20 Questions
1. Do I need to bring my own mat?
Studio Anya provides everything you need for all group classes and semi-private/private appointments. If you prefer your own mat you are welcome to bring it but we’ve got you covered if not. We provide water, tea and treats for before and after class. Just bring you, and we’ll take care of the rest!
2. I’m not very flexible and kind of out of shape, will I be lost?
Our signature classes are the movement component of our mind+body curriculum–they set the stage for the consistent practice of alignment techniques through systematic routines. All classes follow a carefully formatted flow that is both mentally and physically stimulating. Designed to engage the law of magnetism, we cultivate agility by honing our immersion skills in a way that blueprints new pathways for our desired goals. So…even if you sit out 80% of the exercises, you are still downloading the necessary cues needed to cultivate real change over time. There is something to the “by osmosis” joke. Joseph Pilates was known to say: “the mind shapes the body.” It’s kind of like “tune in to tone up”–the “tuning in” part can be a safe and immediate way to get in the game–even be the MVP–without breaking a sweat.
If you’re still concerned, we highly recommend booking private or semi-private appointments to get the most of your time at Anya. During these appointments, an Anya teacher can help you to build a vocabulary in your body that paves the way for proper connections. We believe in efficiency in application: Our orientation special of 3 sessions/$180 is jam packed with savvy know-how’s to maximize training time in and out of class.
3. What is Anya?
Anya means the eyes through which we see and feel inexhaustible grace. Even to say “Anya” allows our hearts to widen and our shoulders to relax. In this way, Anya is an experiential practice studied as a philosophy of movement. Based in s.omatic i.nquiry t.raining (“sit”) or “living the questions,” Anya inspires dynamic investigation in our day-to-day mind+body connection. Applying Neo-Yogic Awareness to both our zoom in and zoom out lens calls attention to how we create choices–from when to stand tall to when to sit still. Meanwhile… as our inner sage (s.ensitively a.ware, gently evolving) guides us towards feeling more real, authentic and balanced—more alive, more and more aligned with inexhaustible grace.
4. Do I have to study the mind +body curriculum in order to take the classes?
Definitely not. Whether you bury yourself in our wellness library, attend all our lectures, workshops and trainings, and memorize the exercises by heart…or…scurry out the door as soon as class is over…or…like to sip tea and listen to the birds and could care less about “anatomical assessments” and “mudras”—the studio is a safe place for learning in all styles. The classes are informative and evocative—piquing our curiosity so that embodied learning is infectious and fun! In the event that you want to know more, the curriculum is the perfect playground to guide deeper exploration.
5. What’s the best class for losing weight and getting toned?
We suggest starting with Mods—60 exercises in 60 minutes. Yup, this alone could craft miracles, but the real “fountain of youth” is in the blueprinting techniques—the keystone of all of our classes. These little gems can actually re-shape our bodies by sharpening our mind’s focus in dynamic meditation. Get good at blueprinting and amazing results follow by command! When we coordinate the mind+body connection at deeper levels of patterning everything we do—from brushing our teeth to riding the subway to waiting in line for coffee —crystallizes as opportunities for materializing intention.
Consider Mods as the foundation for these blueprints, and our signature classes like Core, Lila, Anya, Flow and even Rest provide a variety of ways to alchemize our truest potential for weight loss, toning, peace, vibrancy, strength—you fill in the blank! Pure potential awakens like a genie in a bottle.
6.What is Pilates?
Joseph Pilates was a visionary pioneer who was constantly evolving his method of training—a seriously effective system of exercises that focus on the development of core control through the exactness of precision, coordination, breathing and flow. His work is best known in two domains: Mat Pilates and Apparatus Pilates. Anya honors Pilates as a source of guiding wisdom by carefully integrating his original work in relevant integrations suited for the modern day.
7. What should I wear to class?
Be comfortable, natural and unencumbered—but keep your shirt on & leave your shoes at the door. Helpful hints: be careful with shorts, heavy sweat pants, or ultra thin leggings…
8. What should I do with my things?
Yoga sanctuary or not—it’s NYC. Please feel free to stash your things in the cubbies at the back of the group room. Or, when doing a semi-private or private, haul ‘em with you and tuck ‘em under the desk curtain near your equipment.
9. What makes Studio Anya unique?
As a multidisciplinary approach to revolutionizing our way of doing and being in our bodies, Studio Anya brings together the best-of-the-best and provides the platform and the means for dedicated practice. As Daily Candy describes in their 2010 Wellness Guide, “Recently opened and expansive Studio Anya is a one-stop shop for all neo-yogic needs. Owner Courtney Bauer created a playground-like environment that encourages mind/body learning—group and individual Pilates and yoga classes (first class is free), Thai bodywork, neuromuscular therapy, and meditation.”
10. How often do I need to do classes to see results?
Mods is best done 2x/week until is gets under your skin—until the cues seep in like hypnotic suggestions. Once the cues feel more clear, 1x/week for Mods is plenty. To expedite the acquisition of cues, it’s best to take a series of privates followed by semi-privates to ensure that the alignment techniques are translated as clear actions. We also recommend actively deepening understanding through varied movement experiences like Flow, Anya, Core or Lila 2-3x/week.
11. How does Thai bodywork differ from massage?
Thai Massage is fully-clothed and done on a cushioned floor mat—it feels like yoga postures without the work in a set routine of compression, vibration and rocking like stretches. From soup to nuts—Thai bodywork is comprehensive and thorough care for our total well-being.
12. What happens in the meditation room?
The meditation room is for self-directed practice in mudra, yantra and mantra training. Prayer desks, floor cushions and meditation timers all set an environment in which you can purposefully and fastidiously get busy with being still and quiet. We also share our meditation room with like-minded practitioners for very reasonable rental fees.
13. What’s better, the semi-privates or the privates?
They are both very important opportunities for apprehending the alignment techniques necessary for enduring results. We suggest doing a series of privates first in order to get why Anya is “hot”: Applied Neo-Yogic Awareness is Hands On Training when Apparatus Pilates meets Thai Bodywork to create HOT results for toning and stretching in all the right spots!
As tactile feedback specialists, Anya teachers facilitate blueprinting by imprinting cues through vibrational stretching. When we can feel a cue, we really know it for real. Once we can resonate with our practice in specific and measurable ways, our practice takes on all new meaning. Explore this meaning in the semi-private apparatus circuit class, and shaping the goals you have always wanted will be in the palm of your hands.
14. What’s the difference between Pilates and yoga?
Over 5000 years old, Yoga is an ancient healing art and experiential science to yolk the union of opposites in 8 limbs, or “Steps,” or practice—ranging from meditation to hygiene to asana (exercises) to breathing to ecstatic dissolution and spiritual enlightenment. Doing Yoga can become a way of life that speaks to the mind, body and spirit.
Pilates is a codified system of exercises that are heavily influenced by yoga. While Joseph Pilates confidently projected that his system “restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind, and elevates the spirit,” there are no formally expressed elements of spiritual training in his work. Pilates is a mind+body system build around 6 pillars: Concentration, Core, Coordination, Precision, Breathing and Flow.
Based in A.pplied N.eo Y.ogic A.wareness, Anya Yoga is the ubiquitous umbrella for all wellness pursuits under which Pilates fits perfectly.
15. What happens on the support wall? Can I use it by myself?
Fabulous things happen on the support wall. Feelings of lightness, clarity, mobility and strength practiced in 19 standing exercises that increase vibrancy (like our Flow class), 12 seated exercises that imprint alignment techniques (like a mini-Mods class) and the Gr8 Wall of Anya—8 foundational stretches that encompass all planes of movement in creative translation.
Yes-—you may use the support wall by yourself after a 10-session tutorial.
16. Are there any discounts or trades available?
Yes! We offer $8 classes for dancers and 30% off classes for students. We also have a work/study program that grants free classes and apprenticeship in exchange for 4 hour/week help with the studio.
17. Can I eat in the kitchen?
Yes! Please be neat!!
18. Can I borrow books from the library?
No. But feel free to read quietly for as long as you like before or after class.
19. Who are the Anya Teachers?
Silly + Serious—modern day seekers, artists, healers, warriors and students who are insatiably curious about how things work in the mind+body and how this query yields feelings of grace. Professional Dancers, Registered Yoga Teachers, Certified Pilates Teachers, Licensed Therapists and Professors who have received 100s of hours of training in the AUM curriculum as advanced study in the Anya Philosophy.
20. Can I become a teacher?
Absolutely and we hope so! Our goal is to awaken your inner sage—a voice of wisdom so clear and keen that your stature is model of integrity to all those around you.