Open Door Yin Yoga Studio, Coconut Grove: Friday 10 am Holds

Open Door Yoga runs its ODY Yin class at 10 am on Friday and Saturday from a ground-floor suite at 2801 Florida Ave in Coconut Grove, and like everything on its schedule, the room is not heated. A drop-in is $25, one of the lower single-class prices in Miami, and new students can start with four classes for $59. Bolsters, blocks, straps, and blankets are provided, so you only need to bring a mat.

The FAQ gives clear directions: the studio is on the ground floor of the Grove Square building on Florida Avenue. Walk up to the building, keep going through the courtyard, and look for Suite 20 at the back. It is easy to miss from the street the first time, which is why the studio asks first-timers to arrive 15 minutes before class.

Parking is straightforward for the Grove. The Mayfair garage sits directly across Florida Avenue, and there is metered street parking around the block. The studio validates the first hour at the CocoWalk garage on Virginia Street, which charges $6 an hour, so grab a voucher at the front desk on your way out. Bike racks are on the street if you ride over from Coral Way or the bayfront.

The class description lists the shapes you will meet: sphinx, swan, and lizard lunge, each held for 2 to 5 minutes to work into fascia, ligament, and bone. It also mentions a short dose of yang, meaning some active movement that warms the body between the holds. That mix makes ODY Yin a little more forgiving than a strict, floor-only yin class if you tend to get restless after half an hour.

Rosie teaches the Friday 10 am session and Denisse leads Saturday at the same hour on the current schedule. Both classes sit in the late-morning slot rather than the evening, which is unusual for yin in Miami, where most studios put long holds after dark. It suits shift workers, remote workers, and parents after school drop-off, and it leaves the rest of the day free for errands in the Grove. Bookings run through the studio's WellnessLiving schedule, where you create an account, choose a package, and reserve a mat for the specific Friday or Saturday you want, with spots visible in real time.

The pricing page keeps things simple. Four classes for $59 is valid for one month, a five-class package is $115 and valid for two months, and a ten-class package is $200 and valid for three months. Monthly Unlimited is $150 on autopay, and a single drop-in is $25 at any time. A mat rental is $5 if you forget yours, which is the only extra you are likely to pay.

One useful detail from the FAQ: you can link friends and family to your account and share a class package. For two people who both want a weekly yin class, a shared ten-class package at $200 works out to $20 per class each, cheaper than two drop-ins. The studio takes credit and debit cards and Apple Pay for retail, but it does not accept cash, so do not count on paying at the desk with bills.

The cancellation policy is stricter than it looks. A late cancel, which the studio defines as within 12 hours of class, or a no-show forfeits that class from your package. For a 10 am Saturday booking, that means deciding by 10 pm on Friday. No shoes are allowed inside the studio, and lockers with personal keys are inside the room, so you can leave a phone and wallet locked up during the holds.

Pets are not allowed in the studio, and the minimum age for class without a parent or guardian is 17. Kids Yoga exists for children 5 to 12, but it is a separate class, not something you can bring a child into. Wear comfortable athletic clothes; you will be lying down for long stretches, so a light layer for the final rest is smarter than another tank top.

Sherrie Giusto is the founder and owner. Her bio says she was raised in Miami, started her fitness life as a nationally ranked tennis player, and has been teaching all forms of fitness for over 30 years. She is a 500-hour registered yoga teacher, a mother of three, and teaches in Miami, in Colorado, and online. Her mantra, printed on the About page, is Yoga with a Heart.

That background shows in how the studio talks about itself: approachable, mindful, inclusive, and fun are the four values on the About page, and the footer signs off with Open Mind, Open Heart, Open Door. The mission line promises an escape from the bustle of the city. The courtyard location does some of that work for you, since the suite sits at the back of the building, well away from the cars on Florida Avenue.

If you need an evening class, Open Door is the wrong pick, because its yin is morning-only. In that case, cross the causeway to Synergy Yoga at 844 Alton Road in South Beach, which runs a 75-minute Yin Yoga class on Monday and Tuesday at 7:30 pm. For first-time Open Door students who are unsure about long holds, the FAQ suggests Yoga Fresh or Open Heart Open Mind as gentle starting classes.

CocoWalk is a two-minute walk from the studio, and its plaza hosts community events, including outdoor readings run with the Coconut Grove Branch Library. After a Saturday morning hold, walk south through the plaza toward the bayfront, where Peacock Park opens onto Biscayne Bay. It is the kind of slow route that keeps the calm of a yin class going a little longer.