“Yoga is one of my favorite ways to exercise” – said about 1/2 the LA population. Not only is it an incredible total body workout, but it does wonders for your soul and state of mind as well. One of the great things about Yoga is that you can pretty much set up and “practice” anywhere – studio, at home, or otherwise. Not to mention – yoga really is the one of the most all inclusive physical activities one could join in on, and in LA, we love nothing more than a diverse and inclusive experience – especially one so focused around health and wellness!

SO. In case you weren’t already made aware on social media via several “check out my yoga pose” posts… today is International Yoga Day! And in honor of this wonderful day, I have come up with a list of what I consider to be the best places to do yoga in LA . So if you haven’t yet celebrated, you still have time.

 

If you like good ol’ regular yoga: try one of my favorite studios in LA – Yogaworks! This studio has a bunch of locations (all over the states mind you!), the classes run longer and the studios are really large. There aren’t any “fancy” hot classes and the music is never terribly loud.

If you like hot yoga with attitude: Y7 is the studio for you. With two locations in LA – WeHo and Silver lake, it combines infrared heat with three flows, done three separate times. Each class is set to hip hop music thats loud and distracting, yet somehow still the personal touches of each class make it so your mind is fully restored. You also do the class in a completely dark room with no mirrors so that you can focus solely on yourself. And trust me – you do. And it’s incredible.

If you like hot yoga with a side of a serious workout: Corepower Yoga! Their sculpt class is one of my favorite classes in all of LA. It incorporates weights into your flow, so you’re sculpting your body, while still stretching it – all the things you’d normally do in a regular flow. The room is heated so you’ll be sweating and they successfully mix in cardio as well. It’s 60 minutes, but well worth it.

If you like outdoor yoga: I know I mentioned this in the Summer Activities blog post but I wouldn’t mention it if it wasn’t so great! Runyon Canyon Yoga is all donation based and held at the base of the canyon in the lovely outdoors. They offer two classes a day – sometimes three – and it is a strict no-judgment zone. I also love that you can hike pre or post yoga to get that added workout in. Win win win if you ask me!

If you like restorative yoga: Modo Yoga is another studio newer to LA. They have three locations that take you from the west side to the east side, and their classes are more centered around mindful movement and meditation. The music is never on loudly, if at all – you can actually pick if you want to take a class with music or not, and the heated yoga rooms never get too hot. It’s definitely more about the way your body moves and working within those movements to make it better. But everything in each studio was made sustainably and they provide water bottles to refill before and after each class.

If you like non-gym and community centric yoga: Liberation Yoga is your go-to. Liberation has been around 10+ years and is one of the most highly respected studios in the city. Classes are consistently packed, the teachers are top notch, and the environment just screams yoga sanctuary. This is classic yoga, not cool kid yoga. All though if you were to see a celebrity practicing here I wouldn’t be surprised!

 

If you have a favorite yoga studio, share in the comments!! Would love to hear where you practice and what you love about it! Otherwise, namaste.