WCCO Viewers' Choice For Best Yoga Class In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's early in the year, and people are still doing what they can to stick with their resolutions.
For those looking for a little zen in the new year, we went in search of the best yoga class in Minnesota.
Your votes sent me to St. Paul for a twist on the traditional practice. The winner is CorePower Yoga in Highland Park.
Yoga class is a place to feel calm, cool. But here, it's hot and very sweaty. The temps and the music are cranked.
"CorePower's different because we create an environment in which the yoga is fun," Regional Manager Amanda Ford said.
Amid the down dogs and warrior 2's, there's something even more unexpected.
"We just did yoga sculpt, so 60 minutes, heated vinyasa flow with weights," assistant manager and instructor Kayla Preston said.
That's right -- yoga with weights.
"It's not necessarily what they're expecting all the time, and I think that's why CorePower is so successful," Ford said.
When I think of yoga, I walked in, saw the Buddha statue, a fireplace. Then I came in the studio and I got my butt kicked with weights. It's a different type of yoga. But they also have the traditional kind.
"That's our foundation. It's never going to go away. We're built on the principles of yoga, and that's something that is at our core," Ford said.
And there's a spiritual and mental aspect to it all.
"They mesh well together, and that's what students tend to seek out and really like about our space," Ford said.
And it's about making yoga accessible.
"For a lot of people it's, 'I'm not flexible enough, I'm not strong enough.' It's a lot of more like self-doubt," Preston said. "Yoga isn't about touching your toes. It's about what you learn on the way down."
So, if you're searching for inner peace or working on your outer appearance, transcend to CorePower Yoga in Highland Park. They're located on Cleveland Avenue South and Eleanor Avenue.
Memberships are available, but not required. You can buy classes individually or in packages.