Bikram’s Yoga Metrotown

First impression: wow! This is just gorgeous! With the sun streaming in, orange and bamboo walls, green plants, rounded lines and friendly faces– this place just felt right.
2^nd impression: nice! Wood floors, no smell, great instructor, free parking. like. like. like.
I’ll update if anything changes– but so far– this is my favorite studio yet.
Update: Teachers to catch– Roxana, Dale, Jozenia (funny funny lady), Johnny, Tammy.

Lots of updates and new energy. New floors, new infrared panels, new colours, new services, and lots of new students to learn from the best teachers around. Welcoming and friendly. Plus the newly renovated Heaven room will open in October. Arrive early to get your favourite spot as it is a popular place!

I got mixed feelings about this studio. I’m a member of 2 bikram yoga studio, Vancouver-​Cambie and Vancouver –Metrotown. I do like the yogis from this place. Very friendly and unpretentious. I’m giving this only 3 stars because I don’t like that they painted the ceiling black. It just looks dirty to me. I also dont like that the temperature is the yoga room is inconsistent. I do like the instructors but the ambience needs improvement. I only have a few classes left. I don’t think I’m renewing my membership.

I started Bikram yoga a few years ago and love it! Johnny took over from Brad last year and has made great updates/​renos to the place. It is an easy going, relaxed atmosphere. People from all walks of life attend so no one feels out of place. Johnny and all the instructors are really friendly and approachable. Clean, communal showers. They give you tokens to use the lockers. Get the parking code to park underground for two hours free. I heard of ppl getting parking tickets, so watch your time. I recommend this studio to everybody who wants a great workout to sweat out toxins and to increase balance and flexibility.

I started bikrams in 2004, on a casual basis. I live in the neighbourhood of bikram’s yoga metrotown and started to attend again. Over time, I appreciate this type of yoga more and more. I lost a significant amount of weight doing bikram’s… but that is just the tip of the iceberg of how good this has been for my body and mind. I recommend this studio to anyone.

I really love all the classes offered at almost any hour.
The instructors are all reciting from a script and it’s consistent in every class so it gets boring. However, having been to other studios, the instructors from this location are the BEST as they are very detailed in how to breathe, where to position your body parts and what each position is for, etc. The instructors really are tehre to assist you.
The Bikrams Vancouver on Cambie, their instructors are there to recite and don’t give instruction to new users. They leave out the details and what each position is for. They tend to not correct incorrect postures or not as much.
The temperature of the room depends on the instructor as it can vary from instructor to instructor. Brad Colwell (owner) has the best class in terms of instruction and in terms of temperature. There are a couple of instructors who just stand at the front reciting the script. I prefer they walk around and make corrections as I am new to this.
They have carpeting installed in a hot studio and it’s health impact is of great concern. Just the smell of the sweaty carpeting makes me puke. It really stinks in there by the end of the week from all the sweat accumulated in the carpet.
Wet carpet is an ideal breeding ground for another allergen: mold and mildew. In fact, most experts recommend that any carpet that has been wet for over 24 hours be removed, because there is no effective way to eliminate the mildew growth.
This part concerns me and hope they will remove the carpeting soon. It looks as if the studio was built and decorated in the 70’s and has not been updated since then. The roof tiling is all warped and I am waiting for one of them to fall on my one day, while ikn svassna.
Overall, the staff is great and super-​friendly, front desk is friendly, good variety of classes to choose from and good instructors, but the carpeting is the deal breaker for me. They can do so much more if they renovated. They would definately be far superior to the other Bikram snobs.

The last time I went to this place, they had carpeted floors. Anyone who does bikrams knows that you become a sweat-​expelling machine, and I don’t even want to think about all the collective sweat. Ew. I’ve successfully grossed myself out for the day. (I know, I know; the carpet is the «proper» Bikram way, but still. PASS.) The teachers were fine and the price was fine, but those damn carpeted floors! PASS.

Hands down, the best Bikram’s studio in the Vancouver area. Clean, great staff and teachers, DRY (this is important!) and not smelly at all (also really important!)
I love that there are two rooms (the smaller of the two has a beautiful view of the mountains) so that the classes are staggered one per hour rather than every two hours like other local studios.
Most importantly, there are ample showers, hair dryers and fitting room space for all. This studio is about 50% more expensive than Kits/​Downtown, but it is way less crowded and a much more pleasant experience — and trust me, after 90 minutes in the torture chamber you will appreciate the small comforts in life! :)

Bikram’s Yoga is not for the faint of heart. Be well-​hydrated and if it’s your first time (or you haven’t gone in awhile), be prepared to feel dizzy and/​or nauseous!
Why I love this studio as opposed to others:
— The instructors are awesome! I haven’t had a bad class yet. The instructors pace the class appropriately and give tips (personal and generic) on how to better achieve the poses. They strike the right balance between pushing the class so it’s not too easy nor too challenging. Brad (the owner) has great classes if you’re looking for an instructor that will give you personal corrections on poses.
— The bathrooms are very spacious. For claustrophobic me, this is an impt point. I love that they didn’t scrimp on bathroom space like some studios. The bathrooms are quite clean for the amount of people who use them, with free body soap and hairdryers. Lots of mirror space and just space in general to sit after class while waiting for a shower without bumping into your neighbor. I found some studios make it difficult to change in because of the lack of space, but not at this location!
— The reception staff are always friendly and encouraging. There’s this easy, laid-​back, trusting attitude among all the staff. There’s been more than once when I ran out of classes but they let me finish my class before approaching me to let me know I need to buy more classes.
— They have 2 studio rooms for yoga, so they have classes every hour for peak times. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the 12:15 class because they have it in the smaller studio, which has all these open windows that have a great view of the mountains. Doing yoga when the sunshine streams in with the mountains in the background = pure bliss :)
— The students themselves are a good blend of everything — beginner, experts, and everything inbetween. It’s a very heterogenous population so no one feels like they stick out, imho. There are older mom types, young 20-​somethings, men, women, fit peeps and not-​so-​fit peeps, flexible and bendy peeps who can do a total backwards bend and people who can’t touch their toes. I like how everyone is very into the yoga there and not looking at other people in the class as it makes me able to focus on my yoga while wearing minimal clothing :)
I think the studio is clean and the décor is functional, but it is a studio that is 5 yrs old. One of my friends who is sensitive to smell says it has a slight odor, but it’s never bothered me.
If it’s your first time, I think they have a 2 classes for $ 25 deal. Be sure to read their tips for first timers as well on their homepage,
! Namaste, peeps! :D