OM yoga is a practice of flowing yoga asanas informed by precise attention to alignment and supported by the relaxed wakefulness of Buddhist mindfulness meditation.
Want to know a little more about us? We are not owned by or affiliated with a larger entity (as many studios are these days). OM yoga is owned and operated by one small, dynamic entity -- our own Cyndi Lee. If you like, think of us as an indie with all the freshness and adventurousness that the term implies.
In the early 1990's Cyndi Lee, like many yoga teachers, was a migrant in New York City, going from gym, to rented studio for private lessons or small one-off classes, to teaching other methods of yoga for hire at various studios. After a while, she noticed that people were following her around, engaged by her humor and her unique style. She began renting space at Shambhala Center twice a week, but her following soon outgrew the capacity of that space. Encouraged by her boyfriend (now her husband, composer and OM Dean of Buddhist studies David Nichtern), she found a space on 14th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. She was so broke that her father co-signed the lease for the filthy space that used to be an after-hours dance club. A lot of hard scrubbing later, OM yoga opened its doors on January 19, 1998.
There were 50 people at the OM yoga center opening night party and 2 people (her two best friends who still come to classes at OM) at the first official class the next day. But Cyndi Lee persevered, aided by folks who believed in her like Lisa Steele, who roller skated all over town hanging flyers, and Hilary White, first manager of OM yoga. Hilary didn't have a desk but there was a phone and a Mac 100 and she went from there.
The studio rapidly grew in numbers of classes and in reputation. Cyndi developed her own yoga teacher training, built around the idea that teaching yoga is itself a practice and that OM yoga is a seamless integration of vinyasa, precise alignment and the Buddhist meditation methods of mindfulness and compassion. The OM yoga method was recently recognized by Yoga Journal as a specific style of yoga and OM yoga's Teacher Training is world-renowned. On and off the mat, the spirit of mindfulness and compassion pervade OM from the very beginning until today.
In 2003, the brutal New York real estate market asserted itself and OM yoga lost its 14th street space. Thanks to the willingness of Nancy Bass, who owns OM yoga's downstairs neighbor, the Strand Bookstore and the building in which the studio is now housed, OM received its current 11,500 square foot space. OM now teaches roughly 10,000 yogis and yoginis a year and develops over 100 new teachers each year through its 60-, 200- and 300-hour Teacher Training programs, internationally. Cyndi Lee tours the world as a highly regarded yoga teacher (but she still makes it a priority to teach at OM yoga center often). OM yoga enters its second decade as a strong, innovative (and did we mention fun?) place to practice.
Through all the growth and change of the studio (and the yoga world) that has happened since Cyndi Lee started OM yoga, one phrase -- "How Can I Be Helpful?" -- still drives the behavior of all the teachers and staff. When you come to OM yoga, you'll feel it.
For a sample of Cyndi Lee teaching & OM yoga, you can view this video recorded in Sky studio at OM yoga center. Click here for today's schedule. We hope to welcOMe you soon. Dim lights
OM yoga is a practice of flowing yoga asanas informed by precise attention to alignment and supported by the relaxed wakefulness of Buddhist mindfulness meditation.