People are moving to Houston every day. A few years back, I was one of those people starting a new life in this city. I had just graduated college, gotten my first full-time job, found a great (if not, slightly, overpriced) apartment in Midtown, and was starting out fresh! Everything in my life had been uprooted and changed, including my mindset after I had spent the summer at a super immersive yoga teacher training program at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Massachusetts.

Thus to find grounding amidst the million stressers that life threw at me, I began a brilliant love affair with yoga at YogaOne Studios.

I’ve since been to many studios in Houston (here are some of those blog posts), but the one I keep returning to is YogaOne. It’s been interesting to see how the studio expanded over the past four years to include teacher training it seems every week, retreats, parties, kids classes and more!

I used to be a regular at Roger Rippy’s Tuesday night Meditation + Flow combo classes at Midtown. He founded YogaOne back in 2008 with his wife Albina. And through many sweaty classes that I attended, I felt like I got to know him as a person as he told stories that distracted us from the physical intensity of poses with anecdotes from his life. He has a few darling daughters. They appear on his insta occasionally. He also has a son that when I did the math he must have had when he was in his super early 20s. So totally human and relatable.

I’ve been to many of the YogaOne studios across town, but I’ve found that the 19th Street location in the Heights is my favorite. Yes it’s the closest to my house (I used to be in love with the Midtown one — the original location!) but I find the 19th Street has the most accessible parking AND the classes aren’t *too* packed. The studio is pretty busy and  at peak hours after work on a week day my mat is squished two inches from another persons but for the most part it’s manageable.

I’ve been going for a few years and I’ve found a few teachers that I like— also crazy to see how many have been teaching there for the past 3-4 years. I’ve recently been into the Hot Core Cardio and Hot Core Weights classes. Which, I know, isn’t yoga at all, but I like the challenge from the heat and the many reps at low weights. I found the weights class with Zev to be a bit more challenging than Cardio with Katie but both are good whole body workouts. In the past, I’ve even done classes in Spanish there.

I don’t particularly like the Hot 60 class which is the core of most heated yoga studio offerings because it’s the same 23 poses (or so) in the same order every time. I much prefer the flow in the semi-heated room. I find my muscles relax easier and the more I sweat the more the class feels like an accomplishment.

I think most of the classes at YogaOne are in the Baptist Style. They also offer a few Forrest Yoga classes as well (those are bizarre!).

I have commitment issues so I’ve never done a real membership there (I gotta keep trying new places for the sake of the blog!) but I regularly by 10-class packs (RIP when there used to be 30-class packs!!) and I regularly go a few times a month! If you’ve also got commitment issues and don’t want to spend a zillion dollars, check out the community yoga classes on the weekend. They’re usually free or $5 drop-in and give you a taste of the teaching styles.

If you haven’t been following the news,  YogaOneThey just got acquired by YogaWorks. So RIP 100% local ownership as they’re now part of some corporate conglomerate across states. But local management still remains the same and will always have a soft spot in my heart.

Where to Find the “I Am Love” Wall

If you’re into street art (like I am!!), check out the new “I Am Love” wall painted on the building next to their Heights Studio. The mural faces east and was created by Ruben Rojas. It’s pretty difficult to get a good picture there given the many classes at YogaOne and the nextdoor Ride Studio, but if you time it nicely (or wake up early on a weekend!) you might get lucky and get a good shot.