The Y is for yoga.

I admit it — I am a yoga snob. The first class I ever took was in a traditional yoga studio, where the smell of incense spiced the air and we were guided into shapes in Sanskrit. Adho Mukha Svanasana. Trikonasana. Savasana. At the end of the class when we entered our resting poses, the yoga teacher spritzed us with lavender spray. This experience was absolutely divine. This studio became my yoga home for decades.

After a few years of practicing yoga, I decided to become a certified yoga instructor. During the first level of training, we were required to visit different yoga studios that taught different styles of yoga. I tried hot yoga. Ashtanga. Iyengar. Hatha. Even though each of these styles was different, each studio felt familiar with its incense and calm vibe. I assumed that wherever yoga was taught would feel like a spa.

Then I went to a yoga class at a gym.

To me, taking a yoga class at a gym felt odd. Even though the yoga class was taught in a room that was generally closed off, you usually can hear the thump thump thumping music in the weight room. And weights dropping on the floor. And people walking out of the yoga class before the final relaxation because people got their workout and didn’t want any more. Yoga class was just like step aerobics or group power — but just different moves. I hated it.

So when we moved to Maine, I looked hard for a yoga studio so that I wouldn’t have to go to yoga in a multi-purpose gym. I had to wait for a few years before Earth Candy Yoga opened in Rockland and until then, I took classes from innovative teachers who offered classes in unique spaces like High Mountain Hall (which is now Bay Chamber in Camden), the Camden Yacht Club, the Rockport Opera House. These teachers were glorious. All that saved me from taking a class at the YMCA (the Y).

After the pandemic, I decided to join the Y in order to amp up my workout routine and when I did, the staff member mentioned that offered yoga. I declined, saying that I belonged to a yoga studio. And she urged me to try one of their classes. And I’m glad she did. The variety of classes is wide-ranging. Yoga nidra (sleep yoga). Yin yoga (to develop inner stillness). Ayurvedic yoga (to promote overall well-being). Prenatal yoga. Family yoga. And more. And the teachers were so attuned to their diverse student base.

One of the best things about yoga classes at the Y is that they make it accessible. As much as I love incense, it can irritate some people. As much as I love Sanskrit, some people would prefer to hear instructions in English. And as much as I love chanting, some people might feel as though it is in conflict with their religious views. Yoga instructors at the Y steer clear of these in order to make everyone in their classes feel welcome.

Today, most of the yoga classes I take are at the Y because I love practicing yoga in a diverse community, with differently-abled bodies, with people of all ages. If you are new to the Midcoast and are looking for your next yoga home, know that the Penobscot Bay YMCA might become your yoga home, too.