Top Yoga Studios in Singapore

Yoga has permeated our social fabric for several decades now. Different forms of Yoga classes are conducted everywhere around Singapore, from large buildings to hipster shophouse units. Practitioners of this discipline are also not afraid to flaunt their lifestyle on the streets. It’s not unusual to spot ladies wearing figure-accentuating yoga outfits and even carrying their mats everywhere they go!

If you haven’t tried Yoga, close all other tabs and devices right now and keep your eyes to this article! Be prepared to be amazed by this potentially life-changing exercise! 

What is Yoga?

Yoga is a mental and physical practice deeply rooted in ancient Indian philosophy. Its original meaning in Sanskrit refers “to join” or “to unite”. Through a fusion of postures or asanas and breathing techniques, Yoga aims to help practitioners to develop greater self-awareness and mastery over one’s mind. Practising it can also bring lots of other benefits to you, particularly to your physical well-being. 

Benefits of Yoga

• Improves Your Flexibility

Your flexibility is one primary key to your survival. With a flexible body, you’re able to move around freely, doing what you want to do. You can also avoid injuries when you exercise.

Unfortunately, your flexibility will be challenged with as you age. Practising Yoga will allow you to stretch out all parts of your body and improve your overall flexibility, regardless of age.  

• Helps You Lose Weight

The Yoga poses, which has inspired many modern-day callisthenics routines, are useful in helping you burn calories. Want to catalyse your weight-losing process? Try Hot Yoga or other aerobic-centric Yoga!

• Tones Up Your Muscles and Strengthens Your Bones

Yoga is a strength-training routine that targets various muscles of your body. While it’s not the kind of exercise that bulks you up, Yoga can help you develop lean muscles.

Additionally, Yoga poses produce stress and add weight on your bones without harming your joints. This stress can help your bones to retain calcium.  

• Relieve Your Stress and Improves Your Sleep 

Yoga can help you relieve your stress and anxiety through channelling your focus onto your breath and pose, instead of your active mind. Researchers have also found a correlation between regular Yoga practices and the drop in cortisol, a stress hormone. 

The poses allow you to stretch your muscles, which promotes relaxation and helps you sleep better at night. 

• Improves Your Productivity

This might come as a surprise to you, but yes, Yoga can improve many aspects of your life! Work is one of them. With Yoga practices, you can train your mind to better concentrate on your tasks and handle your challenges. Your creative juices can also flow, especially when your mind has less clutter! 

Your relationship with your colleagues and clients will also improve when you’re more mindful of your words and their needs! 

• Improves Blood Circulation and Facilitates Toxins Release

Having good blood circulation is crucial for our various organs to function well. On the flip side, poor blood circulation can cause lots of problems such as cramps and soreness! 

Yoga can help facilitate blood flow and oxygenate your cells. This ultimately builds a healthier circulatory system. It can also prevent the build-up of blood clots, which can result in a heart attack or stroke. 

With an improved circulatory system, toxins stored in various parts of your body can also be released. 

Debunking the Myths of Yoga 

• Yoga is Religious 

This is a controversial yet common topic among many people. Although Yoga philosophy has been reflected in ancient Hindu texts, modern Yoga, especially in commercial studios, are secular. There are no worship of any God or chanting of any mantras. The Yoga lessons generally focus on the fitness aspects of Yoga, instead of the spiritual.

The practices of pranayama or breathwork, as well as meditation in Yoga, is often considered religious. Author of several Yoga books and teacher, Srivatsa Ramaswami, mentions that the breathwork and meditation practices of Yoga are secular. One does not require any faith to practice them. Some researches have also proven that meditative exercises can bring about lots of benefits to the mind, such as stronger willpower. 

There are also many yoga practitioners and teachers who profess an Abrahamic faith, be it Christianity, Islam or Judaism. You won’t have to worry about your Yoga practice interfering with your religion, at least in commercial Yoga studios! 

• Yoga Benefits Women Only

Yoga has been shunned by men in general for a long time. This stigma is slowly decreasing. Many men realise how Yoga can give them a flexible advantage in other rigorous sports, such as MMA and touch rugby.

You can also throw in Yoga, together with your weight training. With regular Yoga practices, you can perform your reps in a better form and achieve more significant results. Yoga also aids post-workout muscle recovery to facilitate muscle growth.  

Some Yoga-inspired movements have made its entrance into the workout routines of Muay Thai, wrestling and yes, even bodybuilding! One such example is the Hindu pushup, which draws similarities with the Chaturanga pose. 

Additionally, to entice more men to join Yoga, several studios have also introduced workout sessions that fuses Yoga with high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

• All I Need is Yoga to Keep Me Healthy 

Oh no! Please don’t say that! Yoga is one of the ways to help you lose weight. Yet, you also need a healthy diet and even some other exercises, such as weight training, to lose your fat! 

Additionally, Yoga is not a cure for all, if any, kinds of disease. What Yoga can do is to complement your regular checkups and medication to guide you back to a healthy recovery. 

• Can’t I Just Learn Yoga Online? 

Yes. You can learn it from YouTube. However, without proper guidance, your body may be subjected to potential risks, such as injuries! 

Popular Types of Yoga 

• Hatha

Possibly the most popular form of Yoga. It’s a mixture of postures with proper breathing techniques, helping you to tone your body, as well as releasing tightness and tensions in your muscles. According to a 2018 study, regular practices of Hatha Yoga can significantly reduce levels of stress, anxiety and depression. 

The poses aren’t as challenging as you think, making it a suitable class for Yoga newbies!  

• Vinyasa

Another popular style of Yoga, the goal of Vinyasa is to harness your breath to propel you to flow from one posture to another. From a fitness point of view, it is a combination of endurance, strength and cardio training. It also helps you to improve your balance. A 2012 study has shown that Vinyasa Yoga has an impact on smoking cessation, on top of other benefits, such as anxiety and stress relief. 

Depending on the instructor, Vinyasa can either be challenging or gentle.  

• Astanga

Astanga is relatively similar to Vinyasa, except that it has a fixed series of postures. Therefore, Astanga shares the same physical and mental benefits as Vinyasa. 

If you’re a beginner, let your teacher know. He/she will modify some challenging poses to be more accessible for you. The posture sequences are also progressive, so you can slowly work your body towards being comfortable with more challenging poses. 

• Power

Frequently considered as a variation of Vinyasa and Astanga, with an even greater focus on fitness.

The movements are quicker, building up your stamina, and…I know you want to hear this, burning your fats! This class, however, can be very demanding when it comes to your physical movements. It may not be suitable for beginners. 

• Yin 

This is one class that beginners would love! Yin classes, sometimes known as Zen or Gentle, are usually scheduled as the final class of the day in many studios. The teacher’s voice and music tracks play a significant deal in this class. Through a soft, assuring voice, your teacher will help you ease into the pose. 

Unlike other yoga classes, you’ll have to remain in each pose for 3-5 minutes. This is to strengthen your connective tissue, as well as to provide a reflective space for your busy mind. 

Contrary to popular belief, Yin Yoga isn’t just for beginners. Yogis of all levels can benefit from Yin’s meditative features to foster better self-care after a stressful day at work!  

• Hot Yoga 

As the name suggests, Hot Yoga is performed in a specially heated room. It was first made famous by the controversial Bikram Chowdury. 

Similar to the benefit of other styles, Hot Yoga helps you to improve your endurance, flexibility and strength. The heat in the environment will also facilitate excellent circulation around your organs. Beauty-conscious people, you might be in for a treat! The excessive sweating from the class can help get rid of toxins in your skin. With improved blood circulation, your skin cells will also be nourished! 

Hot Yoga ranges from beginner to advanced levels. However, if you’re pregnant, you should avoid attending this class at all costs! The heat on your body may affect the condition of your neural tube.

• Restorative Yoga

Often confused with Yin Yoga, this style of Yoga helps you to heal parts of your overworked body and mind. Through a series of props, such as blankets, blocks and bolsters, this form of Yoga helps you to release tension within your muscles. Unlike Yin Yoga, where you’re encouraged to venture beyond your comfort zone to stretch deeper, Restorative Yoga wants you to get comfortable. It’s also the kind of Yoga where you can relax your mind and strengthen your immune system. 

Restorative Yoga is suitable for Yogis of all levels. It also promotes a good night’s rest. 

Latest Trends in Yoga 

• HIIT Yoga

Want to take your fitness to a whole new level? A HIIT Yoga class is a fast-paced lesson for you to build up your stamina and increase your heart rate. Getting into postures at a quick pace also helps you to improve your agility and balance. 

• SUP Yoga

A delightful fusion between stand-up paddle (SUP) and Yoga. Doing Yoga on a paddleboard that rests amid tranquil waters will help you to build up your strength and balance. You’ll need lots of focus and core strength to keep you afloat. However, that also means that you’ll sharpen your focus and tone up various muscles around your body, especially your core! 

• Aerial Yoga 

Here’s your chance to unleash your inner acrobat while doing Yoga! 

Aerial Yoga is a combination of movements from trapeze artistes and Yoga. You’ll be suspended mid-air as you make your moves. This means that it’s a zero-impact workout that doesn’t take a toll on your joints! This is also an excellent workout for your whole body, especially your back and abs. 

• Beer Yoga 

Say what? Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? This trend has been swept onto the shores of Singapore for a few years, and it’s still popular among Yogis! 

This Yoga has met with lots of controversies, especially when drinking of alcohol is prohibited according to ancient Yoga texts. Some keyboard warriors have also mocked the practice with troll comments such as, Can I do Beer Yoga, without the Yoga? 

It’s a regular Yoga class, where you morph into different poses while taking a few sip break in-between. Sometimes, your bottle or pint acts as the exercise prop. For example, doing a twist while holding your beer in one hand. This kind of exercise can put your balance game to the test. Besides, Yoga aids the digestion of beer too!

In addition to Beer Yoga, other similar kinds of Yoga, such as Wine Yoga, are making its entrance to the mainstream. 

• Livestream Yoga 

Since the COVID-19 lockdown began, many studios have started to shift their lessons online to prevent any possible transmission of the virus. The Yoga teacher will be conducting the session over Zoom. At the same time, students are given the login details to access the class. 

While it’s safe and you won’t have to make your way down to the studio, there are still drawbacks for this kind of class. Your camera is placed at one vantage point, which means, your teacher isn’t able to fully see whether you’re doing the pose correctly. He/she is also not able to physically correct your posture when you’re doing it wrong. 

How to Choose a Yoga Studio 

• Types of Classes Available

In my opinion, this is a highly essential factor. If you’re into Astanga Yoga, but the centre doesn’t offer it, it’s time to move onto somewhere else. 

Besides the types of classes, you’ll also need to find out the frequency of these classes. It might not be worth your money if you were to sign up for an entire package just to attend 1-2 specific classes a week. 

• Environment

Yes. The environment does affect your mood to practice Yoga too! A well-lit and furnished environment will facilitate relaxation while practising.

• Facilities

If you’re a busy person who’s looking for a non-entertainment establishment to chill out, you can consider doing it at a Yoga studio with excellent facilities.

Several Yoga studios understand the needs of our ever-evolving workforce. Many of them incorporate resting lounges and work tables, together with free WIFI access for members to stay on, even after their classes end. This is great, especially if you’re a freelancer and want a space to do your work while waiting for your class to start.

Some Yoga studios even have adjacent cafes, where they can take your order right before your class and get it ready when you step out of the room!

Never underestimate the prowess of a shower room. It’s an excellent asset to have, especially if you’re in the between running several tasks and just want to drop by for a quick shower to freshen up.

• Hygiene

This is crucial, in light of the recent pandemic. Yoga studios, much like other gymnasiums, are a hot spot for the transmission of aerosols. Yet, don’t let this deter you from joining a studio. Don’t be afraid to ask out how the mats, props and rooms are cleaned and maintained. 

If a studio has good hygiene practices, they will take massive effort to ensure that the spaces between the mats are further apart. They will also ensure that the mats and props are immediately cleaned right after a class ends. 

Aside from the mats, find out how often the changing rooms are kept dry. This is to prevent the development of athlete’s foot and other unwanted growths.

Tips Before Starting Your Yoga Lesson 

• Understand The Structure of Your Lesson

Most Yoga lessons are an hour long. They’ll usually start off with a short breathing exercise to clear the clutter in your mind. This also helps to direct your attention to your practice. Some teachers might even offer essential oils, which you can rub onto your wrists to induce relaxation. 

Over the next 50 minutes, the workout will ensue, starting from the easy-to-do poses, all the way to the more challenging postures. Don’t worry! The teachers will be watching out for you if you struggle with the posture. He/she will also recommend an alternative pose for you so that you can give those muscles a good stretch! 

As the class is nearing towards the last 5 minutes, the lesson will start to slow down. Eventually, you’ll be lying down on your mat for one final pose, Shavasana, or Corpse Pose. It may seem like you’re just lying there and doing nothing. Yet this is a significant moment, as you can give your body a good rest. At the same time, you can redirect your attention to your breath to cultivate your focus and inner tranquillity.

• Understand How The Classes are Labelled

If you’re a beginner signing up for a Hatha class, make sure its Hatha for beginners. Some studios label their levels numerically, for example, Hatha I, II and III. Some studios use terms like Basic Hatha, Intermediate Hatha and Advanced Hatha.

Don’t sign up for the wrong class! You’d be either slowing down the rest who wants a more intense workout or end up injuring yourself! 

• Find Out Who’s Your Teacher 

Yoga studios with excellent business acumen would hire a range of teachers with different personalities. Some teachers are gentle and calming, while others are resonant and motivating. There isn’t a specific way to teach a Yoga class, but different teachers will give you a different experience. 

Ask yourself if you need to relax or feel energised out of the Yoga session. Don’t be afraid to ask the staff for recommendations too! 

• Inform Your Teacher of Any Injuries You’re Experiencing 

Before the class starts, your teacher will ask if anyone’s experiencing injuries or even pregnancies. He/she will also ask if anyone’s trying out this class for the first time.

Don’t be shy to raise your hand up if you answer “yes” to any of above. Your teacher will pay more considerable attention to you, ensuring that you can follow up with his/her instructions. If you’re struggling to perform a particular pose, he/she will offer a variation for you.

• Don’t Compare Yourself with The Person Next to You 

If you see someone doing a perfect headstand or a crow pose, don’t get intimidated. Yoga is all about practising self-love. Your attention should be on your own posture, no matter how basic they might appear. Striving to achieve more advanced poses when you haven’t mastered the basics would put your body in jeopardy! 

Now that you know what you need to know about Yoga, let’s dive into the top Yoga studios:

Editor’s Note:

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