7th Chakra

I really enjoyed this studio. I went for a Vinyasa class and it started very promptly at 5pm. The instructor was good and very nice but not as warm as most yoga instructors, possibly more rehearsed. She was still very effective though and I felt great at the end of the hour.
I also really enjoyed their store. They had great books on yoga and meditation along with dozens of stones, pendulums, incense, and all kinds of knick knacks for embracing your inner yogi. There’s no place in Calgary like it that I know of. When I mentioned to the clerk that I didn’t even know the store existed all this time she replied «that’s because you were meant to find it in your own divine time». I love that.
They also have customer parking in the back which is a huge plus since it’s located on 17^th ave SW. Worth checking out for sure.

The main appeal for me to go to this place in the first place was the location, it’s right on 17 Ave SW and walking distance from work (I can be lazy: p). I ended up buying a Groupon deal that the business is taking part in where you get 5 classes for $ 20, and just went along to my first class there last week.
With the Groupon deal I booked in online through a third party website, where I then received an email. It said to show them on arrival but I didn’t end up needing to do this when I arrived as they already had my details. As it was my first time I filled in one of their forms with my details and went on through to the studio. I went along to a 12pm class on a Tuesday, which had only 2 other people in the class (which I liked as I was very rusty after not having been to a class in 3 months). I chose the Breathe, Stretch, Heal as a more gentle option, which I really enjoyed — and surprisingly hard after a 3 month. The instructor was good and friendly, there were a few things that I thought she could have mentioned about posture and poses etc that I am used to being told at other classes, but covered the main points. She was also encouraging and had a bit of humour to get us through holding poses like plank for extended periods.
The yoga studio is a room that you access through their main shop, there are washrooms (which I didn’t use), and a small area to leave your shoes in before you enter the yoga studio. They have a space to hang up your coat in the room, and then you can have your personal items in the room as well which I like (some other studios I have been to don’t allow/​encourage this). The room did have a little bit of noise at times from people walking on the floor above, but otherwise I really liked it. There were the usual bolsters and blocks to use if you wanted, and I saw some mats in a basket to hire for $ 2 if you needed to.

First off, this is not a yoga studio, this is a store with a room in the back that is being used for yoga classes. The member of the staff at the front desk/​cashier was incredibly rude. In two occasions I spoke with one of the ladies over the phone and she seemed to be having a really bad day. Embracing the spirit of yoga practice, uh? The actual class was not horrible, but was just «meh». The instructor did not care for anybody in the room, people were trying difficult poses with clearly no experience at all! She kept repeating the same phrases over and over, and to be completely honest, what she was saying did not make a lot of grammar sense. Test to see if we were awake. Who knows…
I am upset at myself for not checking the reviews first, as I saw the exact same comments from people on Unilocal.If you have the time to research, check it out and save yourself the effort and money to go there.

I recently bought a Groupon, to which this place is affiliated with, and so I had tried out a class here through the Groupon Metabody Fitness deal. I probably would not have gone to this place otherwise… that being said, I probably won’t return here, even though I have 4 other classes to use up. It’s not terrible, I just didn’t care for the teacher (went through the positions way too fast, almost like we were in some sort of yoga boot camp, and she just didn’t really seem very into it) and the general atmosphere of the class was a bit off.
Better experience at Rejuve yoga (just please promise me that you won’t check out the Rejuve Infrared thing next door… the website says that they wrap a blanket that heats your entire body up to 55 degrees Celcius. oh really? So basically you just murder people? Because hunnay pleaseee… a body temperature of 41 is when you start to die. so they are seriously stewwpid.) on 10^th or Yoga and Meditation Center in Marda Loop… No I am not affiliated with them at all. I’m just too lazy to search them both up and give them positive reviews.

I did a month drop-​in there before I moved to YYC this summer. The space has a lot of great book resources and a groovy feel upon entering.
The studio however, is in a corner basement with no windows or mirrors, so it’s a little depressing.
I only took from 2 teachers there who were ok. The one gal was a newer teacher but decent.
I haven’t joined anywhere here yet however, I’m not sure I’d go back there.

It really bothers me when businesses grasp to the old school way of thinking that just because a person, no matter how obnoxious they seem, can justify treating a person differently. You really can’t, it’s bad business. Don’t get me wrong, back in my ol’ retail days I had my own spat or two with a «shithead», but I felt bad about it at some point afterwards, wondering what circumstances could have been different so the whole situation could have been avoided.
Such is the case with 7^th Chakra, or at least, whoever I was talking to on the phone last night. I was really looking forward to a yoga class and whenever I dropped in months ago the experience was always a pleasant one whoever was at the counter. So despite having to brave their weird changerooms and what barely feels like a solid set-​up for a yoga studio compared to other studios I’ve been to in Calgary, I’ve held back writing a review.
So when I called in to check if spots online were available for an 8:00pm class, the woman on the phone informed me that few spots were left. She then proceeded to ask me if I was through a dealfinder and when I said yes, it seemed the tone of the conversation changed at the point. First she informed me that my dealfinder expired back in June so I had to «pay for a drop in class like EVERYBODY». She then proceeded to read the fine print that was supposedly included in every voucher they gave that the it expired 90 days from the first class I took. Annoyed that part of my day had to be re-​planned (which wasn’t her or 7^th chakras fault, I just hate changing plans at the last minute) I blurted out «I dont’ think thats what my voucher said that earlier this year but that’s ok, I don’t have time to argue about it»
«Well even if you did, you wouldn’t WIN the argument» was the snarky reply that came back
So after explaining that I meant having to take it up with dealfinder, she went out of her way to pull out the actual Dealfinder coupon I had just from her «filing cabinet» so she could read that fine line to prove me wrong. Enter another 5 minutes of going back and forth. People don’t like being proven they’re wrong, so the very few of our sincere apologies are best left for situations like «oh hey, sorry I slept with your wife, I’m a terrible human being» not «oh sorry I didn’t read the fine print on a dealfinder voucher I bought half a year ago, thanks for making me feel like a dumbass»
So next time, dont’ defend some website that is already facing a lot of flack for it’s methods. That’s what Dealfinder/​Groupon/​whatever trains it’s customer service reps to handle.
So how would YOU have handled that Angelo? Easy…
«Hey, sorry if the deal had expired, that had always been the stipulation we had with these sites. You should contact them if you feel it wasn’t communicated with you on the website or on your printout. Apologies if we aren’t able to accommodate. If you’re willing to come and pay the drop in, I can still squeeze you in the class»
Bottom line treat every person like you would your best customer. You never know what value (big or small) they can bring to your place. And for a Yoga studio/​shop and it’s employees not to understand the notion of Karma, is disappointing. So yeah a SOLID two stars or what Unilocal calls it «MEH, I’VE EXPERIENCED BETTER»