The best yoga studios in NYC

The congested St. Marks area gets a purifying infusion of health and mindfulness with this stunning yoga studio in the East Village. Try out well-priced Ashtanga yoga classes at this cozy studio in a historic building where you'll feel the noise of the city melt away.

Setting it apart from other, more corporate-feeling studios, the space boasts exposed brick walls, a gently crackling fireplace, high ceilings dotted with skylights, cabin-like wood paneling, tall lemon trees, and a patio with even more fruit trees. It truly feels like an oasis. 

Courses run throughout the day and are new-user friendly. 

Yoga may be big business in NYC right now, but when Integral first opened its doors in the '60s, few people knew anything about it. The Integral Yoga system was founded by respected guru Swami Satchidananda in 1966, and there are now institutes all over the world. Its 90-minute hatha-style classes are offered at three different levels and always include meditation. There are also specialized classes, including prenatal, yoga for arthritis and for those with HIV, plus free drop-in deep-relaxation classes. The institute also has a wellness spa, gift store, well-stocked health-food store and café.

Founded in 1971, Kundalini Yoga East is NYC’s longest running kundalini studio. The style combines meditation and spirituality with breathwork and postures, and this studio offers a regular schedule of classes as well as special events and workshops.

An open class at this branch of the International Sivananda Vedanta Centers begins and ends with a nice lie-down, complemented by soothing chanting, courtesy of the instructor and anyone else who knows the words. It’s not just about the class itself at the Sivananda center—the whole place sets a tone of relaxation. You enter a brownstone on a quiet Chelsea street and are welcomed by a calming scene—people chatting in indoor voices, staff members dressed in super-comfortable pants, and yogis eating vegetarian meals out in an open kitchen (meals are served Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm and Saturdays at noon; $12, members $10). Sivananda yoga moves slowly, and is not for ADD types or people who need to perspire profusely to be satisfied with their workout.

Brazilian yoga teacher Dharma Mittra has been teaching since 1967, and you may be familiar with photos of him standing on his head—without using his arms—and smiling beatifically. While Dharma yoga is its own system (and one taught around the world), its roots are in the ashtanga tradition, and Dharma classes are accordingly vigorous and challenging. Classes are offered at various levels from beginner to “Master Sadhana,” and the Flatiron studio also offers workshops and courses.

If you are new to yoga, you’ll want to learn the basics of body kinesthetics so that you have an understanding of how to get the most out of sessions without hurting yourself. In this introductory course, you’ll learn the basics of flow, balance and stability to help you maintain poses, follow movement patterns and work on posture. If you think yoga is something that you want to pursue, you won’t regret this chance to work on your coordination and prepare your body for more advanced poses and techniques.

Not all yoga classes are for meditation and accessing a deeper understanding of the world. While you may imagine these classes as the purview of young, worldly twenty-somethings, balance and stability courses can be a lifelong pursuit that pays dividends as you grow older. This course is about ensuring that, as your body ages, you are still able to move upright, ideally preventing you from taking falls when going about your day. This class provides simple lessons and techniques that can literally be life-savers.

Another introductory yoga course, this program aims to introduce participants to the basics of yoga in an accessible, multi-level course. The primary course goal is to feed your body and mind by finding the proper balance of effort and ease as you move from position to position. Whether you are an experienced yoga practitioner or a new student, you’ll be poised to learn something new as your instructor guides you through a series of poses aimed at improving the lanes of communication between your body and mind.

It is easy to forget that yoga is not a single unified art, but is instead a diverse and varied set of styles and practices. This course teaches Kundalini yoga, a form of yoga that focuses on awakening the eponymous Kundalini energy, which is said to be coiled at the base of the spine. You’ll work on releasing this energy through a series of postures, breathing techniques, meditative exercises and chants, all aiming to help you improve health and mindfulness, allowing you to approach your fitness routine with greater clarity. This is a fast-paced, energetic yoga-style, ideal for those who want more movement in their process.

Power Flow Yoga is a fusion fitness style that combines yoga poses with a high-intensity fitness dance, creating a vision of yoga that is more exercise-oriented and faster-paced than most traditional styles. This fitness routine aims to improve strength, stamina and flexibility while helping you lose weight and develop cardiovascular health. This is a clever fusion of two well-established fitness and healthcare practices and very much worthy of your time.

This beginner’s yoga class is an ideal introduction to the world of Hatha yoga practices. In this eight-session course, students will learn the history of yoga practices, the basics of preparing for a session and some of the most common poses that practitioners find productive. You’ll cover postures, breathing exercises and meditative relaxation techniques, all of which come together to provide you with the knowledge you need to practice yoga regularly.

If you are looking for a yoga experience, but you want to be sure that it is low impact and accessible, consider this low and slow yoga class that aims to help students develop yoga skills that are more relaxed and calming. Unlike more traditional kinds of yoga, this form primarily focuses on the lower parts of the body, including the hips, pelvis, and lower spine and on building ligament and tendon strength. This program is ideal for anyone who wants to get a workout and build lower body strength while also learning mindfulness and meditation practices.

Let’s face it. Life can be stressful and work is rarely going to help to alleviate that stress. Even a great company is going to occasionally have some demanding periods and employees have lives outside of work that can be causing them trouble. A stressed out workforce is losing productivity and risks burnout, neither of which you want. If this is something that concerns you, you may want to consider signing up for a group mindfulness workshop to give your employees some guided meditation, yoga training and opportunities for stress relief.

In this one-time group stretching workshop, you and your team will get together for an afternoon exercise session designed to help relieve tension and stress as you work through a series of guided poses and meditative practices. These routines can be customized to the general tenure of your group and the aim is to make them accessible, so the 45-year-old mother of two and the 23-year-old gym rat at your office will both get guided assistance tailored to their needs and physicality. Everyone will also learn how to replicate some of these stretches in their home office or workplace, giving them the tools they need to help de-stress and become more mindful at work.

This program aims to help students understand the role of the mantra in meditation routines. While often pictured as a stereotypical chant, an individual’s mantra is often uniquely tied to their process and helps them focus on the process of meditating. Over 4 weeks, you’ll have a chance to develop your own mantra and start a meditation routine that assists with mindfulness, stress and anxiety. Open your heart and fill your mind with love as you embark on the first step of your meditation journey.

Founded by Kristin Leigh and Barbara Verocci in 2002, the Shala now has two locations, with one studio off Union Square and the other in Fort Greene. Both offer a supremely peaceful way to practice ashtanga-style yoga and ashtanga-influenced vinyasa; the studio is pretty and spacious. The emphasis is on yoga’s core values, and there are also meditation classes and anatomy workshops, plus a small store with a great book selection.

For beginners and advanced yogis alike, Iyengar yoga offers a supremely clear, safe and peaceful way to practice. Its founder, the late BKS Iyengar, was the first Indian teacher to bring yoga to the west in the ’40s and laid the path for all the offshoot styles of yoga that are available today. The focus is on physical alignment in the poses, which means you won’t create injuries, and it’s also ideal for folks who are dealing with existing problems, as well as sporty types and older practitioners. Instruction is super straightforward, and teachers use clear language, steering away from any kind of wishy-washy jargon.

Loved by locals, this Williamsburg mainstay offers vinyasa classes at every level, from beginners through intermediate and advanced. Having two studios (there’s another at 88 Roebling St) means that there’s usually a class that will suit your taste and timetable, from the sweaty, lively “Sweat and Flow” session to the mellow, reflective restorative yoga series. There’s also a sauna and spa featuring a team of talented masseurs.

Okay—this is technically not a studio, but what better way to practice the art of yoga than on the great lawn of beautiful Bryant Park? Whether you’re a die-hard yogi or a noob searching for vinyasa, folks of all fitness levels are welcome to find Zen beneath the trees every Tuesday morning and Thursday evening during the summer. The outdoor hub’s yoga season is presented by sportswear brand Athleta, during which instructors from Yoga Journal help you perfect poses while you focus on deep breathing. Classes will be held at Upper Terrace (Tue) and on the Lawn (Thu).