us to spread out (and thankfully avoid hitting the person next to us when we got into supine twists).
2301 1/2 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009 14th Street Yoga $$
YogaWorks 14th Street
14th Street Yoga, $$
2301 1/2 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009
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Monica is a quiet instructor whose timid nature comes through in everything from her music choice (Why was it so quiet? Was that Enya?) to her approach during class. Though there were only four people in the class, she didn’t offer any hands-on adjustments. While we understand that not all instructors are ready to get up in our business to improve our form, we would have liked a little more cueing to make up for the hands-off approach. During our inversion work, Monica did a nice job demoing headstand and providing options to work into a full handstand. She also made the time in class for a lot of restorative work which is not always the case with a 60 minute class.
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Keith is the yoga instructor for yoga instructors. His class was HARD—throughout, he cued for an advanced practice, which left us sufficiently out of breath and impressed with what we could do. At one point, he had us transition from downward dog to dolphin to chaturanga to dolphin to downward dog and we thought our arms were going to fall off. We stuck it out because we wanted to hang with everyone around us that seemed to just be crushing it. Though many of the students in the class really knew their way around a mat, Keith still gave descriptive cues and hands-on adjustments. He also did some counting down in poses rather than just having us focus on our breath, which helped us to stay in the pose when we wanted to throw in the towel. It was clear that Keith has spent years on his craft because he was able to stray away from the typical structure of a vinyasa class while still hitting the stretch, balance, and restoration notes we expect from yoga. At the end of class, Keith walked around the room introducing himself to new students, just one more way that he stands out among other instructors.
