Synergy Yin Yoga Studio, South Beach: 75 Minutes at 7:30 pm

Synergy Yoga teaches a 75-minute Yin Yoga class at 7:30 pm every Monday and Tuesday on the second floor of 844 Alton Rd in South Beach. A drop-in costs $30, and first-time students and Miami residents can buy five classes in their first week for $49. Founded in 1995, Synergy calls itself the oldest and first yoga studio in Miami Beach, which makes it the obvious yin yoga studio to try on this side of the causeway.

The studio sits upstairs at 844 Alton Road, between the 8th and 9th Street blocks of the west side of South Beach, and calls itself a three-room center. Check in at reception before every class; the etiquette page asks students to arrive at least ten minutes early, which also gives you time to stow bags in the cubicles before entering the room.

Synergy began on Espanola Way. The About page traces the studio from those humble beginnings to the Alton Road space, and credits Gaia Budhai with founding it in 1995 with an emphasis on creating community. Three decades later the schedule lists more than 50 classes a week, from Hatha and Ashtanga to Kundalini, Slow and Restore, and Yin, with sound bath meditation and kids yoga mixed in.

The building is more than a class schedule. The site menu lists Healing Arts and Ayurveda offerings, teacher certifications, events, and retreats, and the studio describes itself in full as the Synergy Center for Yoga and the Healing Arts. For a yin student that context matters, because the teachers on the Monday and Tuesday evenings come from a studio that treats rest and recovery as a discipline of its own.

Kamerin Cerrato leads the Monday class, and Yana Shevchenko teaches on Tuesday. Both run from 7:30 to 8:45 pm, a full 75 minutes, which leaves enough time for several long holds plus a proper rest at the end. That length is the main reason to come here rather than squeeze yin into a 60-minute slot elsewhere; the extra quarter hour is where the slow release in the hips and back actually happens.

If you are new to long holds, the studio also runs Slow and Restore, which the About page recommends for new students and people with back pain or injuries. It is a gentler entry point that teaches you how to use props before you commit to a full yin hour. Once you are comfortable lying still with a bolster for several minutes, move to the Monday or Tuesday evening class.

The single drop-in is $30. The new-student special is five classes in your first week for $49, valid for two weeks from purchase, open to first-timers and Miami residents, and also available if your last visit was more than six months ago. That covers both yin evenings across two weeks with a class left over, which is the best value on the page by a wide margin.

For regulars, a five-class package is $99 and valid for two months, and a fifteen-class package is $235 and valid for six months. The VIP unlimited pass is $165 and includes a yoga mat and fresh towels. Three months unlimited is $333, and a full year unlimited is $1,111. If you only come for yin on Mondays and Tuesdays, the fifteen-class package works out to about $15.70 per class.

The late rule is firm. After 15 minutes from the start of class, students are not let in. If you arrive within the first five minutes, the etiquette page says you must wait until the opening meditation is over and then enter as quietly as possible. Leaving early is strongly discouraged, which matters in yin, where the final rest is part of the practice and a door opening breaks the room.

Cancel at least one hour before a reserved class to avoid a penalty; monthly pass holders who miss that window are charged $5. You are encouraged to bring your own mat, blocks, belt, and towel, or you can rent them. Rented mats must be sprayed with sanitizer and hung outside on the metal rail after class, and props go back outside too. No food is allowed in the practice area.

Two more terms are worth reading before you pay. All purchases of classes and products are final, with no refunds or credits except for certification trainings cancelled at least two weeks ahead. Memberships are personal, and members may not share the same email address. The studio also asks anyone who is coughing, sneezing, or feeling unwell to stay home, which is fair in a room where everyone lies on the floor for an hour.

Synergy also lists Hot Yoga and Power Yoga on its schedule. Skip those if you came for a slow, cool evening, and read the class name carefully when booking, since they appear on the same weekly grid. If neither evening suits you, Open Door Yoga in Coconut Grove runs its ODY Yin class at 10 am on Fridays and Saturdays, and Miami Life Center in Wynwood holds Yin Yoga and Sound Bath on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm.

Flamingo Park, at 11th Street and Jefferson Avenue, is a few blocks northeast of the studio and is the easiest place to unwind before a 7:30 pm hold. Walk the shaded paths around the fields as the evening cools, then head back west to Alton. After class, Lincoln Road is about a 15-minute walk north if you want a late dinner before going home.

Getting there is simple on foot or by bike from most of South Beach. Alton Road is the main north-south street on the bay side of the island, and the studio sits near its southern end. Street parking around the 800 block is metered, so walking or cycling over usually beats circling the block for a spot at 7:15 pm on a weeknight.