Overall i am a fan of this studio. I am a recent transplant to Madison and I havent tried any other studios so I can't say this is as good as it gets, but I like it. I feel that my practice has transformed during my time here. The west side studio is very nice (clean, showers, good amenities), they have a lot of class times which makes it easy to attend classes even with a busy schedule. The campus studio can get a bit 'collegey' (i.e. packed and loud before class, people with cell phones, at times it feels like I am hanging out in a bar before yoga) but the location is convenient for me so i practice there occasionally. I really like the power flow teachers. I especially love Joan's 8:30am friday class. She is such and experienced teacher and her class pushes you to make even the most 'basic' postures stronger and more precise. read more

IFY is a welcoming, healing space. I like that there are people of all ages, sizes and yoga levels in the classes.

My favorite yoga studio, ever, hands-down. The instructors are extremely knowledgeable and passionate, and the community atmosphere is incredible. The instructors are great about explaining poses, providing assists, and making yoga accessible for beginners. Class sizes can get really big in the winter, but I personally like that--so many excited yogis create this palpable energy in the room that's really fun. If you think you're going to try out a bunch of places before picking one, you can just save yourself the trouble, go to Inner Fire first, and never need to try anywhere else! read more

The staff here seemed very stuck up to me. Not the place to go if you are a beginner. If you practice often, this may be the place for you, but if you like warm, friendly, helpful staff, find a different studio. read more

Still true. The Cold Ashes of Inner Fire Five years of steady yoga progress at Inner Fire Yoga can end pretty suddenly if you open your mouth there to point out some simple science that the owner doesn't want to hear about. Here's my story: When IFY moved to its luxurious new digs on the far west side, the heat in the rooms became unpredictable. As a result, there was constant bickering between some who complained the room was too hot and others who thought it was too cold. After I collapsed unconscious following one especially hot session in August, I thought "There has to be a way to monitor and control the heat." It was obvious that the effective heat - the "heat index" - varied because of the variation in humidity and without continual circulation of the air this was a huge problem. I did some googling and found a precision instrument for $30, a coach's stopwatch, that measured the heat and humidity and calculated the heat index. (Sanctioned sporting events and practices are regularly cancelled if the heat index reaches hazardous levels.) Right away it indicated that the effective heat was commonly allowed to rise not just into the dangerous zone (105 - 124F), but very often into the hazardous zone above 124F. More than once I experienced classes where it reached 135F. The Bikram environment calls for 105F to start with so heat is part of the idea, but IFY advertises a "safe environment" on its website and it wasn't maintaining one. People commonly shook their heads in the changing room and spoke of "surviving" a "hot one." "Surviving" yoga didn't seem what it should all be about to me. I made copies of the heat- index chart and took my data to the manager in the hope of helping fix an obvious problem and a genuine health risk (not to mention failure to live up to advertised -i.e. contractual -- promises). The reception I got surprised me. First I was told there was nothing that could be done, that lots of folks liked it that hot, and that it upset the teachers for me to talk about this and so would I please shut up. After one teacher got very upset at my being rather annoyed at her refusal to even turn on a fan, I was told I was not allowed to bring my Health Watch into class and could not come to her classes. That was followed by an email from the owner demanding that I "practice anonymously," and shut up about the heat. For her anonymity seemed to mean not that my name should not be known, but that my data should not be spoken of. But in a world where Bikram's monologue of instructions is breathlessly referred to as "the dialogue" I suppose this makes lexical sense at least to her. I did shut up in order to finish the "personal revolution" I was doing and then I went on some business travel to Saudi Arabia (where it's always 105F). When I returned, I was amazed to see that a humidifier had been added to the room. In my second class back at 8:30am, a woman, a long-time yogi there, fainted dead away. In the locker room after class I was talking with a psych professor from the UW who agreed with me about how little sense it made to add humidity to a room where the heat and humidity already regularly combined to make unsafe conditions. In another part of the room I overheard a big tattooed guy saying the humidifier made the room cooler and more comfortable. I explained to him that the opposite was the case however counter-intuitive that might seem. Well, it turns out that this guy was the boyfriend of one of the receptionists and my remarks were reported to the owner - Marit Sathrum. That evening I got an email from her saying I was "no longer welcome" at Inner Fire and that she would be refunding my month's payment the next morning. While an accurate instrument for monitoring the effective heat costs only $30, Inner Fire does not monitor the condition of the rooms to ensure that the environment is in fact "safe" as advertised, and it appears it would rather suppress voices that bring unsafe conditions to light instead of addressing and correcting them. Accepted science is accepted science and while I know that in our Republican-infected age it has become common to suppress or ignore science when it seems in the slightest way a threat to profits, it is disappointing to find this attitude (as well as undercover informants reporting locker-room conversations) infecting a yoga studio. But yoga is big business these days. IFY has plans for an additional studio and is running an aggressive teacher-training program to prepare staff to man the new outpost. IFY is a slick commercial enterprise, a lovely facility where I enjoyed doing yoga with some delightful fellow yogis. You may enjoy it and it may meet your needs, but if you look even slightly under the hood, I fear you'll find a lack of real yoga consciousness and a lot of petty ugliness there. I did. read more

I LOVE yoga and this place gets my business 2-3x/week or more because of the convenient and broad range of class times, easy parking, and general friendliness. It's fairly clean, the studios are well-heated, and class starts on-time without any fuss. The best teachers are definitely Adrienne, Hally, and Ally. Especially Adrienne, she teaches really great power flow classes and her sequences are always different and interesting, with an emphasis on upper body strength. The classes offered range from slow flow to hot yoga to power flow. There's also inner fire flow (same sequence every time) and core flow. The power flow classes tend to be the most challenging and diverse. The check-in process is pretty quick, which I always appreciate. There's a lot of shelves for shoes and hangers for coats right out in the lobby, which is super convenient. Get there at least 10 minutes early if you want a spot along a wall/mirror. Leave class a little early if you need to grab a shower (there are only a few shower stalls). There are only two things that I would change: 1) Amy keeps the room too warm. I've been to a number of her classes and I always feel pretty ill from the heat, as did my friend. Doesn't happen with other classes. 2) Front desk service can be really disorganized. The first time I went, the sign-up for the intro month didn't take too long, but they said I could fill out the demographic information after class. I stopped at the desk after class and the girl said, "Oh, we got all your info from when you signed up on-ilne." To which I responded, "Um, I definitely did not sign up on-line." She looked slightly bored and confused and said, "Well ... whatever ... we'll just get info from you later when we need it." When I tried to transition to an actual monthly membership, that was also kind of an ordeal. Took two separate people, more than 10 minutes, and I never felt I had their full attention. Teachers whose classes I avoid (just not my style, too much commentary during class for me): Darlene and Michael. That being said, I like the classes and it's really convenient. These days I go 4 times a week if I can, and it has been lovely! read more

it sucked. Dr. Ruddy was wearing a weird speedo that made everyone uncomfortable. He NEVER stopped talking the entire time. Despite what he was saying about acceptance, warmth and generosity, he was wonderfully judgmental and hostile and loved calling people out for things they were doing wrong. If this class was how yoga always was, I would never go to yoga ever again. read more

I had been hesitant to try a class these guys. I had heard that the classes were always packed, to the point of not being able to spread out. My space is so important to me and quite frankly I don't want to worry about hitting someone during practice and completely loose my focus and potentially cause them to lose theirs. My hesitations were only confirmed. Where were far too many people in that room! I would almost say it's a fire hazard. I could not bend over with out potentially putting my forehead on someone's butt. Not something I really want to think about. I could not spread my arms out and be more than half way onto another's mat. I understand getting as many people in as you can but there is a point where one begins to feel like a number... actually a dollar sign. I want to feel that management cares about the quality of my practice, not how much they can make in one class. The next part of feedback may just be personal preference however, It was the icing on the cake for me. The instructor. I felt like I had joined the army for 90 minuted. She was very very demanding in what what going to happen during the class. The tone was that of Jillian Michaels on Biggest Loser, not what I want for a yoga class. I overall was not a good experience. The instructor would clap twice as we were going into a pose, not what I was expecting ever experienced. She said that we were to keep out eyes open the whole time. Fine but isn't yoga about listening to your body and finding an inner calmness? If it takes closing my eyes to get that out of it I would like the option to do so. We were on our backs and I closed my eyes, she was very demanding and reminded us to open them. I didn't right away because it didn't feel right and she then said it again right next to me. I felt singled out and quite frankly it was ruining my practice. Also, I wanted to say something about the location. Not ideal. The whole time I could hear kids screaming and pounding on the windows. And the windows! May I suggest a cover? People walking by and staring is very distracting. I have been practicing yoga for a few years and have been to a few studios and in all honesty I will not be back and I will not recommend this one. read more

I started practicing at Inner Fire Yoga at the first studio on University Ave. I have practiced at many studios in many different cities but I've never been to a studio as beautiful and calming as Inner Fire Yoga. Although I do not live in Madison anymore, when I return for a visit I try to take a class at inner fire. I haven't been back to Madison in over a year and a half (and therefore haven't been to inner fire yoga in over a year and a half) but yesterday I was able to take Karen's hot yoga class. Not only was the room perfectly hot, but they way Karen leads the class is wonderful. She's insightful, gives great tips on postures, is calming, and you can tell from her style that she is very passionate about her teaching. The icing on the cake was when Karen came up to me and said "Caitlin I haven't seen you forever" .... truly great customer service and thank you Karen for making me feel like I'm still a part of the Inner Fire community. read more

Great reputation, and perhaps rightly so if you know all the moves and are an 'audio' learner. Otherwise the classes are packed, no personal attention at all. Loud music in the classes competes with the instructor talking you through the poses/ Attending a class if you are not 'with it' is like learning to drive by as you are trying to read the instruction manual. read more

Clean, warm and welcoming studio. Best hot yoga in Madison area! Of the few other studios Ive visited in the area this the only "true" hot yoga studio I've found with temp set at 105. The instructor was great, I appreciated her offereing different variations to poses as well as positive encouragement. I will be returning for more classes! read more

I love Innerfire yoga, no matter what class I choose, the instructors are knowledgable and friendly, the atmosphere is "warm" and it's just a great place to come onto your Matt and just b.......love. Love. Love it read more

I love inner fire! I never would have ever thought I'd come to like yoga, let alone make it a pillar of my daily life. As fate would have it, exactly 1 year ago, I won a silent auction bid for 30 days at IFY (along with another won bid for 10 pints of ice cream), and decided I would make the most of those 30 days. While I have no doubt that the yoga itself is big part of what I like about coming to IFY (nothing has ever toned my body so perfectly for swimsuit season without adding too much bulk), I also just really dig the vibe. Its a really established set of yogis that are serious about each other and their practices, but also really welcoming to newcomers and genuinely accepting. I feel like its a lot less flashy and and lot more down-to-earth than another very popular and prominent madison yoga studio. I would reccomend starting yoga to anyone, and think that newbies and established yogis alike will like IFY's laid-back vibe. read more