Blooma

As soon as we had a viability ultrasound confirming a heartbeat at 6 weeks, I drove straight to Blooma Minneapolis to sign up for a monthly pass. We did IVF so I couldn’t do yoga for a lot of that process, and I was itching to get back on the mat, but in a safe and gentle environment. I’m so grateful that Blooma is about 3 minutes from my house and, immediately, I felt an incredible sense of community going on. This will be my first baby and I’m looking for resources on birth, health, and parenting, as well as an encouraging, welcoming place. Blooma has all that and more. They’re going to have a really hard time getting rid of me! I wonder if you can bring teenagers to BYOB yoga?!
I go 3−4x a week for prenatal classes, and what really pushed me over the edge on writing a review was a prenatal massage (at 10 weeks) that I received yesterday with Shelby. It was, hands down, the best massage I’ve ever gotten. I did 90 minutes and she got into areas of my glutes and hamstrings that I feel have been tight for my entire adult life. I was floored. I will have to schedule one of these things once a month during the pregnancy, and probably afterward. I wish they had a service where someone could drive me home and tuck me into bed for a nap after the massage! ;)
Some people on here have beef with the natural childbirth focus at Blooma. That’s very much a philosophy I share, and that’s just another added bonus of being part of the community, but I have never felt it pushed upon a client or seen anyone alienated because of it. In my experience, Blooma has been nothing but warm, welcoming, and wonderful, a real refuge to help prepare for the journey ahead after 2.5 years of struggling with infertility.

I had a prenatal massage at Blooma when I was 39.5 weeks pregnant. Shelby was amazing! I had only gotten a massage twice in my life before, and both times I was a bit uncomfortable for portions of it (for various reasons). Not so this time around! I left feeling so refreshed, relaxed, and ready for baby. I had debated about spending the money, but I’m so glad I did — it was worth every penny! I would highly recommend treating yourself to a prenatal massage during pregnancy, and Blooma (and Shelby, in particular) get two enthusiastic thumbs up from this first-​time mama!

It was nice coming to Blooma for yoga during my pregnancy. Instead of feeling like the only pregnant person in the room, I was one of many and that felt good. It was nice to feel normal. The staff is all so nice and encouraging. The way they talk you through the moves made me wish they would be with me during my labor (which many of them are doulas so it could have happened!)
I believe they’re charging over $ 70 for an unlimited pass, which was a bit out of my price range. Also, the small studio in the St. Paul location was cramped at times. Sometimes I felt so anxious about someone else’s feet on my mat that I couldn’t focus on anything else. I’m a person who needs personal space.
Regardless, when I see or hear about Blooma, I have fond memories. During my next pregnancy, I will probably go back in one way or another.

Review for prenatal massage. I’m 34 weeks and definitely getting into the «very uncomfortable» stage. I honestly wasn’t even looking that forward to the massage because I was convinced I’d be uncomfortable, but I’m so glad I went! I feel very relaxed and all the tension in my shoulders is gone. Sarah was wonderful! She asked me questions about what I was looking for in my massage (problem areas, how much pressure, etc.) and was great. I am so relaxed! Highly recommend taking the time to get a prenatal massage for you pregnant ladies.
I had never been to Blooma, but had heard good things. There were several people there for a prenatal yoga class, and I’m interested in the mom/​baby classes they offer as well. One minor downer — the place is a «no shoe» zone, which I totally get, but it was weird using their restroom in my bare feet…

Love the barre classes here — they are challenging and fun. The hour flies by! Childcare is offered during daytime classes which is an added bonus.
The prenatal yoga classes were fabulous when I was expecting — each teacher has their own inspiring style.

I have been going to Blooma for the last four years. As a male– who is not pregnant!- I do enjoy attending classes and they have several each week that are not specific to pre or postnatal women. They offer great vinyasa-​style classes and have recently added a barre for an extended range of exercise in-​class.
Also, they recently moved out of the much smaller Edina studio to a beautiful new, and much larger, space in S. Mpls. I like the new location (in the retail area on Lyndale and 54^th) because it is next door to Caribou and Starbucks and I can pop over to get a coffee after the weekday 6:00 AM classes.
I know that previous reviews knocked Blooma for the cramped space, but that is no longer an issue at all.
Highly recommend Blooma– it’s a neighborhood studio without the major chain feel and you feel like part of a community when you go there.

Blooma made a huge difference in the way that I approached my birth and mothering. I appreciated the support and resources the teachers gave me when I looked for ways to turn my breech baby. I still keep in touch with the mothers I met in my yoga class –and I loved the great workout in prenatal yoga. I developed an awareness of my body and my own power through my time in prenatal yoga at Blooma. The teachers do a great job of creating an environment that welcomes and supports all moms.
When I think of my pregnancy, Blooma is one of the first images that pops into my mind. Thank you –I had two amazing births and am grateful for the love, community, and empowerment.

Egads! Everything about my experience was awful. The size of the «studio» is no larger than a walk-​in closet. When I arrived for the toddler & mommy class there were already 8 toddler & mommy groups. The instructor really should have told me the class was full because there was absolutely no room to do any of the moves. When I left the class early, clearly disappointed with the experience and telling the staff I wouldn’t be back because we were visiting from out of town, they still insisted on taking our $ 20 & personal information. Yes, we didn’t stay for the entire class crammed into the tiny closet-​like space but we still had to pay $ 20. Finally the description had me thinking it was less structured than it actually turned out to be. After all, these are tots. When we have previously attended other tot yoga classes the parents do the yoga and the tots can participate or run around. This was clearly geared to much older children because the instructor wanted them to do moves. Very very disappointed.

LOVE Blooma! I have been talking classes here for the past few months and it is the best thing that has happened since I found out I was pregnant. The space is warm and inviting, the teachers are welcoming, and the classes are a great balance of being emotionally grounding while still physical. This will be one of the best gifts you can give yourself while pregnant!

Blooma has excellent prenatal classes! I enjoyed the instructors and the classes when I was pregnant. I can recommend it highly. It is worth the price. It is worth the time. I am looking forward to the BYOB once the weather here gets a little better!

I love this place. It has such a welcoming, homey, positive feel and it smells divine. I’ve been taking about 3 prenatal classes a week for two months now, and I fully plan on continuing throughout the rest of my pregnancy, and even after with classes like Bring your own baby, tots yoga, and regular vinyasa flow. The teachers are great, and can guide you through a simultaneously challenging and relaxing class. My personal favorites thus far are Sarah, Corinne, and Anne, though I’m looking forward to meeting them all! There are so many prenatal classes to choose from, and in my experiences with yoga the prices are very fair, with the unlimited monthly option being a downright steal. With my first pregnancy, my lower back pain was at times unbearable, since I have a tilted uterus and posterior placenta (yay back labor!). This time around, the pain reared its ugly head again until I started taking classes, and I have now been pain free for two months.
Also, a short personal response to the review about Blooma being hippy-​dippy and culturally ostracizing. Yes, you remove your shoes upon entering the studio. The same has held true at every yoga studio and martial arts dojo I’ve been to in my life. I’ve never taken a Childbirth Collective class here, but in my experience the prenatal class instructors do not push their personal philosophies on the students at all. You will constantly hear phrases like «you are a beautiful and strong mama, whatever your birth is like». Yes, many of the teachers and students here are supporters of natural childbirth, and some are doulas. Once in a while there will be a student who has had a homebirth. You can take classes on Hypnobirthing, or get some prenatal acupuncture. However none of this is forced. I might be facing a c-​section this time around (placenta previa) and I do not feel excluded, ostracized, or belittled for my choices at all.

YIKES!
While I have not attended yoga at Blooma, I did attend a presentation by the Childbirth Collective at the Edina Blooma. While the presentation was good, the facility and cultural slant was extraordinary.
I exercise quite a lot at the Ys across town — I do yoga, pilates, weightlifting, etc. but the teachers do not push a cultural or political-​ish agenda.
At Blooma, even though I was arriving for a meeting, we were all asked to remove our shoes. This was awkward for my husband, still wearing a suit and dress shoes, coming directly for work. It was straight out not acceptable to me; I am there with strangers, for business, and wearing shoes is a way to be formal and respectful with strangers. You don’t want to see my feet any more than I want to see yours.
The presentation was overwhelmed with attendees — frankly they should have had a much larger facility. Many people ended up sitting on pillows, exercise balls, and simply on the floor, which I felt was very unprofessional and unwelcoming, but is the kind of thing the Blooma crowd thinks is homey or something. I don’t know — all I know is I never invite more than 8 people to my dinner parties, as I have just 8 chairs. I would never ask guests to sit in less than anything other than an actual chair. If I had not had a chair for this presentation, I would have certainly left.
As you may imagine, the Blooma crowd is the natural childbirth crew, and while I agree wiht them, the facility ties not using drugs at childbirth with using herbs as medicine and all of the trappings of hippie-​dom, which is a giant turn-​off for me.
I really wish there were a place like this for women that don’t want all of the hippie BS but would like to do some yoga or take classes while pregnant. I will NEVER go back to this place.

Full disclosure: I loved Blooma so much that I started working there. But, just so ya’ll know, I did NOT work there at the time I wrote my initial review. I just really love it there!

I can’t possibly express how important Blooma has been for me during my pregnancy. I still have a few months to go, but thank goodness for Sarah, Summer, and all of the wonderful prenatal instructors there who make you feel beautiful and calm during a very stressful time. A month long pass has been the best gift I’ve given myself in a long time.

New parents:
BYOB Yoga (bring your own baby!) and BYOB Yoga crawlers. Any one who has an infant of one that’s starting to crawl should check this place out. It’s also a great way to meet new moms (and dads). My little one, Ilsa, loves it, and after you go a few times, your baby will start to remember what is happening and smiles will appear. You also use baby as weight training in class — your warrior positions suddenly become a lot more challenging!