Midtown Yoga — Attraction in Raleigh

Time for an anectdote. Background: I’m 32 years old and I’ve been playing golf for 12 years, and have been fairly proficient (2-4 handicap) for nearly 7 years. With the torsion of the back in the golf swing, (sometimes) violent articulation of the shoulders and hips, and abrupt redirection of the large and small muscle groups, it goes without saying my body has taken quite a beating from the game. Over the past couple years, I’ve noticed that my game has hit a plateau- averaging 290-300 yds of the tee, with the occassional lucky 320, and my swing hasn’t felt very controllable. In order to hit fairways more often, I’ve dialed my swing back to maintain control, thus losing 20-30 yards over the past few years, and my body would ache for days after playing 18 holes. I had come to accept that I wouldn’t get much better, and that was a hard pill to swallow... so I slowly found myself playing less and less. Until......... Enter Midtown Yoga! I started going to Midtown Yoga right after they opened (I think March). I causally told Emily, the owner and my favorite instructor, what my goals were and what my schedule was, and I joined after my first class. I’ve tried to go 2-3 times a week since then. The classes are challenging mentally and physically... very often in that order! I won’t go into the details of the classes or the moves, but my favorite part: THE RESULTS! As a stay at home dad, it’s been hard to get a moment to play golf, but recently I was home alone for 4 days and I decided to spend my time on the golf course. I texted Emily around the 6th hole of my first round in 7 months to tell her how she’s helped improve my golf game. After 2 holes, I’d noticed that I was hitting the ball entirely too far for how easily I was swinging. I thought it was sort of a fluke, and kept on playing. After I’d hit my 3rd drive in a row almost 360 yds, I realized something had changed with my body. That’s over 20% increase in distance, and I was hitting every fairway because I wasn’t swinging hard at all. Moving on, I tried to adjust my club selection to reflect my newfound distance, so I used a 7-iron (usually 180-185yds) at the 209 yd par 3... surely that wouldn’t reach, but I figured “what the heck?”, let’s rip it. I flew over the green by 20 yards. Since then, I’ve played 3 more rounds of golf, and the distance has been no fluke. It seems that (and I don’t want to jinx it, but) it’s here to stay! I told my best friend, who happens to be my golf instructor, that “it’s like my muscles have brains in them”. Needless to say, I am so pleased with the practical functionality that I have gained in my body over the past few months at Midtown Yoga. Oh, I almost forgot to mention I started off MY with the precaution of a slightly torn rotator cuff... that has since remedied itself completely! As you’ve probably read in other reviews, yes the facility is great, the staff is amazing, and the exercises are so freakin good! I just wanted to tell you how this place has truly helped change a big part of my life! I am so grateful that I gave...

Where do I even begin? Midtown Yoga has changed my life. The practice, the people (both teachers and students), the events, everything about this place has been extremely positive. I tried crossfit for 6 months before joining and I was always in pain, struggling to get through every day without being negative about something. I loved the people at crossfit but the workouts were just brutal and they broke my body down in ways it couldn’t recover from in time to do more than 2-3 workouts a week. In fact, the best thing that ever happened at crossfit was that I met one of the Midtown Yoga teachers there and she talked me into coming in for a class – “You should try hot yoga, you’ll love it.” After that first class I was hooked. The hot flow classes have provided incredible improvements in my daily life and in my performance while racing my rally car. Spending up to 75 minutes at a time several days a week exercising in a hot room is the perfect way to prep your body for being in and out of a hot race car most of the day for 2-3 days at a time. I used to become mentally and physically exhausted and lose focus at some point but now I’m solidly focused through the whole race and I don’t care about the heat. The flow movements have affected my balance, flexibility, strength and endurance in ways that no other exercise regimen has ever come close to. And my mental/emotional well-being has benefited from the unwind and nidra classes and really helped me connect to who I was before life changed me. I always look forward to going to class and I look forward to more personal growth as a result of joining. I would say I wish I had started practicing yoga years ago, but I’m glad I didn’t because then I might not be practicing here. I can never thank you enough,...

The studio itself is adorable and in a great location! With the previous owner, Emily, I would give 5 stars. Since she left, the vibe has been so different. From check-in to the end. There is not nearly as much of a happy, accepting of everyone state of mind from new staff members (existing staff members that were under Emily are always PHENOMENAL). Instead, with the new additions and management, it has shifted more towards an uptight, judgmental vibe as soon as you walk in. Usually starting your interaction with a uninterested demeanor and looking you up and down before saying “name???”. Also be sure to arrive early if you’re going in the afternoon as parking is terrible. I once spent over 20 minutes looking for parking (I arrived 30 min early already) and could not find any. I called the studio to let them know and they were less than helpful telling me to check places after telling them I had either just left that area or am currently circling the garage with no success. I was still charged for not showing and when I asked them about it, they said I should have contacted them stating my problem via email… I responded with the fact that I called but apparently I should have emailed because it is faster… Good classes, just not as friendly or...