By Ellie Davis

When I moved to the Upper West Side last summer, I was at first surprised by the lack of yoga studios that came up on Google. As I became ingrained in the community, I learned yoga was all around me! In addition to boutique studios, there are free and donation-based classes at unexpected locations like a church, park, library, and TaeKwonDo studio. The teacher is usually an Upper West Sider looking to give back to the community. Finding these gems has made me fall in love and connect with this neighborhood even more!

At West End Collegiate Church on 77th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, instructor Margaret Tobin leads free, hour-long sessions every Wednesday night. Tobin says that while mostly “church ladies” attend, sometimes strangers or people who come to the church’s food pantry will wander in and enjoy the class. She sees the class as a way to offer her skills without a financial barrier. She didn’t get into yoga for the money, so she prefers to teach in her church’s basement for free than at a commercial studio. I found this class suitable for all levels; it’s a slower flow.

Tobin sees yoga as prayer, so teaching at the church is a natural fit. She also humorously says, “The old people at church need yoga! I tell them to do yoga, and you don’t need a hip replacement!”

On a freezing and rainy November night, one student, Kristine, a church member and schoolteacher, braves the cold for class.

“I come here because I like the camaraderie of the people that show up,” Kristine said. “This is a time to concentrate on me to help relieve stress. It’s fun!”

Where: 245 West 77th Street, bet. Broadway and West End Avenue
When: Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m.
Cost: free; mats available
Location: Room 1

Instructor Max Kennedy offers donation-based yoga classes at Broadway TaeKwonDo Martial Arts on Broadway between 105th and 106th streets. After the Upper West Side studio where he taught shuttered during the pandemic, he saw a hole for accessible yoga that needed to be filled. Prepare to sweat in Max’s class! It’s challenging but accessible to all levels.

“I always knew I was going to start a donation-based practice,” Kennedy said. “My calling is to make sure there is a level of accessibility to this practice since there are places where it’s cost prohibitive.”

Kennedy operates on a pay-what-you-can model, with a suggested offering of $10. What students pay ranges. One night, Kennedy found a $100 bill in the box. Kennedy suggests an “energy exchange” for those unable to pay, asking the student to spread the word about his classes.

Where: 2744 Broadway, bet. 105th-106th streets, 2nd floor
When: Wednesdays 7:30 p.m., Sundays 11:30 a.m.
Cost: Offer what you can, suggested donation $10; mats available
Location: Enter on Broadway, 2nd floor

NYC Parks’ program Shape Up NYC offers free classes around the city. On the Upper West Side, they offer classes in Riverside Park and in the Morningside Heights branch of the New York Public Library. The outdoor class in the newly-renovated 102nd Street Field House in Riverside Park is on hiatus during winter and will return on Tuesday, March 5 at 9:30 a.m. In the meantime, yogis have two options at the library each week. On Mondays at 10 a.m., yoga is offered in Spanish, and on Wednesdays at 1 p.m., there’s slow flow yoga.

Where: 2900 Broadway bet. 113th-114th streets
When: Yoga en Español, Mondays at 10 a.m.; slow flow, Wednesdays at 1 p.m.
Cost: Free; registration is required; bring your own mat
Location: Community room

When I splurge on a studio, I’ll use ClassPass (an app you can get at the App Store that lets you try different studios for various “credits”) to score a discounted class at NY Loves Yoga on West 83rd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam). I’ve found their classes to be more intermediate, while Upper West Side Yoga and Wellness on West 85th (Columbus and Central Park West) is suitable for all levels, and offers student, military, and senior pricing at $20 per class. I did the 30-day intro special for $108 and found it worth every penny!

I’ll often push my coffee table to the wall and replace the space with a yoga mat in my tiny living room. Unlimited free resources are online; my favorite is Yoga with Kassandra on YouTube. Her 10- and 15-minute flows are a great way to start or end the day. And if you want to branch out, St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church offers free Pilates classes via Zoom on Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m. Email Brent for the link: Brent@stpaulandstandrew.org.

Filling your week with nourishing yoga classes is more accessible than you might have thought.

We’d love to hear where you’ve found great yoga in the neighborhood!

Subscribe to WSR’s free email newsletter here.