Oxygen Hot Yoga & Fitness

This is for Oxygen Port Moody specifically. I’ve been to a few Oxygen locations and they vary dramatically.
I started going here in January of 2015 because I was fed up with Bikram Yoga Burnaby’s terrible customer service.
This particular facility is beautiful. It’s small and there are no shower amenities or water fountains, but I appreciate the aesthetic. I can’t relax when there are stinky carpets or peeling paint. The décor is very simple and natural looking. There is only one studio but the flooring is laminate, there are lots of mirrors and the lighting is suitable.
Oxygen Port Moody offers a wide variety of in-​fared yoga, it’s really nice to choose from the selection. The instructors are friendly, albeit not super approachable. I don’t know if it’s the times that I come in, but there seems to be a small clique of regulars that come and the instructors only really talk to them for extended periods. I rarely get more than a flicker of acknowledgement coming in and out of the studio. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I’ll get a «goodbye» as I’m leaving the studio. A few times when I have tried to call ahead, they never seem to answer.
For the actual yoga practice, I quite like the instruction, however, the teachers I’ve encountered tend to do the yoga along with the class. Sometimes it’s hard to hear, and definitely hard to see in a darkened studio; these are the times I miss a Bikram’s instructor clapping and shouting at me to do the posture correctly. It would be nice to find a happy medium somewhere :)
Pricing is on par with other studios, but most importantly, if you buy a class card, THEY NEVER EXPIRE. Take note Bikrams, this is how you run a business. This was a big winner for me. I play other sports, I can only commit once a week for yoga, I can buy a class card every few months and it works out to be quite affordable that way. There is nothing more antagonizing than a studio that sells you a class card, something happens in your life where you can’t get in for a month or so and then they won’t honour your money. So thank you Oxygen, for being customer friendly :)

This is a review exclusively for the Port Moody studio. I live very close to this location and had been wanting to take up yoga as a means to de-​stress, find relief for chronic muscle tightness, and increase my overall flexibility and health. I’ve attended more than 20 classes in the last 4 months and wanted to wait til I got a good feel of the studio before submitting my review.
The good:
1. infra red sauna heat: I’ve tried Bikram Yoga way back and one of the first things I noticed about Oxygen Yoga was despite how sweaty you are during and after a class, you almost never feel nauseated or too overwhelmed from the heat (at least for a non cardio-​intensive class). For me at least, the heat is akin to lying on a sandless beach under the sun. Sometimes the instructor will have to adjust the room temperature if there are more people in the class, but overall the heat feels much more cleaner than what I remember from my experience attending Bikram classes. The room never smells funky and if it does, you have your neighbor to thank!
2. range of classes and instructors: I’ve tried nearly all the different types of classes available at this studio and have met 9 different instructors. They are all pretty great and knowledgeable at what they do, not to mention they do a good job at making you feel comfortable, whether you’re a novice or experienced yogi. My favourite classes are the Deep Stretch & Relaxation, Freedom Flow, and Yin/​Yang. Marilyn’s Hot Power Core was the most intense class I’ve ever taken. More hard than Shaun T’s Insanity workout (!!), but I felt so proud for even finishing it, and Marilyn was a great motivational instructor. All the ladies are fabulous, but my favourite classes in particular are run by Lalaine and Taryn.
3. the promotions: when I first wanted to try out Oxygen Yoga, I was able to sign up for a free one week trial. I loved it so much I ended up buying the groupon for 1 month of unlimited classes, and then I subsequently purchased a 20 visit punch pass. For someone who is interested in trying out yoga but isn’t sure whether it’s right for them, I really appreciated the promotion because it gave me the chance to try out different classes. I’ve referred both my husband and aunt to Oxygen Yoga and they are fans. My aunt was a longtime Bikram regular until she injured her back years ago and was too afraid to go back. She attended the new Richmond location and loved the Deep Stretch class. I hope they come out with more promotions for current members! ex. get a class for free added to your punch pass/​membership discount if you refer a friend, etc.
4. online class booking — this was a godsend post New Year’s especially, when the studio was at its most busiest. Thankfully a lot the number of those would-​be resolution-​makers have dwindled and classes are more or less back to their normal sizes. Evening classes are quite popular so booking your spot online is a must!
Other comments:
— This is personal preference, but my biggest critique would be the class music, which can be hit or miss. Unless it is a cardio intense class like «ABSolutely BurningButts» or «Hot Power Core» which requires upbeat music, my personal preference for yoga class music is that of the non-​lyric, relaxing zen/​meditation genre. Boring, maybe, but there have been classes where I’ve gotten distracted by an indie song I liked and wanted to remember to look up later, or found myself singing along silently to lyrics when I should have been focusing on listening to the instructor or maintaining my pose. Volume has also been an issue at times; I have attended a few classes where the music was too loud and I could not hear the instructor’s voice over the lyrics. It can be difficult to hear from the back row at times.
— small studio: while I’m thrilled the studio is doing well, I worry that it is already starting to outgrow its space. Some of the more popular classes see over 30 participants and it can be a tight squeeze at times. It’s also a bit awkward logistically when people enter the studio and have to line up along the side to wait for the previous class to finish up. The hallway for entering/​leaving the studio room is rather narrow.
Overall, I’ve really come to enjoy attending yoga classes here. I never knew I would grow to love the pigeon pose! I have seen improvement in my flexibility, and there’s nothing like an evening session of Deep Stretch and Relaxation to prepare me for a blissful night of sleep ahead. Namaste!