Bikram Yoga Soho London 3.4 5 reviews

Good studio.

Like others on here, I was delighted at the lack of smell. They have a higher level of security than most with their lockers and the mat rotations are much more hygienic (all used mats are placed in a different area to new ones) than the general all in one pile system most studios use. I also liked that the floor had marked spaces meaning that you had enough space to practice without bumping into others.

The class was demanding and I am going back like anywhere the venue is only as good as its teacher and I found Sandi to be demanding, which is great for me but maybe a little intimidating to newbies?

My only gripe is that they don't do very competitive deals for when you finish the trial. After you finish for Bikram City you get 2 months for the price of one.But nothing here.

I am a disabled person and have been happily practicing bikram yoga for a few months.I have had a very positive experience in other studios and have been given modifications over the last few months. The teachers kindly give me further modifications once I am ready for the next step up in the practice and I am therefore very committed to this kind of yoga.

Unfortunately I have had a very DISTURBING experience today (21/04/11) in the SOHO studio. The teacher was demanding me to perform postures that I simply can't because of a very restricted knee joint. I explained several times that I can't bend my knee and she would not listen.
Then she ambushed me on the way out. At this point I was already upset and very offended. She has demanded that I can't do modifications under her care, she has subsequently followed up with an offensive letter from reception.

As a disabled person I feel discriminated, not to mention my anger and hurt feelings.

I will be following up with a formal complaint with the Director of the studio.

If you are a disabled person, stay away from soho and victoria as some of the younger teachers are very inexperienced. They have had a very intensive course of nine weeks and they think that they know everything about yoga but in reality they are not classically trained, and don't understand structural yoga or yoga therapy. Not to mention they are extremely inconsiderate and emotionally vapid when it comes to dealing with people with disabilities.

Amazing space very high tech, and crucially for a Bikram centre odour free!
As a novice I found the classes quite tough, but more advanced yoga goers might feel they were well within their capabilities.
I attended three sessions and felt great after each one, although the extreme heat might not be to every ones taste.
Price wise, the centre is excellent value.
My only slight gripe was that one of the teachers went a little bit too quickly through some of the positions for my likeing, but I still benefited immensely from each visit.

This being my first time, I was pretty scared, but I went with a friend which helped. Also, the Bikram center allows you to test drive 10 days for only £20 - a great deal to see if you like it!

OK, first things first - the room is at 110 degrees Fahrenheit (or around 44 degrees Celsius), as expected. What I did not expect was that the class is one and a half hours long - I expected it to be only an hour, so I was a bit light-headed towards the end. The instructor (and my friend) said the most important part is to make sure you stay in the room for the entire class, so although I was a bit slow towards the end, I did make it. The exercises and poses are fantastic...i really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to people who have always been curious to try it. I am not that flexible, but I still really liked it. Some tips below though..

A few tips I would advise to first timers
- I would personally advise doing a normal Yoga class 3 to 4 times before doing Bikram so you can get used to the poses; its tough to concentrate in the heat, so you want a basic understanding of some of the poses. I think it makes it easier. And if you are not flexible like me, other classes where instructors can direct and assist you could be useful.
- Get to class 5-10 minutes early to get used to the heat
- bring a bottle of water
- bring two towels (one for the class, one for showing afterwards)
- it gets sweaty, so you need clothes that hold up well to the sweat...I ended up going topless
- Don't overtax yourself early on..conserve your energy
- The instructor told us to keep our eyes open to remain "present"...which i actually liked, as I found myself shutting my eyes a lot
- I did not feel uncomfortable or competitive or judged by people...after the first 5 minutes, you completely are working from within, so other people do not matter, in case you are wondering about that
- Towards the end, it really tested my mental strength...which was great. You need to block everything else out and concentrate on doing the poses...its great focus training

At this location, you remove your shoes before entering reception, which i thought was nice.
Lockers need a £1 coin, so bring along! SHowers & changing room were spot on - clean and basic.

I have 10 days, so I will probably try to go 2 times each week and see if it continues to go well.

Bikram studios can be really smelly and dank. this one--perhaps because it is new--was lovely and clean. I had a great teacher called Simi. Apparently it gets mobbed but i went in the middle of the day and there were only about 15 people. And the showers were perfectly good, too.
I'm so happy I've found a decent Bikram studio near where I work. In a way i don't want to review it so i can have it all to myself