Yogagroove

Love this place! Great, encouraging teachers :) Great for all ages (offer kids classes) as well as an «advanced class» ! Feels like home here :)

So, I really don’t get the bad reviews about this place… I have only been twice (signed up for the 2 weeks for $ 20 intro deal), and I love it! I honestly think that the people who are giving it bad reviews are commenting more about the Bikram style than the studio in general. The two complaints I see the most are 1) the smell, and 2) the «drill sergeant» type attitudes of the teachers. As far as the smell goes, you have several people practicing in 105 degree heat, with high humidity. It’s going to smell… every Bikram studio smells like that… it’s hard to avoid. As far as the «drill sergeant» attitudes, well, that’s just how Bikram goes… you are going to get that at any studio. Bikram is very different from other yoga styles, so rest assured, the experience here is very similar to other studios, and if you are not satisfied, Bikram may not be the style you want to practice.
But I digress! I love the studio and both teachers that I have practiced with have been awesome, encouraging, and very understanding of the fact that I have not practiced in over a year. They will push you, but do not criticize or make you feel stupid if you are not up to par with the rest of the class. Personally, I hate sitting out of poses, but when I had to, both instructors made me feel comfortable and told me to go at my own pace. My only complaint is that I wish they had a class that started before 6… would love to go before work, but this does not give me enough time. Other than that, I love the place!

I’m a bikram yoga newbie. I’ve been to other yoga studios, but I must say that this place was awesome. I was expecting much worse from the reviews I read on here about a smell. Umm this is Austin, Tx have ya been around town much? I’ve smelled worse funk running town lake. There was no smell except me sweating my arse off. It was clean and really comfortable. Amy, the instructor was cool. Friendly and helpful with my poses, due to a knee injury I had. I love this place! Definitely recommend this place! Not pretentious, very comfortable and inviting.

Ah, the love/​hate relationship I have with Bikram yoga goes way back. I know it’s good for you, but who really wants to start yoga at 6 a.m. when you’re half-​asleep or after work when you’re dead tired? And since it’s currently cricket season, there’s a chance you’ll have a little friend joining you on your yoga mat. But really, my issues are:
1. WHAT IS A JAPANESE HAM SANDWICH?
2. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO SWEAT THIS MUCH?
3. WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME TO TOUCH MY KNEES?
4. CAN I JUST LAY HERE FOREVER?
Oh, wait. That’s just what my head is screaming during yoga class sometimes.
I haven’t experienced Bikram yoga at any other studio, but I’m sure there will be a reputation to live up to after my time at Yogagroove. The intensity aside, the instructors are awesome and encouraging, the people are friendly, the facilities are nice and hot (haha), the showers/​bathrooms/​changing areas are clean and the ice machine works most of the time. Yes, you will sweat a lot and your body will hurt, but after hearing tips during class of how the posture we go into helps your body in a specific way (ex: better blood flow, straightens the spine, etc.), I would gladly go through some temporary pain for future benefits with the yogis at Yogagroove as my guides.
If you have time before/​after class, check out the community board. I had a few laughs from reading other people’s responses to «You’re a Bikram yogi if…» and you can post your own, too.

I once thought I’d never do Bikram Yoga, but I bought a pass for Yogagroove on one of those deal sites. The first class I took here was brutal, and I wondered how on earth anyone would want to do this type of yoga regularly. After the second class (which I took a little over a year later!), I felt AMAZING.
(That I was able to take my second class over a year later is evidence of Yogagroove’s generous pass policy. Other yoga studios take note: Had my pass expired, I might not have gone back. Because my pass didn’t expire, I tried Yogagroove again and now I’m planning to buy another pass in the future.)
Since I’ve never taken Bikram Yoga before, I can’t compare this facility to others like it. I will say that the space itself is quite nice overall… although yes, the carpet in the yoga room is dark, scratchy, and smelly.
I would like there to be actual lockers in the dressing room. I know they close the studio when the class starts, but I still don’t trust people not to walk off with my cellphone or wallet.
It’s surprising to me, because Bikram is supposed to be very «regimented» compared to other yoga styles, but you will find each teacher here has their own style. Some I like better than others. The first one I had was a drill sergeant. The second one I had was really supportive (I liked her better). But overall, they are good.
Just be aware that there are certain sacred cows in Bikram that completely defy what might be considered good yoga practice by other yoga traditions. Locking the knee is *not* considered to be a good thing (according to one of my yoga teacher trainers, who is also a physical therapist). Bikram teachers also sometimes recommend that you push until something «hurts.» This is so counter to everything I was ever taught in yoga teacher training. Don’t listen to those teachers. If something hurts, back off.
There’s also a bit of a cult-​like expectation that you are going to show up every day. Sorry, not gonna happen. It’s not just that it’s unbearably hot — the class is an hour and a half and I have to change and shower afterwards. I simply don’t have time to take Bikram every day.
All that said, I am enjoying classes at Yogagroove. My recommendation is: Listen to your body (over the teacher). Take lots of breaks, even if you think you don’t need to, especially when you start out. For my first class, I only did each pose once, and that made it doable for me. Now, I’ll just sit out any second pose when I’m needing a break. And don’t let anyone pressure you into a daily practice if that’s not what you want. Enjoy it for what it is.

Although I’m not a huge fan of Bikram yoga, I do like a take a few lessons every few months to sweat out some toxins. I personally love Hatha, but changing it up is good!
I signed up for the $ 20 two week intro. The usualy rates are pricey, $ 120 for unlimited per month. Sure that seems reasonable if you look at individual price break down, but if you are also paying for a gym membership, things can get a little ridiculous.
There is a delightful solace and freedom in the discipline. You can’t wear regular work out clothes, you have to get skimpy with your digs. There is just no other way. Everybody is half naked, except for the shyer newbies or people are still carving away some poor life choices. (Keep it up, you’re doing great!!!)
It’s one of the few places that I don’t care if people see my body squish in weird angles wearing capri tights and a shelf bra cami. Every body else is squishing too!
The instructors are firm and keep you moving. It’s like military yoga. You can’t speak in the yoga room allowing others to relax and escape their stress.
The only reason I don’t give this place 5 stars is that the bathroom is in the shoeless area. You see, you have to remove your shoes to go into the changing room/​bathrooms. There is nothing more gross that walking barefoot in a shared bathroom. I might ask if I can keep slippers in my bag for this. It’s just unacceptable.
Remember to bring your water bottle, towel, and yoga mat too!!!

This is my yoga studio. I admit I haven’t tried many other studios (one other, sunstone) And yoga groove def beats that one. Bikram is an intense yoga class and I think that’s why I like it so much. It’s a challenge and each class is very rewarding. They call it the ‘torture chamber’ because of the heat and lengthy duration of the class. (about 105 degrees and 90mins)
Bikram isn’t for everyone. But I find when I practice, I feel better, physically and mentally and for that, I am a fan!

I’ve practiced Bikram yoga for around 6 years since moving to Austin and this is where I practice. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and there are many time slots available to make class times convenient for a busy schedule.
The studio is impeccably clean and it’s become a second home for me. If you’re new, hydrate well, do what you can and take your time. Your practice will grow, the first obstacle is the heat.

Hot yoga is intense and Yogagroove is the best for it! They have free showers, towels ($ 1) and mat storage (price varies by time stored). Also an ice machine! Their outdoor shower is the best right after class because it’s FREEZING.
The carpet does smell like sweat but for some reason if you own a Bikram Yoga place it’s required to have carpet. It seems silly but it’s better than laying your yoga mat down on the hardwood floor!

If you want soul-​less drill-​sergeant fitness class that looks like yoga, Bikram may be for you! You can do rad party tricks, provided the party is 105 degrees! Which is not that infeasible this summer, hey?
As far as Bikram goes, this is a fabulous studio. The renovations are beautiful. Teachers, though pooped on by state legislators, get discounted classes here. Punch passes don’t expire, so if you tend to get busy, or lazy, or only practice January 1−14^th, it will still work next year! Which means I must still have a crap-​ton of paid classes I won’t be using.
I worry about good folks faithfully doing what the instructor tells them, whether or not it’s healthy for them. Since the unnatural god-​forsaken heat renders you temporarily melted and bendier than normal, you feel AMAZING and your ego totally gets a boost by things you can’t normally do at human temperatures. But that temporary effect can make you not realize your spine wasn’t actually bendy enough to bust out a Camel pose in a safe way (not compressing your vertebrae) later on.
There is a difference between discomfort (good sign) and pain (very bad sign). Yoga shouldn’t cause pain.
Most of the class packs up as soon as we hit the final savasana. How sad to miss out, and annoyingly distracting. But I don’t blame them for wanting to escape the heat and funky smell ASAP. Same here, just a more permanent escape.

If you’re interested in practicing Bikram Yoga, avoid this studio. Here’s why:
1. It smells… bad. The carpets do not seem like the right type for Bikram yoga, they are more like a residential carpet. The smell of the room is quite overpowering, it’s like a high school football locker room that hasn’t been cleaned in weeks.
2. Dogs. I don’t know why but there were always at least one or two dogs hanging out in the lobby area. So the studio not only smells like old sweat (see #1) but it also smells like dog. In India dogs are considered «muchi» (dirty) and they are never allowed in yoga ashrams or temples.
3. No humidity controls on the HVAC system. This is important because during a crowded class the 105 degree temperatures can feel a lot hotter due to the uncontrolled high humidity.

Most. Amazing. Class. Ever. Today.
Seriously, it was like a mini-​religious experience it was so awesome. And it’s Sunday, too. You know, the day of God. In this case God = Bikram Choudhury.
But seriously, why do you care if I had a great class today or not, right? Welp! Because… any naysayers out there who say this yoga is so hard and they just can’t do it… my advice is just to power through. I’ve been 6 times in the last 8 days and I FINALLY had that «ah hah!» moment that I’ve been waiting for. And that ah-​hah moment will carry me here again and again.
Just power through! Oh, and try to go to one of Skylar’s classes. He’s really awesome and motivating and really helped me get focused and feel like it was a class of one (me) instead of in reality having to stare at the back of some really hairy man the whole time.
Love this place. Love this practice.

I love Yogagroove!
I’ve been attending Yogagroove for over a year now, and I have no complaints. Sure, the yoga hurts, but it hurts like nothing else!
Everyone who works there is super friendly and helpful. They’re like a big family! Each teacher has their own individual style, and it’s great to be able to mix things up.
The whole place is super clean (I can attest to all the hard work that keeps it clean, as I recently started their work study program — where you clean for free yoga).
The smell in the room is just something that comes from that many sweaty bodies. As weird as it sounds, I actually like the smell, it’s comforting. Carpets are just apart of Bikram yoga practice, and they are professionally cleaned twice a week.
The hardest part about the yoga is getting to the studio. Once I’m there I’m very glad I went. Bikram yoga has changed my attitude, and made me feel much better about myself.
Give it a shot!

OK, seriously?!
I got a Unilocal account just so I could write this, so listen up. Any respectable yogi would not practice here!
First off, let’s address the «funk» that you «have to get used to» (aka WHY THE !@#$ is the bikram yoga room CARPETED?!) That’s half the point of the mat! It literally smells like mold, wet dog, and athletes foot, and the smell is absolutely overwhelming and disgusting.
While we’re talking about the mat. you have to rent it or bring your own. & a towel. Lame. (Also didn’t see any yoga blocks around, even though it’s for beginners?)
But that’s not the point. Even though I asked for my 20 dollars back (from a coupon for a 2 week trial handed out on the drag) before I violated my nose for an hour and a half, I can just tell the yoga itself sucks. Hear me out… the instructor in the other room wasn’t even doing the yoga with them? And my instructor was kind of overweight (sorry) and a little rude.
*THERE IS ONLY ONE TYPE OF CLASS, EACH CLASS BEING EXACTLY THE SAME 26 POSES REPEATED TWICE.
***I WOULD RATHER DO P90X YOGA X OVER AND FREAKING OVER AGAIN in my living room than pay for that b.s.
The room was crowded, smelly, and there were all types of weird rules like «You can’t drink water for the first thirty minutes of the class so you can warm up.» Excuse me?! I’ll hydrate myself whenever I damn well please. If it’s a good workout, I’m suuure I’ll warm up with or without your stupid rule.
Sigh. My search for a yoga studio that comes even close to Gaia Flow Yoga standards in Dallas continues…

I like yoga and really wanted to get more into hot yoga. I had a greate experience at SunStone so I decided to try this $ 28 special.
My best friend and I went and needless to say, we wish we hadn’t. First of all, it was very messy in the front and the staff was just flat out rude.
Second, the instructor was AWFUL. Wow. Just bad. She didn’t do the poses (like a previous poster put) and I was looking at others and my best friend. She just talked and walked around and told us to look at the people in the front of the room? Huh? Ok…
Third, I wanted to leave. After 45 minutes, my best friend and I-​who are considered fit by normal standards-​could not take the heat anymore. It was Austin summer and over 100 outside. She wouldn’t let us leave. There was no circulation and I was suffocating and she insisted we stay. So I had to lay on my back for the remaining 45 minutes of class (it was 1.5 hours).
Needless to say, I didn’t go back. There is a reason there was this special. Ridiculous!

So, I made a few promises to some of my loved ones and one of them was to get in shape and try new things!
Now seeing that 2010 is here and I am going to attain my goal; I am trying Bikram Yoga to take it a notch up (or 10!).
It started with «you should try Yoga» and I was kinda taken back by the thought that a Hot Room and Stretching could do anything for you… Come on I am a MAN and Weight, grunting, and Bleachers is a work-out…UM, NO! This Class literally floored me, and I mean laying on my back going in and out of a daze (palms up) with thoughts of a place that was not like Austin in August!
Ok, so be ready and take the advice of many… This is an amazing experience about 3 hours later: D
The instructors are awesome and the place is clean.
POSITIVE ENERGY is AMAZING!

If you want to experience 90 minutes of hell on earth go here! Staff was very friendly and everyone i met was very supportive.
One question… cant they do something about the funk in this place?! Wow it smelt like a stinky wet dog. I had to take some time to get use to the smell let alone the heat!
If you can stand the smell and heat this is your place. If your smell and heat sensitive stay as far away as possible!
Sorry but i had to take points away because of the funk. But the staff restored what i took away.

It’s been quite a while since I went there, but I still remember it fondly.
This is without a doubt the most difficult physical undertaking I’ve ever tried. Hitting a slider? Containing an option run against a fullback’s block? Returning a serve? Putting? Nothing compares to Triangle. Or Camel. Or any of it.
This was a really great workout and I’d absolutely recommend trying it out. It doesn’t work as well with my schedule anymore though, you really have to commit to this and do it 4 – 5 times a week, else you’ll just spend every class trying to get into the groove.
I’d also definitely recommend having a private lesson at some point. I did that after I’d been going for a while, had Wayne take me aside for a little one on one. It was cool getting a little pointer here, a little tweak there, really made a difference for me getting each pose a little closer to just right.

I believe there should be rules regarding men’s yoga clothing. I’ve been trying out Yoga Groove for the past week and I love it with one exception.
There’s this one guy who wears short shorts and always sets up in the front row. — Everything generally goes smoothly until this one posture where we have to stand on one leg and bring the other leg pretty much over our heads. — And you guessed it, because of the short shorts, everyone in class gets to see a nut fall out in the middle of what is supposed to be a happy, relaxing class.
It’s just wrong, no one wants to see that! — I propose that short shorts be banned for men at Yoga Groove.
Anyway… Back to what’s within the control of YG. The staff is really friendly and supportive (take one of Renee’s classes), they sell some locally made kombucha that is tasty and good for you and if you have high blood pressure (like me), you will probably see it go down. Mine has dropped a decent amount in just a week!

It had been over a month since my last visit to Yogagroove. Construction was still in full swing which came with minor inconveniences that the always smiley teachers at Yogagroove helped us all work around.
Imagine my surprise when I pull up to Yogagroove last night and get to walk through the brand new door that is now the entrance to the new and improved studio.
Cue the sitars, please! I felt like I’d totally stepped into another world and was awed by all the changes:
Most notably there are two hot rooms now: twice the space and twice the heat as Cosmo, the owner likes to say.
Beautiful new men’s and women’s changing rooms complete with two showers and two restrooms in each.
Plenty of storage space in each changing room, too!
An ice machine and filtered water!!! So awesome for those days you forget to bring your own.
Laundry facilities, mat storage and a clothing boutique.
A very posh lounge area with a couple of comfy sofas where you can pass the time chatting it up with fellow yogis or friendly instructors.
A large fridge filled with electrolyte replenishing bevvies, good for the body and mind!
I feel privileged to be able to practice yoga in such a gorgeous space! Congrats to Cosmo and all the Yogagroovers for seeing this project through; it’s beyond awesome.

The first time is rough. But it’s inspiring to see the first-​timers and know that not long ago I was experiencing the same thing.
First off– don’t eat for 2 hours before you come. Second, drink a lot EARLY in the day. Don’t down a gallon of water right before class. And afterward drink something with electrolytes.
The first class I had to keep sitting down. By the way– don’t lay down to rest– the blood flowing to your head will mess you up and make you sick. The initial breathing exercises make my heart rate go up and the sweat start dripping (at times you can hear breathing and sweat drops falling on yoga mats). The key is to only breathe in/​out of your nose. It will keep you from getting light headed.
The introductory deal is awesome. Do it! Make yourself go everyday. I know a lot of runners alternate with their running schedule and come every other day. But at first, I definitely recommend going to class everyday. You will be aware of all the subtle changes– the poses that suddenly make sense, the fact that you didn’t have to sit down at all, the first time Camel doesn’t make you black out.
Does that sound scary? The instructors here are great. They’re very up front with you. Kind of like– does a shot hurt? A lot of nurses would say no– but the truth is that yes it hurts when the needle punctures the skin. Same with yoga. There is a definite uncomfortableness– but it’s temporary and the rewards are awesome.
Wayne who owns the place, is always around, teaches class, or is often a student in class with you. Rebecca is extremely helpful with techniques, and someone I pestered a lot for tips and help. All the instructors were great– they have different styles– but everyone does the same Bikram routine and you always feel great afterward.
Do it today!

Several times a week at about 4:30 I enter a room filled with hotties. And at the same time I become a hottie too. Yep. I’m into Bikram yoga a form of yoga practiced in a room heated to 105 degrees. I have paid $ 28.00 for the Yogagroove introductory month of unlimited visits. Afterwards, I will decide if I want to experience this torture on a permanent basis. So far every muscle in my body has been stretched, balanced and heated up while sweat runs down my neck, face, back and legs. It’s not pretty.
The first day, Sara taught the class and I could not believe a few of the poses. Sit on your knees, and then… lean back with your arms over your head… until you are lying down with your lower legs under your butt. I sat this one out. But it is amazing how much my body adjusted the second time when I could actually work into some of this difficult pose. Bikram yoga offers numerous health benefits such as balancing the endocrines and harmonizing the nervous system. (See
)
Be forewarned: you will be sore! But it gets better. Sit in the back row near the door if you have a hard time with the heat. The instructor will open the door several times during class to let cool air into the room. The goal is to stay in the room for the entire 90 minute class. After your workout try a delicious coconut water for $ 2.00. Very refreshing.