(UPDATE: This yoga center is now CLOSED)
I am taking hatha yoga at the Vinyasa Yoga Center under Pio Baquiran. Not only is Pio a great yoga teacher (he takes pains to check one’s posture and knows when to challenge you to do more advanced poses while also pulling back to easier poses when he senses you need to) but yoga itself has toned my body, given me a lot more stamina, and has made me healthier than I have been in years. Pio is a strict vegetarian, the sign of a real yogi. He is certified as a yoga instructor as well.
The Center, located at the 17th floor of Strata 100, Felix Ortigas Road (formerly Emerald Ave.)., Ortigas Complex, is managed by Minna Estrada (partnering with Pio). Classes are structured for different levels of students and even includes yoga for kids and monthly vegetarian cooking classes. The Center itself is well maintained, has a reception area, dressing area, restroom, large workout area with wooden floors and surrounded by mirrors and electric fans, and dimmer lights (great for meditation and the cooling down period at the end). About the only thing that the Center lacks right now is a shower area (for lack of space — but I hear that is in the expansion blueprint).
If you have been sedentary for a long time and not the fitness buff who spends hours in gyms and outdoor sports, consider yoga. It is a holistic, practical alternative way to health and stress detoxification..
I’ve been at it for about 10 months now and have no regrets whatsoever except that I should have started yoga years ago. It not only trains the body but more importantly, disciplines the mind.
The icing on the cake is that the regular group of yoginis like me who have committed to our yoga regimen are great companions, terrific motivators and just wonderful girl friends!
Vinyasa Yoga Center
17/F Strata 100 Bldg.
Felix Ortigas Road, Ortigas Complex
Pasig City
Tel. 637-9003; CP: (0920) 947-5915