Review
Multi Intenso Yoga
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In the New York yoga scene, there are certain hub studios, places with street cred that attract regulars with strong practices. (Compared to these places, gym yogis and Bikram fans are strictly bridge-and-tunnel.) Among the hubs, in Tribeca, is the Kula Yoga Project, a crunchy, well-run studio, up a long flight of rickety stairs, which packs them in nearly ten times a day. The teaching is generally above average, with certain standouts.
Among the latter is David Andre Regelin, a tall, dark-haired yoga Adonis with an evangelical following. "I used to be a spinning junkie," raved one petitie Italian woman to me, "and I never thought yoga could give me the same kind of high. Then I discovered David."
Regelin, who also teaches uptown at Pure Yoga, brands his classes "Multi Intenso™." On the otherwise touchy-feely Kula bulletin board, there is a large death-metal-style Multi Intenso™ poster depicting Regelin in black sci-fi super hero outfit. It's an unusual "brand" for yoga, but it sort of fits his sequences, which are intricate and muscular, and depart freely from conventional vinyasa. Chatarangas often involve multiple trips back and forth to plank, and navasanas are repeated like crunches. There are lots of hard aerial balance poses too, which Regelin demands in a low key, confident way that suggests he's been there done that. Plenty of his mostly female students can handle the poses -- these are the sort that bust out slow motion, piked hand stands matter-of-factly, mid vinyasa. For rookies (present company included), the sweat flow from exertion was spectacular.
In his running commentary, Regelin sticks to detailed pose instructions, and avoids preaching or any particular dogma. There is a sort of cool, jaded quality to the vibe, which the soundtrack -- indie tracks and the occassional Barry White classic -- echoes. In short, this is strictly downtown hipster yoga: Challenging, and jammed with beautiful, sweaty bodies, the sort of class, frankly, that would serve nicely as a teen boy's after-hours fantasy. In sum: Ideal for experienced yogis and intensity hounds, and perhaps to be avoided by those looking for a more standard vinyasa, or hand-holding in general.
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