Yoga Mayu Yin Yoga Studio, Potrero Hill: Therapy Ball Nights

Yoga Mayu is at 1501 B 20th Street on Potrero Hill, and its yin class has a twist you will not find on many schedules: Yin and Release with optional Therapy Ball, taught on Tuesday and Thursday from 7:15 to 8:15 pm by John Paul Gauer. A drop-in costs $28, new students get three classes for $60, and the room is kept in the mid-70s rather than heated, which makes this a calm, unsweaty yin yoga studio for a weeknight.

The class description promises long, supported holds focused on the hips, spine and connective tissue. The optional therapy ball is what separates it from a plain yin hour. Between or during holds you can place a small ball under the upper back, along the shoulder blades or beneath the glutes, letting body weight do the work, then return to a quiet floor posture once the tissue has softened.

You do not have to use the ball, and the word optional in the class name is meant literally. A sensible first visit is to skip it for the opening holds, watch where the teacher suggests placing it, and bring it in once you know which spots feel tight rather than tender. The point of the pairing is that the ball gives a targeted release in a spot the long holds then reinforce. If you have a desk-bound neck or a stiff thoracic spine, Tuesday and Thursday at 7:15 pm are the classes that will feel most different from a normal stretch.

If weeknights do not work, the closest relative on the schedule is The Week's End Ritual, Deep Restore, on Sunday from 5 to 6:15 pm with Gizella Donald. It is restorative rather than strictly yin, with more props and fewer active stretches, but the pace and the dimmed mood are similar. Gizella is also leading a Hips and Hamstrings workshop on November 7, a good fit for anyone who keeps finding the same tight spots in yin. The workshop is announced on the studio homepage, which is the place to watch for other one-off sessions built around slow, floor-based work.

An honest call on which to pick: if you want the most yin for your money, choose Thursday, because it sets you up for the weekend and still gives you a Tuesday class in the same week if the first one clicks. Choose Sunday only if your goal is pure rest. Neither replaces a strength class, and the studio's flow classes will do more for anyone who wants to build heat.

The New Student Special is three classes for $60, valid for two weeks, which is enough to try both yin nights and the Sunday restore. After that, a drop-in is $28, a five-class pack is $125, a ten-class pack is $235 and a twenty-class pack is $420. Unlimited is $205 for 30 days, or $195 a month on auto-renew. The pricing page states plainly that all sales are final.

The ten-pack brings each class to $23.50, so for a twice-weekly yin routine it pays for itself within a month compared with dropping in. Auto-renew unlimited makes more sense only if you also take the faster classes. Because all sales are final, buy the smaller pack first and move up once you know the Tuesday and Thursday rhythm fits your week. The five-pack at $125 is the cheapest way to cover a full two weeks of both yin nights after the intro special runs out.

The studio's about page asks students to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early, which matters for yin, where you need time to collect bolsters and blankets and to decide whether to grab a therapy ball. Mats are available to rent, and every other prop is provided. There is a bathroom and a cubby area for bags and shoes, so leave the big gym bag at home if you can.

Yoga Mayu is explicit that it is not a hot yoga space, with the room temperature maintained comfortably in the mid-70s. That is warm enough that you will not get cold during a five-minute hold, yet cool enough that the class never feels like a sauna. Bring a long-sleeve layer anyway, because at 8:15 pm Potrero Hill can be windy on the walk home.

Potrero Hill is a residential neighborhood with a short commercial strip, and the room reflects it. The people most likely to get value from the Tuesday hour are those who live on the hill and want a class they can walk to, desk workers whose shoulders and upper back carry the day, and cyclists or runners who use long holds on the hips and hamstrings to balance their training. If the ball feels too intense in a spot, move it an inch or take it away.

Booking ahead is worth it on both nights, because the 7:15 pm start catches people right after work and a yin room needs extra floor space for every bolster and blanket. If Thursday is full, book Tuesday of the following week rather than squeezing into a crowded room.

For a pre-class stop, Farley's Coffee has a Potrero Hill cafe on 18th Street, a couple of blocks downhill from the studio. Have a decaf there, walk up the hill to 20th Street, and you will arrive warm and on time. Avoid a big meal right before class, because forward folds and twists on a full stomach make five-minute holds uncomfortable.

Address: 1501 B 20th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107, on Potrero Hill. Yin and Release with optional Therapy Ball: Tuesday and Thursday 7:15 to 8:15 pm with John Paul Gauer. Deep Restore: Sunday 5 pm. Drop-in $28, three classes for $60 for new students, ten-pack $235. Not heated, mats for rent, props included, and all sales are final.