The Scoop on AuraYoga:
Last week, I arrived in LA at 1:00AM PST, which is mad late for this New Yorker. In keeping with my rules of vacation, I granted myself a much needed sleep-in. Granted I had gone to bed around 5:00AM NYC time, yeesh.
I woke up shockingly refreshed and craving a sweaty stretch session that wasn’t too far away from where I was staying. I used the Base Membership from ClassPass (<– full review) while I was in LA which meant I could take 5 classes for $60. Not a terrible deal and I was only in LA for a week.
So, AuraYoga’s Sculpt class fit the bill plus it’s walking distance to home base AND where I was meeting my friend for lunch afterwards.
It ended up being just what the doctor ordered.
The Deets:
AuraYoga, West Hollywood
8608-A West Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website || Facebook || Instagram
$22 per class.
The Studio:
I’ve come to learn that Los Angeles studios offer less amenities than NYC studios. While showers are somewhat customary in NYC (granted, less so for yoga studios) it’s pretty rare to come across a studio with showers in LA. When I was here in March I remember talking to a few instructors about how the fitness scene is a bit different in LA vs. NYC, which is also based on the “culture” of each city, so to speak.
AuraYoga doesn’t have a ton of fancy amenities, but the bathrooms are nice and I like that they have a communal area where you can wash your face after class as opposed to it being in the actual restrooms.
I ended up renting a mat, a slightly beat-up, Jade Mat and also paid for a towel.
The actual room where the magic happens is heated to 85 degrees. I’m not a huge fan of hot yoga, uh I’m a sweaty enough person as is, but 85 degrees ended up being the right amount of heat without it being suffocating.
For a hot yoga studio there was no icky hot yoga stench. Sadly this is not the case at most hot yoga studios I’ve been to.
In addition to being heated, the yoga room has this crazy cool lighting system. The instructor was able to change the lights, and used it to set the mood for each section of class. It was a nice touch without being overly gimmicky.
The Class:
The sculpt class is a mixture of straight-up yoga with a touch of strength training using light weights and a teeny tiny bit of cardio.
The instructor, Cornelius, offered awesome verbal cues. I do wish he did some hands on adjustments during the yoga bits (my own personal preference) and came around correcting form during the strength training portion.
We started off with a yoga warm-up, the usual cat cow and progressing into Sun Salutation A. The flow started to build and became more athletic. We then grabbed our weights and spent the middle chunk using the light weights as part of the flow doing things like high lunge with bicep curls and pulsing our arms out in Warrior 2.
I found the pace to be challenging but manageable and even with the heat I never felt like I was full out struggling. Between the heated room and the fast pace, I was a hot sweaty mess. But I guess that’s expected…
After a fair amount of strength training and a quick cardio burst at the end (hello, high-knees and football drills!) we finished off with a juicy yoga stretch. My biggest complaint is the savasana was a bit half-assed. Super short and not very meditative.
What I loved most about the class is what a friendly environment it was. I hate yoga classes that take themselves so freaking seriously.
Bottom Line:
Bliss was definitely achieved and I freaking floated out of Aura after class. Don’t know if it was the mild LA weather, the class or the endorphin rush but I’m officially a fan of AuraYoga.
Curious about my other favorite classes in LA? Check out my other class reviews here.
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