Yoga Space Creates Atmosphere of Relaxation, Revitalization

"Hyattsville's former motto used to be that it's a nice place to live but the new motto is, 'A World Within Walking Distance' and that's how I feel about Yoga Space," said Mary Graham, who is currently in Yoga Space's Hatha Yoga class.

"I've been coming for six years. I've taken a lot of Yoga but always come back to Yoga Space," she said.

Yoga Space is a studio that offers numerous classes and styles of mostly yoga and Pilates classes. Since opening in 1996, the owners and instructors have strived to be innovative and cutting edge with yoga trends.

Pilates instructor Milt Pugh has been teaching Pilates for five years.

"I have been coming here since the opening," he said. "We emphasize teaching classic and traditional Pilates here. This is a great place to learn and advance"

Some of the courses Yoga Space offers are belly dancing, Anusara-inspired yoga, Vinyasa yoga, Early Bird Kripalu yoga, and Prenatal yoga.

Some of the new trends Yoga Space offers include yoga-lates, which is a combining of yoga and Pilates, and Spin yoga, which is combining a Spinning class on exercise bikes with yoga.

"These trends come and go, and it always comes back to the basics," said owner Douglas Thompson.

"I offer a mommy-baby class for moms with children from birth to almost crawling. It allows moms to build lost strength back into their abdominal muscles, hips, and to realign their spines, and at the same time bond with their babies and have fun."

Men and women of all ages, all sizes, and all levels of health take yoga, Thompson said.

"I have a 75-year-old nun as a student," he said. "I have teenagers and 20-year-olds as students. People that are in good health take yoga. People that are pregnant take yoga. People that are going through severe traumas in their lives, from cancer to the loss of a child at birth, come to yoga. I offer an adaptive yoga class for people with [Multiple Sclerosis].

"They come for healing, they come to become more flexible, they come for spirituality. And almost everyone says they come to yoga to relieve stress."