Yoga Generation

PROs
— Free mats to borrow! but if you like yours with heavy padding, bring your own and arrive early to get one.
— Free blocks and straps to borrow
— Aerial yoga (only other one I know is at Steve Nash downtown)
— Free herbal tea
— Lovely lounge
— Teachers that make an effort to remember your name
— Great location, walking distance to Coquitlam Centre station and mall
— Online schedule where you can reserve your spot
— Plenty of parking
— Near food outlets, in case you need to grab a bite before or after class
CONs
— Two washrooms are the same two change rooms. This is rarely a problem. The teachers are understanding and will wait if it gets busy. One of the washrooms is inside the studio and the teachers do encourage you to use it if you need to so you can stay present for the rest of the practice.
And for the details…
This is one of my favourite yoga studios and it’s really because of the people and teachers. I say that confidently because I have tried several studios around the Lower Mainland and am grateful to my company’s health benefits for paying for a fix number of drop-​in classes a week. So far it’s the only studio that I keep coming back to, but I continue to exploring others still for my curiosity.
The teachers all really make an effort to learn your name and actually do continue to remember you after been to several classes. The herbal tea is a great socializer, encouraging students to stay for a few minutes to enjoy a brew and chat. Because of this extra little touch, this studio feels more like a community than any other studio I’ve been to so far. It’s one of the big reasons I keep coming back.
Some of my favourite teachers are Kathleen Smith and Nicole Whitman, who is also a lululemon ambassador. I have not had a chance to take classes with all the teachers at the studio yet, so there are probably other great teachers.
The free mats to borrow is really awesome. It’s not the top mat on the market, but on the days where you forget your mat and you get angry at yourself for doing so, you can still come to class and find a stress relief because of the free mat to borrow. It has saved me a few times from getting mad at myself from forgetting a mat, and saved me from missing classes.
Aerial yoga is a unique style of yoga that I love. Gentle and Level I is very akin to a Yin type class where you hold poses for several breaths and gives you a deeper stretch in some typical asanas than on a mat. The Aerial silk hammock is not a gimmick, pretty much every pose I was shown has a equivalent mat pose that I recognize. The silk (at least in a beginner’s class) really aids a beginner like a stretching strap can, but also better because I can really push myself on some balancing pose, but feel confident that I can catch myself on the silk if I go too far. Hanging upside down gives you a good spinal decompression as well.
I recommend other yogis to give this Aerial yoga a try if they have done at least 5 yoga classes. It challenged me because it actually scared me for the first time going upside down. Now having done 5 classes now, I’m starting to relax into it and learning to trust myself. Check out it out on youtube to get a better idea of it (it’s how I discovered this kind of yoga) —
Yoga Generation actually have a really good promo on right now if you want to try it. 30 days of yoga for $ 30 — the cost of two mat or 1−½ aerial drop-​in classes. I don’t know how long they will have it.
The studio uses the Mind&Body scheduler. Pro tip is to reserve a hammock if you’re taking an Aerial class to make sure there’s space. Please remember to cancel it if you end up bailing so others can attend.
The location is convenient because it’s walking distance from Coquitlam Station since I don’t drive. It’s nice that it’s near restaurants so I can get food before or after a class. It’s dangerously close to the mall because I’ll walk by the Lululemon store on the way to class; however there’s a T&T in there so it’s convenient to pick up groceries on the way home after class.