Shakti Vinyasa Yoga

Yes, I know this studio was voted one of the "Best" in Seattle, but after my recent experience I don't believe it deserves this title. I registered for the Intro series because it's required before taking any other classes. When I read the description of the class online I was under the impression that, although it "fills quickly" and the number of students will range from "25-40", the maximum number of students would be about 40. To my dismay, the class I attended had at least 70 people!! The class was unbearable!! No room to move, no abililty to see demonstrations of poses, etc. Plus, there were only 3 "teaching assistants" (qualifications debatable) so there was no way they could provide the type of guidance a beginner needs. When I called the next day to request a refund the "manager" informed me that they did not give refunds. I explained that the class was unbearable due to the number of people, etc. and the only response she gave me was that "this happens but usually by the next class the number of students will be down to around 25" and told me to try the class again. I explained that I was under the impression that they had a cap on the number of students per class. She replied that they do not have any limits for their classes. This is ridiculous - for obvious reasons! And apparently this is not the first time they have had this problem with people dropping out after the first class. One would think that they would realize that they need to monitor the number of people signing up. This is the first yoga studio I have attended that did not limit the number of students. No one can receive the kind of attention and guidance they need to properly learn yoga when the teacher-student ration is 20 to 1. Also, I never did see the lead teacher perform any yoga poses and a few of the assistants seemed to have their own problems properly performing the poses. So, save yourself some money and seek out a studio that emphasizes quality not quantity.