White Lotus is all about personalized wellness. There are candles burning, soft lighting, trickling water features and hot tea brewing as you enter the space. It’s small, with a yoga studio that probably fits about 10 and two or three private massage rooms. The bathroom is large, open and fully handicap accessible. White Lotus’s website talks about how they provide private-like classes inspired from a variety of yogic traditions. They discuss their ability to provide more personal attention because of their small class sizes.
White Lotus backs up their claims. After a 9-hour work day, it’s really hard for me to get motivated for any sort of activity beyond sitting on the couch watching tv. Yesterday was no exception. Plus, it started raining on my walk home from the bus. Needless to say, I wasn’t in the best head space. The instructor brought a friend and the three of us (all in our late 20s or early 30s) made up the Evening Unwind Vinyasa class. There are mats, blankets, blocks and sandbags all available for your use. We each grabbed a blanket and settled in. The instructor and her friend met at a yoga training in Cambodia. They were both experienced yogis, white, warm. The instructor asked if we wanted more meditation/mindfulness or movement, how our day/week had been progressing, if there were any areas we wanted to focus on. We settled on a class with movement with longer holds, the instructor’s specialty. We were slow to start, really getting in the zone. She had us repeat any intentions we had for class to ourselves three times, mine was to be present.
We started to go through the poses very deliberately, focusing on our breath and what muscles we were feeling it in. I noticed that there were no mirrors in the room which really allows you to stay in the moment but also meant I couldn’t tell when a hip was out of alignment. Luckily the personal attention meant lots of verbal and hands on personal assistance. The small class size meant there is nowhere to hide. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. I was used to hot studios with a faster flow, allowing me to melt into the crowd a little, think fake it til you make it. Holding some of these poses is HARD. Downward dog is an essential part of most yoga practices and it has always been difficult for me. It starts to hurt my wrists and I almost always start slipping (now that I’m getting serious about my practice, I plan on investing in a new mat – I’ll let you know how it goes). It surprised me that I even started sweating a bit. The instructor welcomed questions during class and it really started to feel like we were all practicing together. The music was calming, breathy – what you’d get typing in yoga on Apple Music, it made sense for this class. We did some poses I had never tried before and now I am painfully aware of how little shoulder strength I have.
It was a great class. Maybe less of a workout than the hot, power yoga classes I’m used to but it was a really enjoyable way to spend a work evening. If you’re looking for a way to destress and engage muscles that have been dormant after sitting at a computer all day, I highly recommend it.
Recommendations: Evening Unwind Vinyasa at White Lotus Therapeutics
Notes: ClassPass Credits – 5, 1 hr
What to Wear/Bring: Yoga Mat
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