Jaka
The reason I am leaving a 1 star review is because of how my husband was treated at the front of the studio by the staff. He knew I was inside the studio and we had planned to get lunch after the class. He was told when he arrived that “no men are allowed.” [the desk area is open to Great World Mall, there is no door or wall separating the desk from the open air space of the mall]. He explained that he was there to wait for me as I was about to exit the class. They then said ok for him to wait. He sat to wait for me to exit.
I was the first student to exit, as I was exiting I said hello to him and turned to get my shoes on. The staff went to my husband and told him to leave because his presence will make the clients “uncomfortable.” [Mind you, he is the person who pays for all my health classes, including the class I attended here.]
I was surprised that he was so blatantly discriminated against simply for sitting and waiting on me (playing chess on his phone, minding is own business, not doing anything wrong), at a place where you’d think the staff would be more sensitive to discrimination and tactful in how they deliver their messaging. I’d imagine the women attending here choose the women-only classes for various reasons, including postpartum recovery. I am a few months postpartum, so having my support people around is important to my mental health and my partner should be treated with some basic human respect.
While I was looking to get a membership at a hot yoga studio, this one is clearly not the right fit as if you have a husband, brother, son, etc waiting on you they will be told to leave (literally a few steps over, this studio is open to the Mall).
Women only “in-class” totally makes sense, but having sexist behavior against anyone is never ok. I’d make the suggestion to add walls and doors to better create a closed off space to the mall, train your staff in how they deliver their requests, and add a chair or bench in a place for those support persons to wait.