Beloved Yogi Harlem

Beloved Yogi is the best yoga experience i’ve ever had and it continues to be that way every time I go. Siri Rishi is such an incredible teacher. She always knows exactly what people need for each class. She is empowering, kind and funny too! Being in her studio is like being in a bubble where you are immediately elevated!

A beautiful safe space, a home away from home. Siri Rishi adds some «sugar» to Sugar Hill and has created a Yoga Oasis right in NYC. Highly Recommend!

The BEST yoga you can get! Wonderful people, inexpensive, and Kundalini Yoga will change your life.

Let me begin by saying that I Love this place! I am not a yogi by any stretch of the imagination. Actually I’ve battled obesity for the large part of my life, recently losing the battle with a 65lb weight gain over the past 12 months. In an effort to gain control over my mind then body I decided to begin studying Kundalini yoga. I’ve been very interested for many years but never took the time to find a studio nevertheless take a class. After a bit of searching a found a highly regarded studio in lower Manhattan, a bit more searching led me to Beloved Yogi Harlem which is not too far from where I live. I’m so very glad I found this studio. Siri Rishi the owner is fantastic as are the fellow yogis and group participants. Regardless to your religious belief system, level of fitness or knowledge level of Kundalini yoga all are welcome and treated with respect. Modifiers are given when possible to allow those of us who have not yet become one with their inner yogi to keep the pace with the group. I look forward to seeing just where my committed practice will take me. I’ve only just begun but you’ll never win the race if you don’t take the first step. This is the first step in my personal journey of becoming congruent; mind, body and soul. THANK YOU BELOVED YOGI HARLEM! Lastly, I didn’t mention that the classes are super affordable.

Though I’ve been in the neighborhood for a while now, I live by 125^th and I’ve only just discovered Beloved Yogi studio. I wish I had found it sooner! It is a beautiful, neighborhood-​y place to practice, with affordable rates. They offer different styles of yoga, though so far I have only taken kundalini classes, which have been fantastic. The teachers I’ve encountered– including the owner– have been focused, kind, and knowledgeable. There is an emphasis on breath and spirit here, which is just what I was looking for.

A lovely independent space on Sugar Hill. Has a bathroom and is done up with wall to wall «Persian» rugs, an altar in front, and lovely draping from the ceiling. Feels like a magical secret.
The yoga instructors vary. Patrick (teaching vinyasa) seemed very willing to meet the class at its beginner status. Another (Sebastian, advertised simply as «hatha»), did his own kundalini mixture which began with an intense guided meditation and ended with inversions that were beyond me. But that’s alright.
Three stars tho because my third class was suppose to be with the owner of the place who is very… I don’t know, I met other people who were scared off by her too. The young western lady in a white turban and draped in many crystals in the photo… I wasn’t going to judge based on a mere turban but man… If you’re looking for a more spiritual, guru vibe, already sold on whatever «kundalini» is (I asked some of my Hindu/​Tibetan Buddhist friends involved in yoga and – peripherally – tantra, and they were like «*shrug*»), you might like her style. I was a little offput early on because I asked who trained her and she became really vague, which is odd for someone who uses the traditional honorific for «teacher» as her name. I mean, I know yoga isn’t a degree-​granting institution, but still.
Me, I asked if she’d honor the student discount offered on the website or at least let me apply my previous classes to the cost of a monthly membership (the earlier instructors couldn’t answer the question) and she laughed condescendingly in my face. «Nobody does that,» she said, although a) she’s the owner of the place, and b) that isn’t true.
I rolled up my mat and left immediately, shamed. Luckily I then met a really nice lady while I was trying to figure out what to do next, and she pointed out that the NYSC two blocks away offers yoga and lots of other classes as well for $ 10 less per month than I was going to pay the Beloved lady. It was so serendipitous, that’s exactly what I did. Signed right up. Felt kinda spiritual, actually.

I love this yoga studio! The space is calming and the location is steps from the 145^th st subway stop. I tried the Thursday night power vinyasa class with Amanda. She has great positive energy and gave me tips I have never heard in more than five years of various yoga classes! Classes are $ 10 recommended donation, and the monthly unlimited plan is incredibly affordable. I will definitely be back!

I encourage you to drop in for a class at Siri Rishi’s studio. The woman is a true gem and it is a great pleasure to be in her joyful company and practice Kundalini in this chill grassroots yoga space. No mirrors, no frills, and no pressure. The space is open with good vibrations for all who walk through the green door into the basement of this Harlem apartment building. I am so pleased to have discovered this underground donation based yoga studio. It has a real sense of community and spirit to it, and I have gotten a lot from every class I have attended. Uptown yoga? That’s what’s up.
Tips:
There are other teachers and other styles of yoga practiced at this space too, so if Kundalini is not your thing… perhaps Vinyasa is, and there is a class for you!
Yoga mats, blankets, and support props provided if you are in need of these materials, as well as hot tea.
All are welcome.