Rise Yoga & Movement Arts Center

I've been going to Rise regularly for a year now and wouldn't consider going anywhere else! They offer a wide range of classes, and the studio is beautiful. My personal favorite is Primal Strength because it is challenging, creative, works your entire body and is always fun! Justin and Camacha have created a warm and welcoming environment for all ages and skill levels and are very knowledgeable and truly passionate about yoga and their yoga 'family'. If you are already a yogi or just starting you need to be going to Rise!

Let me start by saying I love yoga. My mother used to always say “hunger is the best ingredient”. And I am always hungry for a yoga class. The moment I walked into Rise Yoga in Saratoga Springs, New York I felt at home. Justin Wolfer, the studio’s owner and primary teacher greeted me at the door warmly. The studios colors and the decor felt authentic and mindfully selected. They have beautiful sculptures and paintings that one would expect in a yoga studio. There is a miraculous plant wall that gives the studio the sense that Mother Earth is present and watchful. The class was conducted in a horse shoe shape which personally I enjoy; the arrangement always seems to lighten up the mood. Also, there are no mirrors in the studio. I had a great teacher when I first started practicing regularly that encouraged his students to practice with their eyes closed. Yoga is about my internal journey into feeling my body movement and releasing to the present moment. Mirrors, tend to bring up the past or project into the future. The class started off on a soft note of body sensing and a few cat cows. I thought to myself, being the great yogi that I am, “this might have been a waste of my time, it might be fun but not sure I’m going to sweat”. No sooner had I finished that thought when Justin said and I quote, “Don’t worry you’re going to get your monies worth”. The ego is a ridiculous thing that it seeks things out in the room to boost itself up and mine had built itself up pretty good. It turns out I was practicing next to Justin’s father, this dude is in killer shape, around the room his students both male, female young and old looked like they could have just walked off a movie set for a Spartan battle. My ego takes some time to build itself up and then it deflates it’s like a limp balloon and man did mine deflate after our first flow. It was this cool martial arts drill and it produced the first sweat droplets on my mat. The class had just started and I was sweating! Suddenly I was back in the game ready to play. I let it all go, threw my ego off my mat and let the excited kid in me get ready for a lesson. Justin is a big, strong, fit dude and in complete control of his body. There is nothing like a mature yogi’s body movements. It stops the mind and creates possibility in the student. Justin’s movements are mindful and finely trained. I’m an old, thankfully retired, weight lifter. But my roots in fitness are a bench press and a dumbbell, set style workouts. Three to five sets of whatever and with this many reps. Justin’s class is a lot like that but ten times more interactive and instructive. The drills created a camaraderie in hardship due to their difficulty. However, Justin keeps the atmosphere light hearted and supportive. His regular students where always available for a big smile and a pat on the sweaty back. I was an exhausted, drenched, happy mess at the end, grinning ear to ear with a glow only a hard yoga class can give me. The kind of glow that people reach out and say, “hey what are you up to?”. Yoga is the fountain of youth. I am not the first and will not be the last to assert this truth. You cannot go wrong with this studio. Justin Wolfer is a credit to the yoga community in and around the North Country. Worth a try you’ll be humbled and inspired, Five Namastes!!! Chevy March 2, 2018

These are my people. This place is my home. I met Justin and Camacha shortly after they opened Rise in 2014. Having just moved to the area, I was eager to make friends... to find a community. Rise quickly became that and so much more. Today, I am lucky enough to consider these beautiful humans - who, day after day pour their hearts and souls into this studio, their practice, their students - two of my very best friends on this planet. They welcomed me in and taught me what yoga and the community surrounding it was all about. I have learned so much from them and I am so grateful for the seeds they have planted as my practice evolves. If you are looking for a place that is safe, sacred, and yours... where you can dip your toes into the practice of yoga or continue to grow in your own with teachers who are focused solely on you and what works for your wonderfully unique body, then Rise is the place for you.

Beautiful and amazing studio. The teachers here are extremely passionate and dedicated to their students. The owners - Justin and Camacha have succeeded in creating a welcoming environment for all levels to learn and enjoy yoga!

Recently met Justin and I've got to say, he's a top notch person that I'll gladly recommend to my friends and family.