CorePower Yoga - Portland Northwest — Local services in Portland

I truly love CorePower, but this location is... something else. While there are some incredible instructors, unfortunately, there are one or two who dominate the schedule during the most popular times and their approach feels more like extreme CrossFit rather than yoga, particularly in the YogaSculpt classes.

Instead of fostering an encouraging and playful environment where you can push yourself or listen to your body, these instructors resort to intense and aggressive tactics. They yell things like, "You SHOULD be able to lift this weight. I DON'T want to see light weights in your hands!" and "I PROMISE you won't get BULKY if you lift more - insert eye roll here - COME ON!" and these instructors (not the ones I like) do not give you alternative options or modifications incase you need (for whatever reason) to do something other than instructed.

When you choose heavier weights, you're singled out in front of the entire class with comments like, "You MUST be the Hulk! Guess we'll have to teach you a lesson today..." This results in everyone staring and judging you for the rest of the class. By my fifth class with these instructors, I decided to switch to a different location because I felt bullied and judged.

If I modify a move due to an injury, I shouldn't be screamed at or put down for lifting lighter weights. CorePower NW, perhaps you should consider removing "YOGA" from your name and rebrand as an intense powerlifting studio. Just...

Oh Core Power Yoga, how I love thee, let me count the ways...

1. An athletic yoga class in which your heart rate gets up and you feel challenged, yet still have time to stretch out at the end of class. Perfect!

2. Great instructors who inspire you to challenge yourself, yet still find the peace and let go when you need to

3. Some of these great instructors include (my faves): Claudia, Sarah, Jill, James

4. Plenty of options for all levels and varieties - standard Bikram to hot vinyasa flow for Type As like me!

5. Great locations with free street parking!

6. Frequent classes - classes are very regularly scheduled so you can get to yoga at almost any hour of the day between 6AM and 8PM!

If I had to point out some potential negatives, they could be:

1. Very full classes - sometimes to the point where you can't do a pose without hitting your neighbor. Open a new studio, please, and create some room!

2. Price - I would love to be a member here, but it's crazy expensive. I usually just go when they have groupon deals.

3. Very fast yoga can lead to injury - some instructors flow very fast - I actually like this a lot, but I think it can be dangerous and cause injury or not allow you to find alignment in your pose.

Overall, if it weren't for the price I'd probably give this place 5 stars. It's a 4.5!...

Love this studio, the instructors, and the courses. My favorite is strength X -- weights and cardio. A bonus is that the 6am course is only 45 minutes, which is good for my 8am in office schedule. But I also enjoy hot fusion on the weekends. As a longtime Bikram yogi, I miss the traditional series and can't find a place here that's convenient and works in my schedule. And while the hot fusion varies from class to class and adds vinyasa flow, it still includes most of the Bikram poses, so I get my fix. On the weekends the morning classes are very full and occasionally book out, so make sure to reserve a day in advance and prepare for shoulder to shoulder. But otherwise the classes provide more than enough space. Sculpt especially seems to be popular at this studio. It's fine, but I prefer strength. C2 is pretty fun and C1 is perfect for when I'm feeling sore or need to have more self care and move slower. Restore is just too slow for me period. It's an hour of stretching. Which I guess some people enjoy. Overall I really enjoy and appreciate this studio...