Purusha Yin Yoga Studio, Outer Richmond: Sunday 6 pm Holds

Purusha Yoga + Pilates is at 3729 Balboa St in the Outer Richmond, a few blocks from where the fog rolls in off Ocean Beach, and it runs Yin and Restorative three evenings a week. The Sunday class starts at 6 pm and lasts 75 minutes, every slot is listed at $30, and new students can try two weeks for $49, so with a fourth beginners slot on Monday morning this yin yoga studio offers four slow sessions a week west of the park.

The core class is called Yin and Restorative, and it appears on the Momence schedule three times a week. Sunday at 6 pm is taught by Sarah Pascual, Monday at 8:30 pm by Lauren Rehbein, and Tuesday at 7 pm by Jess Kay. All three run 75 minutes. The class page tells you to expect to hold postures for three to five minutes, and says all levels are welcome.

Monday's 8:30 pm start is the late option, and it ends at 9:45 pm, which suits restaurant workers and anyone who cannot get across town before eight. Sunday is the one most people build a routine around, since it closes the weekend with an hour and a quarter on the floor. Tuesday at 7 pm lands in between and tends to be the easiest slot to fit after a commute home to the avenues.

There is also a daytime option with a different angle. Yin Foundations for Everyone runs on Monday from 10 to 11 am with David Rios, and it is pitched at people who have never done long holds before. If the idea of five minutes in a single shape sounds daunting, start here, where the pace of explanation is slower, and move to one of the evening classes once you know which props help your knees and hips.

An honest note on fit: yin is not the class for anyone who wants to leave sweaty. Purusha also teaches Pilates and faster yoga, and those will do more for strength. Yin pays off for people who sit all day, cyclists coming back from the long ride out to the coast, and anyone whose hips have tightened after a week of driving, because the long holds work slowly into connective tissue rather than muscle.

Purusha's about page describes a women-owned sanctuary in the Outer Richmond. The studio was founded in 2010 by Joy Ravelli, and in November 2024 she passed the torch to co-owners Jen Betti and Kopal Maheshwari. Under the new owners the studio carries Pilates alongside yoga, as the name now says, and the three yin evenings remain on the weekly calendar, a sign of how central the slow classes are to the regulars.

Sixteen years on a single stretch of Balboa Street is a long run for an independent studio in a city where many have closed. The neighborhood around it is mostly residential, with small restaurants and corner shops, so the people on the mats beside you are usually locals who walked from a few blocks away rather than visitors hunting for a class on their way somewhere else.

A drop-in is $30. The 10-class pack is $270, bringing each class to $27, and the 20-class pack is $500, which works out to $25. Unlimited is $149 a month, and longer commitments run $799 for six months and $1499 for a year. For a yin habit of once or twice a week, the 10-pack is the sensible middle ground, since it does not lock you into a monthly charge.

First-timers have two intro passes. The two-week option is $49, and the 30 Day New Student Unlimited Pass is $79. With three evening yin classes and a Monday morning beginners hour on the calendar, the 30-day pass can easily cover a dozen yin sessions, which is enough to tell whether long holds actually change how your lower back feels at the end of the week.

Bring your own mat if you can. The studio offers a selection of community mats for guests to borrow, but its own site warns that availability is limited, and the evening yin classes fill with people who need extra space for bolsters and blankets. Arrive ten minutes early to collect props, because building a supported shape takes longer than unrolling a mat for a flow class.

For parking, the studio's advice is specific: go a block or two west of the studio to take advantage of free street parking. A one-block walk with a mat under your arm is a small price for not paying a meter.

The best pairing is Lands End, a short drive or bus ride north. The National Park Service describes trails that wind around rocky cliffs above the ocean with views of the shore, headlands and the Golden Gate. Walk the coastal trail in the late afternoon, then come back to Balboa Street for the Sunday 6 pm class, so the long holds land on legs that have already done some work.

If the Sunday class is full, the Tuesday 7 pm session is the most realistic substitute, and Monday at 8:30 pm is the fallback for anyone whose evenings run late. Keep the beginners hour on Monday morning as a fallback if your evenings are booked.

Address: 3729 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121, in the Outer Richmond. Yin and Restorative: Sunday 6 pm, Monday 8:30 pm and Tuesday 7 pm, 75 minutes each. Yin Foundations for Everyone: Monday 10 am. Drop-in $30, 10-pack $270, intro $49 for two weeks or $79 for 30 days. Community mats are limited, and free parking is a block or two west.