Testing Yoga studios in Munich - today Maha Shakti

My friend managed to find this amazing deal that allowed us to use groupon to pay only 50 euros for a month of unlimited classes at this small boutique yoga studio just off Georgenstrasse in Schwabing. Maha Shakti meaning the personification of the divine mother. Apart from its really accessible location it's also got the huge advantage of offering plenty of classes every day, not just during the week but also on weekends. They even have a class at 8.30 pm every day which suits me perfectly because I can make sure the little one is fast asleep by that time... 

Their classes are all 1.5 hours in length which allow for a much less rushed and more relaxing experience than the one hour classes I have seen at the gym or for instance the 'spiritual warrior' classes at jivamukti studios. The one thing that kind of threw me off at the beginning was that most classes (at least the ones at night that I could attend) are called 'hatha yoga' but in fact they usually feature a lot of vinyasa elements like starting off with a couple of sun salutations and continuing with different flow elements- but in the end I came to the conclusion that it doesn't make a difference what the class is called - your attitude is what makes and breaks your experience anyway. 

Currently my favorite teacher is Kunal who teaches in English (BTW he also teaches and advanced class at the Jivamukti/Patrick Broome studio in Schwabing) and has offers an Ashtanga inspired class on Sunday's. It's challenging but also very very rewarding. While he stays away from too much fluff like mantras or fancy music, his classes are refreshingly different and don't always feature the classic sun salutations (don't get me wrong, I love the surya namaskar but it's also nice to change it up once in a while). You can tell he's tapping into a wealth of knowledge. What I found fascinating is when he told us that the real shavasana after an ashtanga session would not be relaxed but in sticking to the original meaning of the corpse pose, very stiff and the whole body engaged and can thus only be practiced by very advanced ashtanga practitioners. Through these classes I have become more drawn to trying ashtanga yoga in the Mysore style but at the same time, I enjoy the yin yoga classes and more relaxed hatha classes that they also offer. Unfortunately this studio does not offer any kundalini classes, maybe because there is another one just around the corner (atemraum) which used to offer them. Also, I suppose hatha would tend to attract more students  than kundalini classes. 

Still I think it would be a great addition to the mix of classes.

In any case- thank you Maha Shakti for hosting us, it has been a pleasure and continues to be one for me. I enjoy entering through the back door, almost like a residential place but then smelling the nice lavender scent and listening to some very chill, relaxing chants. The studio also has water and tea available for all and there is no need to bring your own mat or props. Namaste!