I.AM.YOU. Studio

Profile

In 2009, Lauren Imparato left her job in finance and began teaching Vinyasa yoga out of her Little Italy loft. The space is both airy and handsome, where everything from the art on the walls to the wooden DJ booth are large in scale. After entering an unmarked door from the street and going up the elevator to the sixth floor, students find rows of black mats set up facing out to the windows overlooking Mulberry Street. Imparato, who trained at Kula Yoga and Conquering Lion, teaches her 90-minute classes of approximately 25 to 30 people to a mix of traditional yoga music, classic rock, and hip hop. (She’ll often have her boyfriend D.J. spinning in the booth during class.) The session maintains a fluid, relatively high-paced tempo, with Imparato leading by verbal instruction and working her way around the room to each sweaty student making adjustments. In addition to group classes offered throughout the week, Imparato offers private sessions, as well as personal nutritional coaching. — Randi Eichenbaum

Pros
Between the setting and Imparato’s attention to posture, this class feels like a private with a group class price tag ($20 per class).

Cons
Think of this as a quasi-Bikram class, as it gets hot and sweaty in here.