Community classes and introductory specials aside, yoga in Brooklyn is getting ridiculously expensive. Monthly studio memberships cost upwards of $100, and that’s before you’ve factored in your commute to and from, or your meals before and after. Before you know it, what should be a moment of peace in your day becomes a major source of stress.
We hate to see you like this, and we also hate to see your wallets bone-dry. (After all, how are you gonna tip your bartenders when you use our new wine books?) So we rounded up all the cheap yoga you can do in Brooklyn. These classes are $10 or less, all the time, so you can keep your Namastés in the mix and still enjoy all the other things out there that cost money.
Yoga to the People
211 N. 11th Street, Williamsburg
$10 suggested
Ah, Yoga to the People, the city’s most notorious pay-what-you-can studio. YTTP has been entirely donation-based since its inception, and even their suggested $10 is still doable. Heads up before you go, though: these classes teach what’s known as power yoga, which isn’t for everybody. It’s a sweaty, rigorous flow sequence designed to get you as much mileage in your practice as possible. If you hate chair pose, or loathe teachers that ask you to push past your limit, look elsewhere. But if you love sweaty bodies and the SoulCycle mentality, this might be your new spot!
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Brooklyn Yoga School
82 6th Avenue, Park Slope
$10 minimum donation
Brooklyn Yoga School offers mostly classical vinyasa classes, building from slower-paced beginner classes to the more advanced, rigorous flow classes. Their “by donation” model is more of a sliding scale, since you can’t actually donate less than $10. Still, it’s cheap and the schedule is reliable. This is a great alternative to the pricier places in Park Slope, and the space is really lovely.
Brooklyn Yoga Collective
795 Franklin Avenue, Crown Heights
sliding scale, $7-15
Put simply, BYC is the best deal in town. They provide Jade yoga mats for class use free-of-charge, their classes are up to 90-minutes long, and many of the teachers are trained in Jivamukti. In other words, you’re paying as little as $7 for an experience that would cost you about $25 in Manhattan. And for what it’s worth, the collective has a pretty cool internal system: they have a shared-revenue model and pay each teacher equally per class, regardless of popularity. They offer open flow, Restorative, Vinyasa, Hatha and the occasional Yin.
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Hosh Yoga
55 Nassau Avenue #1C, Greenpoint
by donation
Hosh is a funky little outpost in Greenpoint with strong philosophical underpinnings for their by-donation business model, touting their mission of “health and wellness as a right of life, rather than a privilege.” The class schedule is still pretty luxurious: classes are up to 90 minutes long, and there are a bunch throughout the day. You can buy a sustaining membership there for $49 for a real karmic boost, but you can also just throw them a couple bucks to practice once or twice a week.
Human@Ease
31 Nassau Avenue, Greenpoint
$10
It’s more of a fitness center than a yoga studio, but you’ll still feel the Om Shantis when you take a class at Human@ease. Drop-in classes are $10 for all levels, and it’s conveniently located. This is a great option if you prefer to shake up your yoga routine on the daily: classes range from the ‘deep core’ to the ‘mid-week revival.’ In addition to Vinyasa and Hatha classes, this spot also has Kundalini yoga, a kinesthetic yoga practice designed to streamline energy channels in the body and fortify the nervous system. Prepare to breathe—a lot.