The instructor-created yoga class will fire up muscles you didn’t know existed.
Some yoga classes are like a kid’s game of Simon Says — basic movements and one-step instructions. Kat Suda’s Ignite Flow Yoga is more like Twister.
“There's a lot of right-lefts,” the New York City-based instructor jokes. “You have to stay sharp.”
But you don’t have to be intimidated. Suda — who was recently named an Equinox Studio Visionary, an accolade that celebrates instructors known for their unique programming — brings levity to what could be a daunting class.
“I have a very playful approach. I know I'm asking [members] to do something hard, so I'm always reminding them that, you know, it's just yoga,” says Suda. “If you take it too seriously, you'll go nuts. You can't take it too seriously. If you're not having fun with it, then you shouldn't be doing it.”
The seeds of Ignite Flow Yoga were planted shortly after Suda began teaching at Equinox in 2017. At the time, she was leading vinyasa-esque classes that she infused with stability, flexibility, and mobility work. Then, she took a three-day workshop with yoga educator Dylan Werner. “I fell in love with the way he teaches. I remember taking his class…and I was like, ‘What the hell just happened?’” Suda recalls. “I felt awesome. I joke around with my students that I was like, ‘Did I just take drugs?’ So I said to myself, ‘I want to learn from this man.’”
Over the years, she’s undergone multiple 300-hour trainings with Werner, learning the Myofascial Integrated Alignment sequencing technique meant to access specific meridians in the body. She’s taken handstand and contortion lessons, plus anatomy and myofascial release trainings. All in, Suda has more than 1,350 hours of education under her belt.
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Ignite Flow Yoga reflects this breadth of experience, creating a “non-traditional” class, says Suda.
Dance music plays in the background. Classic asanas are tweaked to “access specific [fascia] lines, so that you can feel different things fire,” she explains. The transitions are “funky.” The warm-up is designed with physical therapy elements. The goal: unlock positions that were once out of reach by activating certain muscles rather than relying solely on flexibility. “The most common feedback I get is: ‘I've never felt those muscles before,’ or, ‘I've never been able to grab ahold of my foot in some position,’” says Suda.
Sensations matter more than shapes. Feeling connected to your body takes precedence over finding the glorified “perfect” alignment. “I will challenge you, but my goal is not to kill you,” says Suda. “It's just for you to find your edge and not go over it.”
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While Ignite Flow Yoga welcomes all levels of practitioners, Suda admits that “this shit is hard.” That’s why breaks are encouraged, as are adjustments so the movements meet you where you’re at that day. It doesn’t matter if your peak is mountain pose or an inversion.
“I want you to find the power within yourself,” says Suda. “I want to empower you. I want you to feel like you can do crazy stuff, and, I don't know, you can have fun doing it.”
Book your first Ignite Flow Yoga class at Equinox Clubs throughout New York City now.