What a wonderful day it was! Any day that includes FREE PURE YOGA, girlfriends, new restaurants, and shopping is a great day filled with smiles and laughter!
Almost a month ago, I received an email from Self Magazine advertising their special partnership event at Pure Yoga in NYC. This is what the invite stated:
East Meets West at Pure Yoga
Join SELF and Pure Yoga, New York City’s preeminent studio, for an ah-inspiring return to the authentic styles of yoga. Pure Yoga celebrates its latest location opening with exclusive afternoon access for SELF readers at this luminous, Upper West Side yoga playground.
Enjoy a complimentary signature class*. Choose from Hot Power Yoga, Mat Pilates, Pure Core, Vinyasa or Yoga Basics. Take time to further unwind with a relaxing hand massage, compliments of AVEENO®. Leave fresh and renewed with a sample of the spirited floral fragrance, Pretty Elizabeth Arden.
Saturday, February 6th
Doors open at 11:30 a.m.
Pure Yoga
204 West 77th Street
New York City
Space is Limited. Register for your class today at SELFConnected.com.
I immediately knew that I wanted to give it a try as i’ve heard wonderful things about Pure and had yet to try either of their studios. I quickly forwarded the invite to my girlfriends Lauren and Elizabeth hoping they’d join. We all decided that we’d take advantage of Pure’s space and resources by enjoying the 1pm hot power vinyasa.
After heading into the city early to pick up our bibs for tomorrow’s NYRR 4 miler, I walked a little over a mile through the cold streets crossing through the park towards the Upper West Side. I forgot how much I love walking through the city and taking in all the museums, shops, and people. I saw plenty of runners braving the elements as I crossed through the park and grew excited for tomorrow’s race with Dori, Meghann, Heather, and others!
As soon as I turned the corner at 77th and Amsterdam I knew I was in for a treat. Even the doors of Pure are absolutely gorgeous. Self had a table set up as soon as I entered where I was able to sign in, verify my class schedule, and receive a great swag bag. Today’s bag included a full size Aveeno Calming Moisturizer, a small Aveeno body wash, a 3 day pass to Pure, this month’s Self, a fragrance, and a can of Solixir. I LOVE free goodies especially when they’re related to health and beauty! The first thing I realized was that Pure is a HUGE space especially for a yoga studio. They feature over 100 classes a week in yoga and pilates. There are 8 studios each of which are absolutely beautiful! The whole area is filled with gorgeous bamboo floors, wood carvings, greenery, and calming music. This was definitely a change from last week’s yoga location. You can see a tour of the amazing space by clicking here. The locker room was plenty spacious and featured all the same great amenities as Equinox. After meeting Lauren and Elizabeth in the locker room we headed towards our studio and claimed a place. The studio was warm and inviting with faux candles along the back wall and a raised arch ceiling similar to this picture. (Our studio was half this size though) As soon as we entered we noticed a few things:
-The room was already very hot- probably close to 100 degrees!
-There were no mirrors in the room which was unusual but refreshing.
-The mats were very high quality and a heavier padded mat than one normally receives at a studio.
We explored the lobby area after setting up our mats and found the complimentary hand massages we’d heard about when we signed in. The hand massage, provided by Essential Therapy Massage and Spawas a heavenly 10 minute massage that released the daily stress in our hands, wrists, and forearms through gentle neading and use of pressure points. After the massage we were each presented a $30 gift card towards another treatment at their spa.
At 1pm we entered the class and found that it had filled since we last left. Luckily, they placed a cap on the class so there was plenty of room to practice. Our instructor, Kristi Clark, grew up as a world renowned rythmic gymanst which was immediately clear based on her build and her graceful movement. She asked each of us to focus on the breath, relaxing our muscles, and having fun. This was the only thing I found to be quite odd. During the whole class she kept telling us to laugh and smile. That made me a bit uncomfortable as I can’t always guarantee that i’ll smile through a 100 degree hot yoga class when I’m working my muslces as hard as possible. The class moved very quickly even though there were five novices who admitted this was one of their first classes. She did a wonderful job explaining the positions but also ensuring we were challenged by giving us adjustments and ways to make it more difficult. She also never stopped moving around the studio adjusting each of us. She helped open my hips during the pose and also helped me reach a proper crow pose which i’m proud to say I was able to hold for almost 10 seconds today!
After our class we enjoyed the steam room before changing and stopping to purchase Clean Plates NYC in the Pure store. They were giving out information about this great healthy eating version of Zagat when we entered and Elizabeth and I immediately knew we needed to add it to our collection. It is the only nutritiouns and food critic approved manhattan restaurant guide! It even features information for vegetarians and carnivores. I can’t wait to use this new tool to find a Friday night restaurant next weekend!
We can’t thank Self and Pure Yoga enough for the great day and opportunity! We felt like we’d spent a day at the spa when we left thoroughly relaxed and detoxified from the wonderful yoga class. If the price wasn’t a limiting factor considering I already have an Equinox membership, i’d definitely practice here at least two times a week. Elizabeth and I both wish they featured a class card so you could buy a class package to use over a certain time period. Our studios in Atlanta and Philadelphia each had this option which was great for people who don’t want to live on yoga alone but use it to supplement their other workouts.
We will definitely be back next weekend to use our 3 day class pass during the long President’s Day weekend.
Tommorrow i’ll reveal the winner of the giveaway, review our wonderful lunch spot, and share recap/photos from the NYRR 4 miler and blogger brunch! Now it’s time for sleep 🙂
