★ 5

The sculpt class is so great! One of the best and most challenging workouts in Raleigh . Each instructor puts their own unique flair on the class. Love it

Source: Google

★ 5

Super easy to deal with.

Source: Google

★ 5

Amazing C2 yoga class with Tina S.! 4:30 C2 with Erin was also beautiful and just what I needed

Source: Google

★ 5

The windows promise everything. "LIVE EVERY WEEK," screams the orange lettering across CorePower Yoga's Village District storefront, where pedestrians pause before descending into what locals call "the windowless dungeon basement studios." But in Raleigh's most contested wellness space, the real story unfolds between aspiration and exploitation.

Walk through those glass doors at 435 Woodburn Road, and you're entering more than a yoga studio. You're stepping into a monument to retail evolution, where conscious commerce once thrived before corporate wellness consumed it whole.

For twenty years, this space housed Ten Thousand Villages, connecting Raleigh shoppers to artisans in developing nations. Then came 2015. CorePower swept in, transforming ethical retail into premium fitness. The transition feels biblical: from lifting up global communities to lifting up affluent suburbanites, one $31 drop-in class at a time.

The physical transformation was surgical. Where handwoven baskets once displayed, sleek locker rooms now gleam. Where fair-trade coffee mugs sat, temperature-controlled practice rooms pump heated air to 95 degrees. The space maximizes every square foot for profit optimization—a corporate efficiency that Ten Thousand Villages, with its commitment to artisan welfare over margins, could never achieve.

But efficiency comes with complications. While customers rave about "gorgeous facilities," CorePower's corporate parent has settled $1.5 million in wage violation lawsuits. Instructors earn $14.38 hourly while students pay $175 monthly—a ratio that would make Duncan Cameron, the slave-owning planter for whom this shopping center was originally named, appreciate the mathematics of extraction.

The name change tells its own story. Cameron Village became Village District in 2021, acknowledging that this retail paradise was built on land once farmed by enslaved people. CorePower inherited this rebranded space just as America was reckoning with historical memory. Now students practice warrior poses atop layers of buried history—plantation wealth, suburban dreams, and global artisan partnerships, all compressed beneath heated floorboards.

Inside those windowless chambers, the experience delivers what $175 promises. Emily's Yoga Sculpt classes push bodies to breaking points. Manager Maggie maintains customer service that builds loyalty among demographics comfortable spending mortgage payments on monthly memberships.

The competition knows the stakes. Indigo Hot Yoga, half a mile away, offers $13 drop-ins—a 58% discount that attracts students and price-conscious practitioners CorePower's model explicitly excludes. Dose Yoga counters with star-lit ceilings and smoothie bars, creating experiences that feel less corporate.

Yet CorePower thrives precisely because it's not trying to be community-focused. It's premium fitness for premium people, offering nationwide access to 150+ studios for mobile professionals who value consistency over authenticity. The windowless studios aren't bugs—they're features, creating controlled environments where external reality can't penetrate the heated bubble of self-improvement.

The business model works until it doesn't. High instructor turnover, legal settlements, and pricing that excludes entire demographics create sustainability questions. Can a corporate wellness empire build lasting community connections when its fundamental structure prioritizes extraction over equity?

Walking back through those glass doors, past the "LIVE EVERY WEEK" promises, the answer feels as heated as the studios themselves. CorePower has successfully monetized wellness in a space where conscious commerce once flourished.

The windows still promise everything. But in the windowless chambers below, the heat reveals truths that no amount of corporate messaging can obscure.

Source: Google

★ 5

Awesome studio! Alia is great:)

Source: Google

★ 2

This was a bottom tier yoga location, I’ve ever been to because of how stale the air smelled, the floors didn’t look to be cleaned after a hot yoga class before I stepped into the same studio…unsanitary.

The instructor was great, but not worth coming here. There are so many other locations to get your practice on.

Source: Google

★ 1

I've been a loyal customer for the past several years. Unfortunately, this place has gone downhill as of late. In the last few months, I've had two morning C2 classes cancelled because of teacher no shows. If you're interested in yoga, this is not your place.

Source: Google

★ 3

I enjoyed my class at corepower in village district! Since then it is basically impossible to get into any class. I recommend the corepower in waverly place over this location.

Source: Google

★ 5

A very nice, welcoming studio. Dori was a great instructor, and led a very relaxing restore class.

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

Super nice staff who are talented and really gets you working out.
Love how clean and big the studios are as typical hot yoga studios are small. All the workouts are super productive and efficient.

Source: Google

★ 1

This franchise is very specifically, deliberately not processing membership cancellations requests. You submit it online, and the site says you'll receive an email confirmation. That email never comes. You call the location, they ask you for that email confirmation that you never received because they never processed it. The best they then provide is store credit (which you obviously don't want since you're cancelling). I've seen plenty of subscriptions that are difficult to cancel but this is legitimately (and again, intentionally) impossible. Hundreds of dollars of revenue they are receiving fraudulently. Happened to the last reviewer (CorePower's response is BS), to me, and to a friend of mine - who knows how many else. Do not go here unless you intend to go here for the rest of your life.

Source: Google

★ 1

I was a member at CorePower for 2 years and had to cancel my membership a few months ago. I found out in July that they had never cancelled it and had continued charging me for 3 months. They make it impossible to get in touch with them and have not responded to any of my inquiries about getting a refund. Definitely don’t recommend.

Source: Google

★ 1

I did the $1 trial and decided it’s not for me. The place is ok. I’m Giving a one star bc I cancelled a week and a half before the end of my trial but was still charged. I received a message via the web page that in 5-7 days I would be notified with cancelation. I never received an email. I continued to cancel since 4 different times, I’ve sent three emails to core power via their ‘contact us’ option on the website, and I now have called the village location for assistance in confirming my cancellation. I have not received a call back, email or anything. I just want my money back and to cancel my membership!

Source: Google

★ 3

I like the classes, good workout.

The 3 stars are given because of bad experience with the website. I had to cancel my membership to take a break. But even when I already canceled it, I still get charged by the membership fee. And the website doesn’t let me remove my credit card info…

Not easy to unsubscribe is a big issue with corepower yoga

Source: Google

★ 5

I love this place but the classes are always full even when trying to book 2-3 days in advance. Please add more classes!

Source: Google

★ 1

Honestly this place sucks. I’ve been coming here for about two months now and will not be renewing; have been to a lot of gyms and tried a lot of different workout classes and this is one of the worst I’ve ever been to. The whole place is smelly and the teachers are rude

Source: Google

★ 5

Absolutely loved the place and the staff are all pretty awesome. Everyone is personable and easy to talk to

Source: Google

★ 4

The focus of these classes is on fitness, not on "spiritual growth," which is something people often seek through yoga. I had to edit my review since becoming a Christian, I no longer practice yoga. But I will say that if you are a Christian practicing yoga, CorePower Yoga is a better option to studios in the area that are clearly rooted in Hatha and Hinduism. Pilates is a great option.

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

Favorite yoga studio in Raleigh. What I find unique about this place is their southern accents when the teachers start class. Wicked cute!

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

I love love love CorePower Yoga. I can't say enough positive things about this place. I love the yoga classes, teachers, fellow yogies, and their teacher training yoga classes. It's always very clean and tidy. Teachers are very knowledgeable and caring. My favorite part after an hour of hot yoga is the cool lavender cloths at the end. They have thought of everything!!! I hope to be back soon!

Source: Google

★ 5

Great classes and instructors!!

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google

★ 5

Source: Google