Blue Point Yoga — Local services in Durham

Rude! On thanksgiving day, my fiance and I decided to start the day with some yoga. I am a yoga instructor in new york and enjoy visiting different yoga studios. We were visiting my fiance's hometown for the holiday. We walked in the door to this studio, said happy thanksgiving, and the woman at the desk responded "hello, are you locals?" When we stated that we were visiting family for the holidays and that my fiance had grown up in durham, we were told we could not receive the new student special promotion because it was "only for locals." On thanksgiving no less!!! I practice a lot of yoga in a lot if different places and have never felt so discriminated against for being from out of town. On all other occassion, not only have I been welcomed warmly to the new studio, but if there was a new student special available, it was offered to me, no questions asked. Yoga is about community, unity and acceptance. This studio clearly does not embrace these fundamental yoga concepts. FYI the offer advertised was for "new students" not "locals only." I refused to give this studio my business as I couldn't bring myself to support a yoga studio that operates so far outside of the spiritual teachings of yoga. Futhermore, we travel to Durham often enough to have been able to give the studio plenty of business in the future if they had welcomes us instead of treating us like lowly outsiders. I hope after reading this post you chose to practice yoga at a different...

This studio is the first I've encountered in a long time that treats their employees - both teachers and front desk staff - with incredible respect. All teachers are paid as employees, not freelancers, and are paid regardless of how many students show up. Teachers are not punished for having lives - family commitments, continuing educational studies, babies, vacations, etc. The atmosphere of the studio is non-competitive, supportive, and friendly. Sara Doyle, the owner, is also a professor of Anatomy at Duke University. To someone who values alignment and injury prevention above all else, it has been a joy to study with her and learn so much about my personal asana practice. I highly recommend this studio with its versatile and diverse teaching staff, incredible monthly packages, and...

For our wedding weekend, we hired Casey to instruct a private yoga class in the Duke Gardens for our friends and family who all traveled in from out of town. We had some who practice yoga daily and others who've only done yoga a handful of times. Casey put together a flow for us that was great for all levels and even adjusted her instruction as the class progressed and she got a feel for everyone's level of comfort. It was such a great experience, in a serene location. Casey did an amazing job and we would certainly be regulars at Blue Point Yoga if we...