Review of Moksha Yoga Uptown

Ungapotchka (pronounced uhn-ga-potch-ka)  is an invented word in my family we have used all my life, unga for short. It refers to when something is all over the place and / or there is something that is messed up within this thing. 

Ungapotchka is also the perfect word to describe the Moksha yoga studio in the upper part of downtown Toronto. 

First and foremost, I would not reccommend Moksha to someone getting their feet wet with a yoga practice. It is for seasoned travellers who have seen the good, the bad and the weird in the yoga world. I paid $20 for one week unlimited and used it to the max.

Founded by Ted Grand and Jessica Robertson who's background is in non-profit organizations, the website reveals moksha can be translated to mean freedom. The sequence is designed to open up all the parts of the body that are normally constricted to enable you to reach your full potential. 

Moksha is a community of yoga studios all across Canada (and several in the GTA), Singapore and Asia.

Some specialties include by donation hot yoga classes and sending 50 or so yoga teachers into places such as half way houses each year to teach. The studios pride themselves on being "green" which translates to eliminating their carbon footprint (they dont sell plastic water bottles, but they do rent reusable ones for $1 or sell them for $10).

Located convieniently for TTC riders at Yonge St. & St.Clair with classes from 6:30am-8:30pm the toilets at Moksha Uptown are located not so convieniently, outside the studio down a carpeted hallway past the neighbooring business. 

A few weeks ago I attended a Saturday 90 minute Moksha hot class. The change rooms were overflowing with naked women and the seats in the waiting area were limited. There is a half full rack with clothing for sale taking up considerable room next to the coat rack.

Everywhere you look in the studio there is a typed written note with a 'Don't' message: 

'Don't lean against the sink while using it', 

'The shower is for quick rinses, please leave long beauty routines for home'

'Don't unroll your yoga mat in the studio' ( I saw this before entering the room and quickly made a beeline for the front desk, asking 'Is this for real? Ive been to a lot of yoga studios and Ive never seen such militant instructions' am I allowed to mindfully, quietly unroll my yoga mat? "Well, yes" admitted the front desk).

'Don't talk or make any noise in the studio'. This it turns out is mainly referring to the heated studio.

The teacher reminded us upon entering the room that we don't talk because "this is a sacred space" and apparently something is only sacred if it's silent, rather than asking us to direct our attention and intention AKA being mindful, noise is the main objective. 

Life is filled with noise: farts, cars, chatter, yoga mats hitting the ground. I can't say any of these sounds bother me, in fact background noise frequently aids me in becoming present.

 

The class was filled almost to capacity and the heat generated by all the bodies and the heater grew to feel stifling, rather than the enveloping sense of warmth hot yoga usually gives me, this was almost nauseating. I enjoyed the variety of poses, the modifications on the Bikram sequence no doubt. The teacher did not say very many names for poses, rather she gave cues for body parts to move, one piece at a time so I began to look around at the regulars as my lead. This was slightly frustrating but even more perplexing was when she called extended side angle 'trikonasana'. 

These are my two biggest suggestions: rather than posting signs saying there is no talking/no mat unrolling, cut to the chase: be mindful in this space, everything you do, do with your breath--practice yoga on and off the mat.

Rather than discouraging people from talking, discourage people from fidgeting and drinking water constantly (find stillness)!

The class picked up speed, though the sweltering heat left people in all sorts of positions--lying down, semi-child's poses, water gulping, looking around. The teacher cued for the right leg to be lifted up and the girl in front of myself and my neighboor raised hers before the blink of an eye and kicked my neighbor directly in the eye (she was NOT lifting her leg with her breath or it would have been more controlled). 

My neighboor let out a loud "FUCK".

So much for the sacred space. And then proceeded to leave the room.

After class I asked the teacher about the whole trikonasana rather than utthita parsvakonasana thing. She was very blase with her response, "thats how we do it here". 

I was slightly perturbed by my experience and emailed the management listed on the website with my overall experience and suggestions. Several weeks later at the time of press, I have yet to hear back from anyone. 

I have since gone back to Moksha dozens of times and seen a wide spectrum of teachers. One of the teachers happily explained that in Bikram's, which Moksha is heavily based on, they do a trikonasana variation, she also pointed out how a bent leg trikonasana is more closely related to trikonasana than an extended side angle. When I told her about my unanswered email she said management is going through a change of hands and the owners of the studio are both at home with little babies. Perhaps it is also note worthy that the website's teacher info has not been updated in more than a year.

Someone or some people have been too busy to really organize all aspects of the Moksha uptown studio, that or they are doing so well they don't need to respond to their customers feedback etc. . . None the less, the mixture of affordable heated classes and non heated classes are a godsend for a hot & regular yoga addict.

 

Besides if I don't show up and judge these teachers, who will?