Finding Flow at Suva Yoga
Where Classic Yoga Still Holds Its Own Against The Boutique Wellness Boom
By Yousra Benkirane | Photos By Rodolfo Benitez
The hardest part of my Vinyasa class at Suva Yoga was not downward dog, or the lunges, or even the moment I realized my hamstrings had been quietly plotting against me. It was finding the studio.
Suva is tucked upstairs on Alhambra Circle above Chandler’s sandwich shop, the kind of place you might miss if you are looking for the usual Miami wellness cues: glowing signs, a sleek front desk, someone offering you electrolyte water before you have even taken off your shoes. But once you climb the stairs and walk in, you get it immediately. There is no reception area, no big check-in ritual. You step right into the studio, and suddenly the city feels a little farther away.
The room is open and warm, with polished wood floors, exposed wooden beams overhead, plants gathered near the windows, yoga blocks stacked along the floor, and devotional art hanging around the room. It has that classic, slightly bohemian yoga studio feeling, a welcome contrast to the trendy hot yoga boutiques that seem to multiply every time someone in Miami buys a matching set.
This morning’s class was led by Suva’s owner, Susie Kershaw, who has the calming authority of someone who has been doing this for a long time because, well, she has. Kershaw taught yoga in the area for about 20 years before opening her own studio about a year and a half ago, and many of her students followed her. You can feel that loyalty in the room. The crowd feels local, very Gables, less “I’m here for the selfie” and more “I have my mat, I know my spot, and I’m ready to stretch my spine back into place.”
We moved into the familiar rhythm of Vinyasa: downward dog, forward folds, lunges, twists, a happy baby that felt especially earned, and a few more challenging poses that made me briefly reconsider all my life choices. Kershaw guided it all with clear instructions, moved around the room, and offered adjustments when needed, the kind that makes you think, “Oh, that’s where my shoulder is supposed to go.”
“My style is lighthearted and fun yet mindful of alignment and the bountiful energy potential from the healing art of yoga,” Kershaw says. Her background includes more than 25 years as a fitness instructor, Reiki training, Akashic record work, a 200-hour yoga teacher training, restorative yoga and experiential anatomy certifications. In other words, this is not someone improvising a playlist and calling it spiritual.
Suva offers a wide range of classes for different kinds of yogis and different kinds of days: flow, yin, Vinyasa, restorative, sound baths, workshops, private sessions. Kershaw also has other instructors teaching throughout the week, so the schedule has variety while keeping the same grounded, welcoming feel. Morning classes are a lovely way to begin the day, especially if your office is nearby and you want to arrive looking like the kind of person who has already exercised, hydrated, and made peace with the universe. Evening classes, Kershaw says, are usually fuller, drawing people in after work for a reset.
Suva Yoga
166 Alhambra Cir. / 2nd Floor
305.338.7038
Suvayoga.net