Hot Bikram Yoga

I used to practice bikram yoga many years ago and decided to start practicing again recently — visited the London Bridge Studio and did a few class. Some of the instructors there are good and willing to share and actually teach students which I thought a good yoga instructor would do (to share and encourage).
However, I found some of the instructors are very self-​absorbed and very full of themselves (as opposed to being compassion and empathic — both of which I believe are the major qualities any good yoga instructor should have if their their intentions were to spread goodness and share what they know in the yoga world).
I also wish they would improve the ventilation system in the room — as it does get very smelly there and I found myself holding my breath (cos of bad odor smells) in the class so I can get through the class without leaving the room — which definitely was not a good experience.
I wish there are better studios and bikram yoga instructors in London — as I really want practice bikram on a regular basis — if anyone reading this and has any recommendation. Please do let me know, would really appreciate it.
I also recently read about the the sex-​assault lawsuit against the Bikram yoga guru himself — as a woman this also make me hesitate to support and practice bikram yoga.
In fact I actually did considered taking this bikram teaching course in LA a few years ago. If anyone has any view on this, please share (as I know there are a lot of instructors attended his teaching class in LA in order to become a bikram yoga instructor), much appreciated.

Charming location at the end of cool alley named heathmans road. the people running it our nice, the mats are already layed out so i wasnt on top of my neighbor, the room is hot but they open the door at the same time they do in CA and NY during the 90 minutes. FOR LONDON this is as good as it gets. It feels like a homey family run biz not nearly as pedantic as the folks at sohot yoga. tiryoga is nice but its not bikram and once you fall for bikram there is no going back. anyway love the vibe and the room has decently hi ceilings and so far it is big enough to not be over packed.

update: The smell and ventilation has gotten better so I’ve added a star. I still recommend to bring your own matt because you’re quite intimate with it through out the class. Great work-​out for the winter!
HBY is hot (literally hot in terms of temperature. like proper bikram hot), and they do the full bikram routine. Which is good. You work out a good sweat for a solid 90 minutes. Something you don’t get at Triyoga.
But…
It smells like used yoga matt… and due to the size of their changing room, you’ve got a bunch of half naked sweaty women bumping into each other. It’s just not very nice or sanitary. The reception area is also very cramped and the floor can be a bit gross on a rainy day.
I’ve still got a few classes to go there but I might just stick with Triyoga…

I’ve been doing Bikram for a few years, not in a hardcore, 30-​day challenge way, but in a more pedestrian regularly irregular type of way. Because of that I’m a sucker for Groupons and deals for different studios, but not anymore.
Hot Bikram Yoga classes are by far the best I’ve taken. The instructors are incredibly nice, and encouraging without yelling and making you feel like an imbecile (It happens) which is great.
I’ve only been to the Fulham and London Bridge locations but the rooms at both were really nice. Well spaced, good mirrors and a degree of natural light which is nice. The London Bridge studio in particular is the bomb dot com. The room is huge, and has some mirrored pillars which is awesome if you want to check your technique from the side.
And just as a response to a couple of the other reviews, trust me when I say all the studios I’ve ever been to smell kind of funky, all of them have pretty small changing rooms, and all of them will cram you in if it’s a busy class. It’s yoga baby, get cosy.

I smell a smell. A smelly smell. The smell of sweat does hit you when you walk into the studio and make you question the bacteria block party on the floor but it’s not overbearing. I’m still more of a Vinyasa flow type of person. However, once you get used to the different variations of postures, Bikram is one hell of a work out and this studio serves it up right. Get there early bc classes can fill up quickly and bring your own towels to save the £1.50 from renting one. Also changing rooms are small and they have showers but you’ll be waiting to use them. Right now, there’s an introductory offer of £35 for 20 days.
For those of you that are directionally challenged like mysef, It is literally the last building on Heathman’s Road. There’s also a little waitrose right on the corner if you’re hungry after and a white horse pub if you believe in detoxing then retoxing. Enjoy and Namaste!

I have to give tribute to this place as I started the whole hot yoga craze here. Compared to the newer studios popping up everywhere, the changing rooms are cramped and the small cubicle of a shower isn’t the most desirable place but… I still find it one of the best places to experience bikram yoga. It definitely has to do with the quality of the instructors.
They renovated the studios recently — their reception area isn’t quite as warm but a little more spacious than before. However, the best improvement they made was by getting rid of the carpeting because it always lingered that bikram funk.

This was my second try at Bikram. I’d done an introductory offer at another place, which was fine. but the studio itself was wicked small, and they crammed way too many people into the room. If you can’t do some of the poses without having to readjusted so you don’t touch someone, then you need to take people out!
So, anyway. I’ve practiced yoga on and off for a few years, so I’ve always enjoyed it and heard good things about this place. It’s good. The instructor was knowledgable would go around correcting you if you weren’t properly posed, but not in an obnoxious way, if that makes sense. I like instructors who can adapt to all skill levels but not make you feel like an idiot.
Yeah, it’s really, really hot. But you get used to it pretty quickly. I would recommend wearing wicking clothing (the kind of stuff you’d get for running or for the gym) because if you wear regular cotton, your stuff will weigh you down.
It does smell a little bit, but what can you expect from the heat and people sweating? But other than it smelling of sweat, it didn’t really have a funk otherwise. I feel like most people were paying it forward in terms of good hygiene, which is always appreciated. Good vibe from the students all around. The changing rooms are tiny — I live in walking distance so I just high tailed it home, but if you had to shower and change there I think you might be in for a wait. The waiting area is also a little tiny. I would arrive early for all your classes, because I suspect they will fill up quickly.
Anyway, introductory offer — £15 for 10 days of classes, which is a pretty good deal.

Okay so this is the only Bikram studio I’ve been to but I love it and would recommend it to anyone. They have lots of classes so you can definitely find one that fits into your schedule. If you’re new, everyone is very nice at explaining what the classes are like, what to expect and what you need to bring.
Bikram scared me for a while and I kept putting off going. If that sounds like you, you should not be afraid!!! In the classes there are people of all ages, shapes and sizes. Some people can pull their legs above their head and some people can barely touch their toes and the teachers are really welcoming to everyone.
The studio itself is nice and clean and they do a great job at that, which is not easy when everyone is sweating like crazy. The locker rooms are a bit small (well the women’s locker room is, not sure about the guy’s room) and it can turn into a zoo after a crowded class, but on the whole people are considerate and everyone tries to make room for everyone else.
You wouldn’t think that the teachers really matter in a class that is the same each time, but they do. Take classes with a bunch of different teachers to see which one fits your personality the best. Some really push you physically, some help you concentrate on meditating and some give you different challenges like trying not to fidget all the time or exiting postures gracefully (which sounds easy but is pretty freaking hard after an hour of work in a room heated to 40 degrees Celsius).
The introductory offer has gone up a bit — now it’s £15 for an unlimited 10 days but it’s well worth it to get yourself acquainted with Bikram yoga.

Bikram Yoga is basically yoga in a sauna — more specifically, it is a series of 26 Hatha Yoga postures and 2 breathing exercises carried out in a heated room.
Hot Bikram Yoga is Balham is a new establishment which focuses specifically on Bikram Yoga. The centre is great and the interior is elegantly styled portraying a clam and serene atmosphere. The classes take place throughout the day, the earliest at 6.30am and the latest at 8pm and 8.45pm during the week which means that there’s no excuse not to go after work! I could see why people become addicted to this type of yoga — on your first couple of times you may feel slightly dizzy due to the intense heat but once your body adapts you feel amazing,
The centre is also offering an introductory special offer of 10 days for £10 which will give you a good opportunity to see if it something you enjoy. After that there are various bulk deals or £13 per class on a drop in basis which is slightly on the expensive side.
Bikram Yoga is definitely worth a go and a great location for South Londeners. Take a couple of towels and prepare to sweat!

This is the best Bikram Yoga studio in London in my personal reckoning. It is a little tricky to find, but once you know about this place I reckon you will returnif you havent been killed by exercise in short intense bursts in around 100 degrees F. Set up by professional people who caught the Bikram yoga bug and then dedicated their lives to the cause, you get a real sense of enthusiuam from the moment you walk in the door and are greeted with a hello from a welcoming stranger behind the reception desk whether it be an early 06:45 session or a late 20:45 session you are wishing to attend.
The location is moments from Parsons Green tube and down a side alley where you will pass the UK Headquarters of Starbucks. It is the very last business down this street and just a door with a sign above it, but once answered you are ushered in and happy, healthy smily faces welcome you into the studio. If it is your first time they offer a trial deal which I strongly reccommend as a way to test if you can handle the heat!
Whilst this studio is very busy, it is not too cramped like other studios I have used in London and the interior décor is light, airy and fragrant. The reception is warm in colour and calming. Whilst the seating area in reception is small the cushions are comfortable. I discovered waiting for a friend to finish getting changed on an occasion I introduced a friend to Bikram and the Fulham studio. The teachers here make the practising of hot room yoga less of a challenging expereince that it could be. They are helpful and unintimidating or patronising for newcomers or regular practisees.
Bikram Yoga sessions do last 90 minutes, but arrive early (about 20 minutes is advisable) as this place is popular with people from all walks of life including UK numbero uno tennis player Andy Murray and Fulham FC star Moritz Volz. You don’t have to be a professional sports player to come here, but knowing that those like Volz and Murray (they have publicly expressed the benefits of this exercise to their professional sports careers) who are used to using sports changing rooms daily, you can guess that they use this studio because its shower facilities and clean changing areas make this the best Bikram yoga studio in London.