studio central

element’s yogi figured out which classes challenge more than just one’s knowledge of Russian and which ones those that haven’t mastered the language should avoid.

If, like me, you’ve been living in Moscow for more than six months and aren’t yet a member of a gym, chances are you aren’t going to join one. But if you’re looking for a way to escape the energy-vacuumthat isMoscow or just a serious, one-off workout, Moscow’s many yoga studios are ready and waiting. For one grueling week I went to five yoga studios around town, some recommended by friends, some because of their helpful websites, in order to give you an informative look at what this city has to offer yoga-wise. My journey started at Nym Yoga, a beautiful and relaxing New York-style studio near the Smolenskaya metro station. I paid 600 rubles for an hour and a half of power yoga and as long as you can understand the difference between “zvdokh” (breath in) and “vydokh” (breath out), you could probably follow along. Also, in my class it was just myself and one other student, which is unusual for the studio but not unheard of. If you’re not interested in keeping your eyes on the instructor, Nym offers Hatha yoga in English on Sundays at 6 p.m. (When I went there were only eight students.) And Nym isn’t only about their classes; the studio features a substantial yoga library and a reading area, as well as a shop that sells American Apparel and a cafe. The Ashtanga Yoga Center on Stary Tolmachevsky Per. is one of those studios with a helpful website, although the site isn’t exactly accurate as the price for a lesson was listed as 350 rubles and I was only asked to hand over 275 for my 90-minute Sunday evening class. Here I chose to take a “Beginners 2” class, for students who have been with their practice for a year or more. And while this class was full of arm balances, inversions and serious flexibility tests, the basement-studio was packed with 24 sweating bodies. Unless you know the names of all the asanas and speak fluent Russian, you’d be better off sitting this one out. Finding the Moscow B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Studio on Arbat Ul. can be troublesome, as the metal door blends into the painted archway in which it is located. I took a level one class, which involved the use of the many props including sleeping bag shaped pillows, blankets and bands typical of Iyengar yoga. The hourlong lesson (500 rubles) involved a lot of stretching but the “work-out” was so relaxing that I actually fell asleep. For someone that has experience in Ashtanga or Hatha yoga, Iyengar can be frustrating. However, if you’re just starting to do yoga this might be the place for you as Iyengar focuses on getting all of the postures and techniques right from the beginning. They also offer classes in English on Friday mornings. Another less expensive option for Russian speakers is Federatsiya Iogi (Federation of Yoga) — a citywide chain with four studios around the center. The studios focus on the more controversial Kundalini yoga, but an hour and a half long Hatha class at the studio near the Novoslobodskaya metro station (350 rubles) proved that Kundalini isn’t the only form of yoga the teachers there are familiar with. In fact, here the classes vary the most both in level and type of yoga — on any given day you can find prenatal yoga, Ashtanga, Hatha, Kundalini, yoga for women and children’s yoga taught. The biggest issue I had with the studio near Novoslobodskaya was finding it, so I recommend calling for directions in advance. The Baltschug Kempinski Hotel offers a 90-minute English language Hatha yoga class on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. with highly trained instructors from Moscow Business Yoga, a group run by Anne Klein, who teaches Nym’s English-language session. The classes take no more than 10 or 15 students, which means that you get a lot of individual attention and while the price (600 rubles) is the same as Nym, with this class comes access to the hotel’s health center. With the exception of Moscow B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Studio, all of the places had showers, but the Baltschug Kempinski is definitely the only one with a pool.

TEXT CATHERINE BLANCHARD