Yoga Miami — Attraction in Pinecrest

The Yoga Institute of Miami is an amazing place, and over the last 3 or 4 years it’s become a second home to me. I remember walking in for the first time, familiar only with vinyasa classes, and telling the owner and primary teacher, Bobbi Goldin, that I was sort of flexible but wasn’t very strong and had awful balance. She welcomed me, handed me a mat, and gently and humorously corrected my alignment, and most importantly explained why what she was showing me and the rest of the class made sense. The instructions and explanations were often peppered with stories about BKS Iyengar and what he had taught her. Bobbi has been teaching for almost 40 years, and everything she teaches she has tested in her own practice and in teaching thousands of students, each with different abilities, weaknesses, injury histories, and needs. One of the things I like best about YIM is that none of the teachers take a one-size-fits-all approach. No matter if the class has 25 students or 5 students, the practice is adjusted to individual bodies and personalities. All the instructors are well trained in Iyengar yoga, which places an emphasis on holding poses with a solid alignment that allows the body to open and strengthen and allows the mind to become aware not only of where the body is in space but also of the interplay of muscle, bone, and nerve. In Iyengar yoga, the poses become a physical meditation. I don’t want to give the impression, though, that YIM pushes any kind of spiritual practice. It doesn’t. Students come there with all sorts of backgrounds, beliefs, and non-beliefs. The atmosphere is easy going, and teachers and students frequently joke in class. It’s the most relaxed yoga studio I’ve found, but at the same time, everyone takes their practice seriously. It’s also a community in the true sense of that word. The students support each other and are welcoming to newcomers. In my experience, The Yoga Institute of Miami is unique. (I can’t pass up the opportunity for a shout out to the three teachers, besides Bobbi, with whom I’ve studied the most: Jeaneen Bell has an exquisitely sharp eye and an encyclopedic knowledge of sequencing and different ways to get into poses; Diane Beverley always comes up with instructions and examples that stay in my head and pop up when they’re most needed; and, Lee Lahla is clarity itself.) Give it a try! I notice that a first-time student was unhappy and posted an ill-informed review on Google. This saddens me because the student misunderstood what class she was attending. There is a wonderful 8:00 a.m. Sunday class taught by Bobbi. It is one of only two level 2/3 classes taught weekly at YIM. I have been attending regularly for about 3 years, but some participants have been regulars for more than 30 years. The student, based on what she said was her experience level, was allowed to attend and was given substitute poses for headstand, which she does not practice due to an injury. The student appears to have been disturbed that she had walked into a class where the participants were doing a lot of work on inversions, but that is part of what a higher level Iyengar class does. Students who, for one reason or another, are not doing inversions that day are always given other poses to work on. I am sorry that this student didn't understand what a level 2/3 Iyengar class does. She would have probably been much happier in the level 1/2 10:30 a.m. Sunday class that followed it. (I usually go to both.) I urge the student to rethink her review. Bobbi Goldin has always been kindness itself to me and to my fellow students. The headstand practice with variations that made the student unhappy is a normal part of that class. It was not directed at her or intended to make her...

When it comes to decide where to learn yoga, the personality of yoga teacher matters to me the most. Lahla is my yoga teacher at YIM. She just is absolutely wonderful! She always cares about you first, not about the money. She speaks affectionate language. Never ever I saw her use any harsh words. She is a yoga professional who knows a lot of yoga terms and techniques. But she always makes it easy for her students by explaining simply the terms and correcting your yoga practice directly (not just tell you do this do that and leave you alone). Lahla is very open-minded, she teaches you but she loves to learn from you too. It is difficult to describe her kindness in a short review but just so you know, I drive an hour in the traffic from my home to her yoga place just to learn yoga with her, I just can not find any nicer teacher than her. I wish Lahla and her family the best...

Every yoga studio has at least one student that is known to every teacher and the other practitioners because his or her name is called out by the teachers in their effort to assist the poor student to become better at yoga. I can proudly say I am that student at the Yoga Institute of Miami. When I first started attending classes approximately five years ago, I had the joy of hearing each teacher compassionately say I scared them. Through the patient guidance of the Yoga Institute’s outstanding teachers, most notably Bobbi Goldin, my yoga has steadily improved and I look forward to each class knowing that I am helping my body deal with the stresses of life. The proof of my improvement was revealed in the past year when my travels allowed me to attend yoga classes at other studios and I could follow the poses without a single teacher...