The Fashion Journal guide to the best yoga and Pilates studios across Australia
Image via Good Times Pilates
Words by Maeve Kerr-Crowley and Fashion Journal
Strengthen your body and mind.
Whether you’re looking to tone your body, increase your flexibility or find some zen amidst the stress of everyday life, yoga and Pilates are great options for both exercise and mindfulness.
Originating in India, yoga stretches back over 5,000 years and offers a range of different styles. Pilates is a significantly newer practice, but both focus on a combination of physical, mental and spiritual wellness, to varying degrees.
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This is probably why yoga and Pilates are both appealing habits in the current age of hustle culture, internet dependency and general societal anxiety. As with any form of exercise, finding an environment where you feel safe and encouraged to pursue your personal goals is key.
To help you out, here are some of the best studios from across the country – specialising in everything from calming meditation to intensive reformer Pilates to gravity-defying aerial yoga.
National
One Hot Yoga
Melbourne, Sydney
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Hot (or Bikram) yoga is a practice designed to increase your heart rate for a more intense workout. One Hot Yoga offers classes in both hot and not-so-hot yoga, as well as combo yoga and Pilates classes for a bit of variety. Both its Melbourne and Sydney studios are welcoming, contemporary spaces with a focus on finding the right practice for you in order to refine both your body and mind.
Humming Puppy
Melbourne, Sydney
As its name suggests, Humming Puppy is all about finding peace, joy and good vibes. The titular ‘hum’ is also a nod to the studio’s unique approach to sound. By playing a digital recording during sessions at a frequency that supposedly mimics the earth itself, HP gently tricks your mind into replicating that sound and finding a sense of focused calm. All classes are kept small and intimate, with a range of different styles on the schedule.
Barre Body
Melbourne, Sydney
Barre Body knows a thing or two about the boutique fitness scene. Established in 2012, the studio has six studios between New South Wales and Victoria and hosts a range of classes revolving around yoga, pilates, and of course, ballet. Yes, the workout may make you feel stiffness in muscles you’ve never felt before – but the dynamic workouts are sure to keep you coming back for more.
Fluidform Pilates
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Melbourne, Sydney
For a habit to stick, it has to be engaging and effective. Fluidform practices Pilates with that goal in mind, pairing its team’s in-depth technical knowledge with a warm, encouraging teaching style to keep people coming back again and again. A highly personalised program covers just about every fitness goal, from improved everyday function to injury rehabilitation to postnatal support.
Power Living Yoga Studio
Melbourne, Sydney
If it’s pure yoga you’re after, Power Living Studio is the next studio to try. With three studios in metropolitan Sydney, its timetable rotates between heated Vinyasa and candlelit Yin classes, taking the guesswork out of winding down. With a range of difficulty levels and highly specialised teachers, Power Living’s model can let you focus and improve on your technique.
Melbourne
Good Times Pilates
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Intimate and encouraging, Good Times Pilates has three community-focused studios across Northcote, Brunswick and Fitzroy. You’re pretty much guaranteed to find a class you love, no matter your skill level or goals – whether you’re looking to feel the burn, stretch and chill or learn some action sequence-worthy stunts and skills. For those of us with a busy or unconventional schedule, the studio also offers an extensive library of online classes that can be accessed on-demand.
Happy Melon
Mindfulness plays a huge part in yoga, bringing the body and mind together to find calm and fulfilment. Armadale’s Happy Melon studio puts this idea at the forefront of its practice, integrating meditation into all its yoga and Pilates classes. Everything from the bright, aesthetically pleasing studio space to the encouraging team of teachers is designed to help you achieve zen in comfort.
Good Vibes Yoga
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Combining the traditional tenets of yoga with a modern, aesthetically fulfilling experience, Good Vibes emphasises practices that benefit you both on and off the mat. The studio focuses on asana, but incorporates all eight ‘limbs’ of yoga to ensure you’re getting a holistic experience. The eponymous vibe is laid back, encouraging and positive, with the goal of empowering the health and wellbeing of everyone who steps through the door.
Little Mandarin Yoga and Pilates
Little Mandarin Yoga and Pilates are making aerial yoga part of your weekly wellness rotation. Alongside reformer pilates, their Melbourne CBD, Burwood, Camberwell and Blackburn (coming soon!) studios offer mat and aerial yoga classes for beginners, experts and all those in between. Mats and silk are provided, but if you’re trying aerial for the first time be sure to attend the aerial 101 class first.
Universal Practice
Universal practice is more than your average yoga studio. Led by a team of physiotherapists, each yoga, pilates, strength, physiotherapy and meditation class is based on science, proven to make you feel better. Universal Practice has two locations across metropolitan Melbourne, keeping wellness within arms reach.
Club AM:PM
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Unlike your typical club, AM:PM is for everybody, whether you’re a pilates regular or it’s your first time on the mat. Hawthorn’s newest pilates studio is the coolest kid on the block, featuring a ’70s interior with homely, warm touches. The studio offers full-body dynamic reformer and hot mat Pilates classes, allowing you to really get in touch with your mind and body.
Street Pilates
Located in Melbourne’s Bayside, Street Pilates is a new ‘low-impact, high-vibrations’ studio offering one-on-one personal training and fast-paced reformer workouts. If you lean towards a more intimate exercise experience, Street classes are more tailored compared to the standard Pilates practice. Book in for a strengthening, powerful workout.
Sydney
Body by Berner
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Nestled in the heart of Bondi, Body by Berner’s practice is led by founder Bernadette Fahey. The studio itself is an eclectic mix of Bernadette’s passion for spirituality, design and fashion, inspiring clients to “feel the Bern”. Pilates, yoga, meditation and breathwork classes offer a holistic experience that works out both the mind and the body.
Egg of the Universe
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Push your body then treat it to a healthy snack at Egg of the Universe, an integrated yoga studio and wholefoods cafe. Acknowledging that every body is different, the studio offers a range of classes including foundational vinyasa, meditation-focused sessions, yin and baby-and-me yoga programs for mums and dads. At the connected cafe, you’ll find everything from cleansing green smoothies to celebratory cake for the perfect post-stretch indulgence.
Modern Movement
Determined to teach techniques that work for today’s students, Modern Movement incorporates everything from psychology to anatomical biomechanics into its practice. Forty-five to 60-minute classes are offered in vinyasa, mat Pilates, prenatal yoga, foundational yoga, yin and more, with both heated and unheated options available.
Scout Pilates
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With two Sydney locations in Marrickville and St Peters, Scout is an inclusive pilates and yoga studio designed to teach strength, stability and flexibility. Scout offers classic reformer and open-flow yoga classes, plus barre, matte pilates, plus prenatal and postpartum sessions.
Hobart
Equalise
Equalise is a beautifully designed studio that’s all about bringing a bit of strength, healing and inspiration to Hobart. Two purpose-built studios serve a variety of classes – one for heated Bikram and equip classes, the other for vinyasa and yin yoga. For parents with tight schedules, there’s also a dedicated childminding space in operation during morning classes, run by qualified carers who’ll keep your little ones happy (and out of your hair).
Brisbane
Bend + Fly
For a more adventurous way to find zen (no, that’s not an oxymoron), it’s worth considering aerial yoga. Work your body and mind while upside down and learn new skills that are both fulfilling and incredibly impressive. Apparently, it’s also pretty good for easing back pain. Bend + Fly offers aerial yoga classes in addition to power, hot, yin and restorative yoga styles, ensuring there’s something for everyone.
TotalFusion
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TotalFusion’s ethos of pushing your limits to reach your full potential may seem a little intimidating at first, but it’s a pretty inspiring way of looking at what your body can do if given a little direction. Three studios across Queensland offer over 40 different class styles, from your classic yoga to reformer Pilates to cycle training. Members also have access to a range of retreats, workshops and online training sessions to round out their wellness routine.
Perth
YogaLab
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Set up in a large studio warehouse, YogaLab focuses on physical and spiritual growth. The serene space features high ceilings, wooden floors and bright white walls to get you in the right headspace for zen, while a range of classes covering everything from beginner techniques to power yoga will get your heart rate up and your stress levels down. After class, you can even head down to the plant-based restaurant that shares the space for a smoothie and post-workout reward.
Adelaide
Eclipse Yoga
Hot yoga doesn’t have to be hectic and intense. Eclipse creates a relaxing, tropical feel during its warm and heated classes to help detoxify and stimulate safe stretching. All skill levels are welcome, and nervous beginners can even book private classes to get a feel for the practice in a one-on-one environment.
Cosmic Yoga Studio
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Workout with a lakeside view at Cosmic Yoga, a welcoming haven that’s all about joy and warmth. The studio focuses on the Ashtanga yoga practice popularised by K. Pattabhi Jois as well as modern reformer Pilates, offering both heated and unheated classes to suit your needs.
Human.Kind
A yoga studio that’s not just a yoga studio, Human.Kind is a no-holds-barred wellness hub. As well as classes covering everything from dynamic vinyasa yoga to mat Pilates to restorative yin, you’ll also find services for physiotherapy, clinical psychology and one-on-one holistic healing. Following an ethos of transformation and conscious community, Human.Kind aims to give its students the tools needed to make positive change in their lives.
Need something to wear while you work out? Check out a selection of sustainable activewear brands here.
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