Sanctuary For Yoga Body and Spirit

I attended a Yin Yoga Immersion a few weeks ago. Wonderful studo and workshop. They made me feel at home. The studio has space to sit inbetween classes and the people were very welcoming.

I now understand the appeal of Yoga. This was the second time I’ve tried it and my first time at Sanctuary. As a beginner, I was nervous about an intermediate class but I was proud of myself for keeping up — took the Level ²⁄₃ Vinyasa Flow class with Daphne for $ 15. She was very friendly, knowledgeable, and motivating. The class was suitable for all levels — I learned a lot and was able to replicate the poses, but there were also Pros who worked on perfecting those poses. The studio was clean, cute, with soothing music and a bright relaxing atmosphere. I felt great during and afterwards.

Have had a chance to sample great studios/​teachers in hometown (ATL) and NYC. Sanctuary is among the very best. What a space! What a class — vibrant yet nurturing. Felt welcomed in a laid-​back way:) The music was poignant, energizing at times, not distracting, and helped me go deep. Melissa’s teaching — a treasure. Technically sound, focusing on inner self. Could be adapted to beginner (Vinyasa) or notched up as needed. Thank you for a beautiful experience.

I love the variety of classes all day long. Wonderful teachers and price good. Love the growth factor you have not just in each class but in the studio.

Just enjoyed a lovely level 1 Vinyasa Flow with Holly Garcia. Totally doable for a yoga beginner!

This is definitely the best place to practice yoga in Nashville — they make you feel right at home and offer tons of options in Vinyasa classes to accommodate many different levels. Plus, their class packages make practicing yoga quite affordable!
If you get a chance, take a class from Brent — he’s super smiley and cracks a few jokes during class. It lightens the mood and sends a reminder that yoga is not just about perfecting your practice, but about feeling good overall. I really appreciate that his classes are intense in physicality, but light-​hearted in mentality. So awesome!

Second yoga review from the road. Beautiful vinyasa in the Shiva Rea style with lots of great music (hey, this IS Nashville!), so it will be more flowing and organic. Tom and Daphne come from a strong alignment based background so you will still get terrific adjustments and corrections along the way, always done with a gentle hand and tone. For a larger studio they’ve managed to create a wonderful community, and it shows in the sense of contentment and happiness in the classes. A very heart-​centered type of yoga.

This place is great! I did prenatal classes throughout almost my whole pregnancy here with two different instructors. Both classes their own unique style and I can’t say enough good things about them. Not only do you get a fantastic practice & leave refreshed, they create a very supportive prenatal community.
Beyond prenatal, I’ve also taken Daphne’s class and it was fantastic! Overall, I’d highly recommend this place — never had a problem with parking, the staff is friendly, the facilities are nice & new and the classes and instructors are top notch.

Sanctuary yogabodyspirit offers a relaxing and hip atmosphere with very popular classes.
It was a bit crowded for the Saturday morning class I chose, but I was impressed with the devoted students in attendance. Everyone appeared to be regulars, so I immediately got the impression that they are doing something right here.
The instructor was knowledgeable, sincere, and attentive, offering gentle guidance without being overly intrusive.
The room was packed with students, but still felt, as the name implies, like a sanctuary for relaxation and reflection.
The negatives for me– location– just getting to and leaving from Green Hills affronted my sensibilities after such a relaxing class.

I just moved to the Nashville area and have really been missing my yoga studio back home in Detroit. So, after reading reviews and searching around, I came upon Sanctuary Yoga.
Overall, my experience was pretty positive. It’s a different style of yoga than I’m used to, but I enjoyed class. The teacher was nice, knowledgable and the class was on my level. What I loved most is that my balance was the best it’s ever been. Not sure if it was the space, the flow or what, but normally, I’m wobbling all over the place.
Now, the downside. 1^st I tried to attend a class the previous evening, but could not find the studio. So, I tried again the next day only to find out, after I called them, that they had moved. My first thought was «why didn’t you update your website?». The space was a little too bright, but it’s new, so maybe they are awaiting curtains. And lastly, I wasn’t a fan of the class hierarchy. When I came into the studio, the girl at the front desk looked at me and said «this is an advanced class, so have you done yoga before?» I get it, but I feel that if they are trying to create a community, it needs to build on practices of all levels. If I were new to yoga, I would’ve been extremely self conscious in class when, in reality, it’s just yoga.
All and all, I’ll be back for an occasional practice. So far, a good find!

I think of Sanctuary as kind of the Granddaddy of Nashville Yoga studio’s and now they have two, count ‘em, TWO locations. (please note: I am not actually a Nashville area yoga historian, but its always been a big playa’ in the 12 years I’ve lived here). You can always find a always find a wide variety of times (and now either in green hills or the gulch) and instructors to find something that fits your particular ‘om’ style!
My classes varied in size and style with instructors Tom and Jesslin (sp?). Both were very ‘physical’ classes — I realize all yoga is technically physical, but this one will make you sweat and hurt the next day — in a great way! The weekend class was crazy crowded, as I suppose can be expected, but they did a great job of working everyone into the small Green Hills space and a good class with good natured people ensued.
Tom has a really fun personality, so if you are into a very quiet reflective class you might think its weird, but he had everyone giggling and played some cool hippy instrument during savasana.
Another good thing about this studio is you can try your first class for free, I think. (Mine was free anyway) — so you can check out for yourself if this is the ‘home’ for you without any financial commitment!
Other note: green hills space doesn’t have any shower area I can tell. But there are very accessible restrooms. Plan your time accordingly.

When I normally start thinking about yoga, I don’t consider laughter and fun to be a part of the equation. Today’s 11am class at Sanctuary with instructor Danny Brewington broke that mold.
I practice Yoga to help clear my mind, relieve stress, and also to assist in achieving my fitness goals. Today’s class did all of the above but also reminded me to not take things and myself so seriously. Danny expertly leads the class in various poses but also adds a fun and dynamic energy with his motivation skills. He possess natural humor and wit that made me giggle more than once. It felt incredible to leave the class today.
Danny also teaches at Kali Yuga Yoga on Wednesdays too!
The studio itself in on the 2^nd floor and fairly basic but offered up enough room for the full house that we had today. I would safely say that nearly 50 were in attendance. I will definitely take another class here if I am in the area.

I can now wear my Sanctuary t-​shirt with pride as I have finally been there!
My mom has been raving about this place forever, and yesterday I finally got the chance to go with her. We took the 11AM Vinyasa class with Jessalynn and it was awesome. Let me break it down:
The Studio:
Ample parking outside this modest studio. The room itself is small but functional, natural light streams in through four windows partially covered by dismembered sections of an ornate folding screen. I thought it would be distracting to see glimpses of the activity outside, but once you start, you can easily tune it out. When we came it was fairly crowded, about 9 inches between each mat, but everyone was there to work, so it helped the energy of the room, which I loved.
The accessories:
They offer free mats for your use here, along with the traditional blocks/​straps for modification if you should need. The instructor had a great soundtrack of music that really complemented the rhythm of the class without distracting you from your postures. They also turn on a small heater at the beginning of class to help warm up the room (but you’ll be sweating anyway without it).
The instructor:
Jessalynn was amazing. Great voice, great pace, doesn’t take herself too seriously. I usually take Bikram or Yogaworks classes and I found her workout to be comprable to a level 2 Vinyasa at Yogaworks. She’s big on inversions, so if you don’t have much arm and core strength, be prepared to work.
The cons:
Just two minor things: first, this might just have been the day, but there were some chatty people in the class. I don’t like when people take a teacher’s good humor to mean they can comment to the teacher and each other during class. Mouths are for breathing in yoga, no talking unless you’re ‘Aum-​ing’. Second, people showed up late, like a good 3 – 5 minutes, and she stopped class to make room and then start again for everyone. When this happens at Yogaworks they usually just keep going and the other people have to catch up, but again this is also something that’s hard for her to control.
All in all, four and a half stars — great studio. I can see why my mom loves it.

Having just moved here from Los Angeles, I am THRILLED to have found this yoga studio! Daphne and Tom are amazing teachers and I have met really nice people here… it has TRULY made my transition to Nashville SOOO much better!

I was so glad to find Sanctuary Yoga during a recent visit to Nashville. It is not only the one vinyasa flow based studio in the area (it seems most studios are focused on Iyengar based on my research) it also offers everything else I look for:
friendly staff — when I arrived an off duty yoga teacher helped me sign in and figure out their routine
calm, pretty space
knowledgeable instructor — the owner taught our class. She gave excellent verbal instructions and sure adjustments
kind vibe — other students were smiley and community based
Go! You’ll love it!

Sanctuary Yoga is a fabulous yoga studio. The building the studio is in is very unassuming, but the mood of the studio (décor, lay-​out) assists in putting me in the right state for a concentrated yoga class. I have participated in classes by two different teachers, both very knowledgeable and serious about their yoga practice and study. The clientele seem to be serious about their practice as well, which I appreciate. I’ve been to a couple hot yoga studios around the Nashville area which seem a bit too casual for me (Hot Yoga off of Elliston excluded. All business there, and I like it like that). I wish I lived closer to Sanctuary Yoga to shorten the drive. However, it’s worth it.

Tom Larkin is HORRIBLE. The entire class was peppered with his cynical and annoying banter about everything from him telling the class that we should be begging for mercy right now to rambling about ceiling tiles and making bad wisecracks. It was incredibly distracting and annoying. At the end of class i politely gave him my feedback about how distracting i found his dialogue and he immediately blew me off without even pretending to listen to me. In addition, the yoga poses were in a very odd order (starting with a deep stretch before even warming up) and his instructions were very hard to follow, and he was constantly getting left and right mixed up – very confusing. At best, I would say the quality of his teaching was what I would expect from a teaching intern, definitely not worth the $ 15 that I was charged for the class. I’m definitely not going to risk returning to this yoga studio again, if they think his teaching is acceptable, I’m scared to find out what the quality of the other teachers is like.