YogaWorks Pasadena

this place is just beautiful. I’ve been trying to take yoga for nearly a decade, but every time I take a class its either too fast or too slow: so Im either bored or frustrated. either the teachers don’t explain how to do what they want you to do, or the start rambling on about the universe and god knows what. I’m not here for a religious experience, I just want some mindfulness.
After taking a few classes in my previous neighborhood (Studio City) at the Yoga Works there, I was done with the idea of Yoga, & the whole YogaWorks brand. The Yoga Works in Studio City is everything that could be wrong with yoga. The teachers are newly trained aspiring actors, the office staff is two guys who have no clue how to work with clients, and the classes themselves are so packed, and so unbelievably fast and hurried that you spend the whole time just trying to catch up.
FOR EXAMPLE, At Yoga Works Studio City, I had asked if they had an instructor who would specialize in fertility yoga, and if I could schedule private sessions. They said they have one of the best fertility yoga teachers, and would schedule. A hefty chunk of cash later, I meet with the teacher, who has a list of poses written down on a SCRIPT SHEET, and one of the first questions she asks me is «when you say IVF, what exactly do you mean?» not a fair question, IVF is a pretty standard phrase in the fertility (and real) world. If she’s an expert why does she need to ask this? Anyways, I lost my mind with this, called management and they scheduled me with Rebecca Benenati and she was amazing and phenomenal, but after my private sessions I didn’t want to go back.
Regardless, I still tried classes here two more times after the private session debacle, and it was just silly. When I went back, I contacted the office to ask about a class, and was told to come right on in. when I went back for a regular class (not fertility related) the guy at the front desk actually said something like «oh, how did the fertility treatments go for you? mind if I ask how much they cost because my girlfriend wants to start treatments and I don’t know if I want to.» LOUDLY enough for EVERYONE in the studio to hear, and, by the way, none of your fucking business, jerk. If I don’t look like i“m pushing a baby out as we speak, then this topic is really none of your business. When it comes to fertility, and working with clients, you have to have tact, and discretion. This place has ounces of it, if any.
Anyways, on to the classes. If you’ve ever seen those scenes in movies with the cheesy, smarmy yoga instructor guy walking around in pants which really shouldn’t be worn in public, and only «correcting» the students who happen to be between 18 – 22 years of age, with that weird, fake yogi voice and cooing, then you’ve been to YogaWorks in Studio City. The teacher I took classes form actually wore pants that looked like had a codpiece on? I couldn’t look, I just looked down at the ground and pushed through the class until it was over.
SO, After disasterous experiences at YogaWorks in Studio City, you can only imagine how nervous I was about trying my new local studio, YogaWorks Pasadena. As soon as I walked it I quickly changed my mind from wanting to take just one class, to joining as a member. The front desk people were warm, humble, and welcoming. They answered all my questions not as authorities, but more as advocates, if that makes sense? The classes I’ve taken there so far have been life altering, literally. I suffer from several conditions that cause a great deal of pain and discomfort, and these classes have helped minimize the pain instantly.
The teachers are, once again, warm and humble and extremely knowledgable. The teachers that I’ve taken so far (and have loved) are Carla and this young guy who looked like the actor Mike Birbiglia. both teachers were amazing. they correct with compassion, no ego, they teach with wisdom, no ego, and they clearly love what they do. The students in the classes I’ve taken so far are focused, not there to see or be seen, and just want to move forward in this practice. This is exactly where I need to be.
I’m so happy I found this place, Im considering taking two classes a day but I don’t want to overdo it. Well, if you’re overdoing it by taking too many yoga classes, maybe that’s not the worst thing you could be doing?

I agree with most of the folks here re: the front desk and parking. Classes are good though.

I’ve been a member here since 2013. Lots of truth to the cons that Unilocalers listed, but easy fixes. First, come to this studio or ANY yoga studio with an understanding that you are practicing for yourself.
Sure, for some people «customer service» may not exist at the front desk, so just let them scan your key card and move on. When I first signed up, I was never shown around, but it’s small enough to navigate. It’s 2 studios, 1 men’s room, 1 women’s room and a private practice room.
Some classes can get crowded — 2 inches to a mat crowded — so just plan to get there early to settle in and work around the other yogis.
They’ll absolutely call you and want to see you at the front desk if you’re there on a trial. YogaWorks is a corporate business based on sales and membership and they WANT your business. Whoever suggested giving a fake phone number so they can’t follow-​up with you — that’s just bad form.
The teachers are what make this studio amazing, each with different teaching styles, but all with inspiring AND challenging approaches.

I’m a BIG fan of this yoga studio. There are many classes for all levels. You can take a beginner class (level 1) or a mixed level class for a little more challenge, and be assured that the instructor will keep your needs in mind. Every class I have gone to, the instructors ask the class if there are any physical or medical limitations you might have. It seems so simple, but it’s very important and they all do it, what a great way to start a class, knowing that your teacher is aware of everyone’s needs.
Parking isn’t too bad. There is plenty of street parking, but it would be nice to have a dedicated lot. I highly recommend this studio to practice yoga, staff makes everything and the staff is great here.

Been a member here for a year-​and-​a-​half and pretty happy until a month ago when the parking lot designated for yoga works patrons was closed permanently. Now parking is a nightmare! I sent an email to the corporate office about the parking problem but never received a response. Yoga should be a relaxing experience but the stress of trying to find a parking space is anything but that. Management at the Pasadena location has no comment about how yoga works plans to remedy the situation. Very unfortunate.

You’ve heard of fast food? This is fast yoga. The monthly fee for unlimited classes is affordable & convenient. But the tradeoff is that the quality of instruction, service and space is barely tolerable. Except for Kinga’s classes, pilates instruction is very weak. Mariana is a TRX teacher, yet she teaches many of the pilates classes; you can tell she’s not a trained pilates teacher – & she’s said it herself – and makes up moves on the fly that aren’t very effective. One time, instead of asking me politely to move my mat for a latecomer, she simply said to me, «you have a choice of moving left or right,» as if I were in the way. After I moved for the latecomer, she didn’t thank me. I felt that was rude. (In general, the studio’s practice of permitting people to come in up to 10 minutes after class has begun, especially for yoga class, is highly disruptive.) Kinga’s the most competent & experienced of the current pilates teachers, plus she’s gracious, charming and warm, with a great smile, but her shouting is hard for me to handle. I had to stop going because it’s so painful for me when she hollers «PULL! PULL! PULL!» or counts at the top of her lungs while we’re already straining to get through her challenging exercises. The room’s acoustics make it even worse. I don’t think she understands how agonizing it is when she bellows like that – I get the sense she thinks it shows how much she’s putting into the class, but she can show that & we can hear her just fine if she were to project her voice at a normal pitch without breaking our ear drums. If you’re not sensitive to loud noise, this class is great.
Erin is the gem of the joint. Her instruction is focused and she’s clearly very experienced. Her delivery is always calm, clear and free of judgment. She’s not one of those teachers who continually forgets which side you’re on, gets mixed up and asks the class, thus breaking flow. She ends her classes with insightful spiritual reflections that always surprise and enrich me. She cares about connecting with students and she has a delightful & playful personality. Her classes are PACKED, though – NY subway car @ rush hour packed – which makes for a stressful class experience too. I really wish the studio could limit the class size or hold her class in a larger room.
Micki is also a talented teacher. I like the way she steadily pushes students week after week to master difficult poses like handstand. The only quibble is that she uses evaluative and judgmental language, saying things like, «when your chaturangas aren’t good…» and she sometimes mocks the class when their form is off in a way that’s a tad spiky. However, I ultimately feel she’s a teacher who strengthens her students & comes from a place of kindness & solid teaching experience.
I really liked Hayleigh’s class & vibe – it was very gentle, flowing & inward – when she was still teaching the SunAM Yogaworks Flow class. The new teacher who replaced her has an unusually arch, sing-​songy & actress-​y style of giving her directions – as if being a yoga instructor is an ironic performance. It grates on me, though I’ve heard others rave about how clear she is. She’s a compulsive props user & tells people she comes from an Iyengar background, but I think that’s cheating people who come to yoga expecting a flow class, not a class where you’re told to do downward dog using blocks for no good reason but to follow the Iyengar dogma the teacher does. I won’t name her since since she hasn’t been rude or mean.
The people who sit behind the desk are listless automatons – Danica and the small woman with long hair & big glasses, namely. They barely acknowledge you and lift their gazes off the computer screen as they take your tag to check you in, as if they were doing something more important like following the stock market or flight schedules. After going there for over a year they still «greet» me that way, though Danica acted like my new best friend when first getting me to sign up. The medium ht. guy with glasses and short dark hair is a a lot nicer, but lately, he’s started doing the glassy-​eyed thing too. Ken is quite warm & polite, though, as the manager, plus he’s older, which perhaps explains why he has more an ability to seem friendly, human & professional.
Because so many different customers come through every day, the sense of solidarity between students is lacking, so there’s an impersonal & cold vibe between class members as well, though you’re centimeters away from each other in the dressing room & on the studio floor. By the end of the day there’s a stench of sweat in the whole studio.
Sigh. As I said before, there are conveniences to using a studio with a large number of daily classes and unlimited monthly plans. Plus, there are some decent teachers. However, I can’t say I love or even like using this studio. After doing my year, I’ve given them a good chance. I’m looking for other possibilities for yoga and pilates in the area. The journey continues.

Nice selection of classes and very clean studio.
Love that there’s a lot of variety of classes, from slow and restful yoga to fast pace cardio workout to TRX to posture holding yoga classes.
There’s tea and water on site.
A yoga clothing store.
Clean locker and bathroom.
Personal private class.
Only con is there is no shower to clean up if you are heading out after class.

It is overcrowded which makes it easy for people to steal your stuff. I told the staff this and they just laughed it off like it was no big deal, happens all the time. Won’t be coming back, unless they find my stolen item!
Update: they replaced my yoga mat spray, which was nice

I had classes couples times at this location. Compare to where I went to classes before (Westlake Village), this is definitely way smaller but I guess it’s understandable since it’s Pasadena and not too far from old town. There are two studios only, some lockers (about 20? 30? not that many), no towel service nor shower. The place is clean. It’s alright, you have to find parking on the street. The parking isn’t the most difficult (like downtown LA or Beverly Hills) but it’s definitely not as easy as at the Westlake village location where they have a free parking lot. I like Sonya’s class by the way, sweat a whole lot at her YogaWorks ½ classes. :) They have a small boutique store at the front of the studio.

Absolutely love this yoga studio! They offer a variety of classes that can be tailored to your ability and range from relaxing yoga to a more intense workout (sculptworks). All of the staff is friendly and the facility itself is very clean. Looking forward to becoming a yogi with my new membership!

I’m a happy camper here. Clean studio, friendly staff, good inspirational instructors. I’m always warmly greeted when I get there. The sign up process was easy and throughly explained, which I appreciated.
Price is reasonable for unlimited access, and it pretty comparable to other studios. Rooms arent that big, so yeah, get there early to get a space.
Pretty expansive class schedule… from 6a-​8p, which is perfect for my crazy schedule.

I was mostly going to yogaworks in Larchmont but was staying in Pasadena for a few weeks so decided to try this studio out. After moving to LA and hanging out with a friend who came to yoga works, there was a promo going on for two weeks for $ 30 of unlimited classes. There was also an option for a complementary week, but I knew that I probably want to be going more than just the week so I tried two week deal.
I only went to a few classes in Pasadena; it seemed a little smaller then Larchmont but still had a decent amount of classes and time slots. I am horribly bad at yoga but I really do miss taking classes there, I really like Sunday’s Restorative with Sonya.

Just a review of their front desk and policy. I’ve been looking for a yoga studio for my daughter who is a competitive dancer but just 10 years old. She has been dancing since she was four and has great body control and work ethic. I called Yoga Works to ask if we could come to an introductory class together. The woman I spoke to wasn’t interested in any conversation whatsoever. She simply said «our limit is 13» and that was that. I suppose policy is policy, but she could have been pleasant about it.
Called Mission Street yoga next and they were very welcoming. Encouraged me to come in to try a range of classes to see what best suited us. Anne let me know that the expectation was that my daughter participate fully and be a non disruptive member of the class. which makes sense to me :) Really liked the kindness of Mission Street, really didn’t like the attitude at YogaWorks.

I’ve been coming here since they opened and have been reluctant to write a review, just cause I’m a regular. However, set up simple pro and con style review … here we go:
Pros: clean studio, the instructors (all very strong teachers), unlimited access
Cons: parking can be a B1+€# !, no showers :/​, schedule times conflict with work (this is personal)
My teacher suggestions:
David — sorry to play favorites but he’s my favorite
Hayleigh– YogaWorks class ½
Ashleigh and Ashley — YogaWorks Flow
George, Erin, and Kerrie (Vinyasa Flow) — for a strong workout
Allen (Iyengar) — for alignment

I’ve been a member now a couple of months, and I am hooked! The hubs and I both come here on a regular basis. The goal is 4x/​week, but with traveling/​etc., it’s sometimes less. We are fans of Cardio Yoga with Micki, Vinyasa Flow with Erin, and Flow with George. The classes get packed, but that’s part of the fun :-) Always clean facilities and friendly staff. It’s a little pricey for us, so hopefully we can keep coming, because we really love it.

This place is always crowded in the evenings. (The weekend class is better). I have been trying for almost 2 months and keep hoping it was just my bad luck of being in a super packed class. However, it disappointed me. The teachers always allow the ppl to squeeze in, even they are 15+min late. I could only have 1 inch gap between mats and the person came in late squeeze in front of me and her mat literally overlap on my mat… Her feet almost kicked my face…
If they don’t have any capacity limit or any control of people being super late. It is so unfair for those who arrive early hoping to have a comfortable space, and creating harsh/​hazard environment for yoga practice.

I have no idea how YW only has 3 starts. I’m obsessed with this place.
I’ve tried about 4 other yoga studios, and this one is by FAR my favorite. I usually go to the harder yoga classes, such as 2 and ²⁄₃ classes with George, Ashley, and Luna. They’re amazing instructors and very approachable if you have questions after class.
YW also has something for everyone. All styles, types of teachers, etc. The most important thing is to try out all the teachers/​classes you can during your first week and I’m certain you’ll find one you love!
And the peeps behind the desk are wonderful as well (particularly Danika)
Anywhoo, I’ve been coming here for about 7 months, and I’m in love. If you go, tell them LILLIAN sent you ;-]

Pros:
-«intro to yoga:» a free 1 hr session, which is helpful to learn about yoga in general if you’re a COMPLETE newbie, or to learn about the classes they run and which might be good for you
–Clean
–Staff: friendly and helpful
Cons:
–Pushy: if you take their «intro to yoga» class I suggest giving them a fake number on your info sheet… they made at least 4 follow up calls, which I found obnoxious, unnecessary, and a huge turn-​off.
–Parking: there is often no parking in their «members only» lot
–Crowded: is this what a yoga studio looks like in India, busting at the seams with people?
–Restorative Yoga: I did not like this class at all. It basically felt like just laying on the floor in a bunch of different ways that I could easily do at home. I take restorative yoga elsewhere (Yoga Madre to be specific) and it is different and SO MUCH better. The teacher was sweet but talked a LOT and not in a helpful way. It felt like a lot of choreography.

I’ve been coming here for the last few weeks on a Groupon and overall I love it! The girls at the front desk are very welcoming and helpful about explaining each class, asking questions about your yoga experience and recommending classes that would be right for you. All of the teachers I’ve had so far have been great. My favorites are Kinga, who teaches pilates, and Janine. I’ve done a little bit of yoga/​pilates in my life but I still consider myself a beginner but I’ve never felt intimidated. Yoga is great because there are people of all shapes, sizes and ages and you are not in competition with anybody, rather doing what’s best for your body. The teachers are very helpful in correcting your poses and are very positive and encouraging. They are careful to make sure to work around any injuries or sensitivities you may have.
My one complaint, of course, is the size of the studios. They are tiiinny. That would be fine if they had a maximum capacity and cut you off if you got there late, but there are often people trickling in up to 10 minutes late and it’s very distracting. Overall though, not a huge deal. I’ve enjoyed every class I’ve taken here! They have cool stuff for sale too.

YogaWorks Pasadena are great because they have
— great instructors that understand your abilities and want to help you with your alignment as you go through each pose during vinyasa flow which i saw this as a plus.
— I forgot my yoga mat my first day and the front desk allowed me to lend me there’s since i will be late for class.
— they have a variety of classes that I found rewarding such as the dance classes, meditation/​breathing classes, and pilate classes.
— they have classes through out the day to make it easily convenient for people who have a tight schedule.
Some drawback were
— no showers
— women locker room is really small so it’s congested when class starts
— parking is hard to find on the streets
— you will get phone calls/​emails/​personal one on one conversations to sign up
— overcrowded classes that made it hard to feel at ease an relaxed in class