The beauty of The Yoga Lounge is that they are offering something slightly different from bikram…read moreyoga - as the classes don't follow the traditional 26 poses. I feel as though classes are lot more organic, allowing the teachers to really work with the class - I swear I'm making progress already in my first two weeks! The teachers are really great, I love the variety, as each practitioner has their own flows and style of teaching. Everyone is super friendly and happy to give tips and advice after classes too. Specialising in hot yoga, the classes last between 60-75 minutes and at the moment they have three classes per day with two a day at the weekends. They also offer hot pilates, which is a great workout for your core. And plan to open a full pilates studio in the next month or so with Stott pilates, reformer and GYROTONIC® classes. It's a great set up, really well designed space and the hot room itself is a nifty piece of kit - using heat panels on the roof that allows for continual fresh air and a germ free environment to practice in (or I've been told it's something along these lines). There's an online booking system to ensure you get onto the class you want. The evening practices book up pretty quickly, but the lunchtime hour always has a few free spaces. Each class has a waiting list and for every wait list I have been on so far, I've been offered a space in the class. This is a more modern yoga alternative that fits really easily into a busy lifestyle, uniquely balanced to help improve both your fitness and inner calm.

I've never done any kind of yoga before coming to The Yoga Lounge. When you first walk in you…read moreimmediately know you're in a great space for learning how to connect mind, body and spirit. You can tell they've spared no cost, everything is top quality- the radiant heat panels, the studios, the changing rooms... A wonderful atmosphere and the teachers are warm and friendly, so even the newest yogi won't feel intimidated. I was looking for something to fit in with my life in recovery. As an ex-addict following a 12 step programme, spirituality and meditation are fundamental to my life, as well as keeping some kind of balance which is hard in 'normal life'. I struggle to concentrate in normal meditation, and find the self discipline. My first four weeks attending The Yoga Lounge have had a massively positive impact on my life and my mental well being. I've found my place and my thing in life here. The teachers are great, all with their own style and pace, and every week I've felt an improvement in my yoga though their amazing guidance in classes. Everybody needs to try this. I hope to progress and commit to yoga now, and couldn't think of anywhere better.

Manchester Buddhist Centre has been teaching Buddhism and meditation in Manchester since 1977,…read moretheir current location in Manchester's Northern Quarter is a short walk from Shude Hill Metro station. It is a vibrant and very modern urban oasis providing a much needed haven of calm for our City. The centre is laid out over four floors, the basement floor is a Vegetarian cafe and juice bar, the other floors provide space for the shop, meditation and Buddhist practises and teachings. The great thing about the centre is that anyone can come in and try out one of the classes, natural treatments and therapies or Buddhism courses. I went here with my best friend to try out some meditation, the environment in itself is calming and peaceful as soon as you walk in, after talking to the kind receptionist we decided to go in for some breathing meditation, the idea was that we would pick up some tips on remaining calm and focused. The class was easily picked up on, and I did not feel out of place or unsure of what I should be doing for the whole session. It was worth a million times over the amount I paid for the session.... and taught me (over time) a lot about myself... really, just from those few precious hours! I went with an open mind, without any prior experience or expectations and I left willing to look into the basic tenets of Buddhist teachings, which are..... nothing is fixed or permanent, actions have consequences and .... change is possible.

I popped in as someone who has little knowledge around Buddhism but looking to find out more…read more The woman behind the desk was a massive help and was so welcoming after explaining my situation. I bought a couple of books to read through which the lady recommended and asked me to have a glance through in the cosey set up they have around the corner before I purchased anything. I also got offered a brew, which was nice! They had a brilliant selection of books and Buddhist items in the store which I'd recommend you all check out, with some second hands books aswell. Overall I'd recommend the centre to anyone who is looking at learning more about Buddhism or if your already past that point. Went around 1pm and was a lot of welcoming people in the back who were happy to have a chat. Sadly I didn't go to any meditation classes, but it won't be long until I do!

It's not you Bodybarre, it's me... kinda…read more This place honestly has the best set up I've seen for pole dancing and that is primarily its main specialism. I walked in the first time and there must've been at least 15 people strutting their stuff in unison on the poles. It was really impressive. However I like aerial acrobatics and as you may see from my previous reviews I've tried a fair few places. I booked onto both the four week trapeze and four week aerial hoop lessons. Both the owner and the teacher were really helpful, as I specifically emailed beforehand to make sure I would 'fit'. Sounds silly, but being almost 6 foot tall kind of works against gravity and I've found both aerial artists and your generic kit (hoops and trapezes) to generally be on the petite side (makes sense really). Which in my experience makes for a not only painful, but embarrassing and also futile workout for me. So after some reassurance I signed up and sadly this only confirmed my fears. The studio is on the top floor of a building in the Northern Quarter - which is brilliantly located - but I'm not sure the ceilings are much higher than my flat. Meaning that for me there was only enough space to sit once on the trapeze and I was very nearly scraping my head on the floor when hanging under the hoop. In my opinion if you cant stand up on a trapeze, it's basically half a lesson. Lack of space meant I didn't feel comfortable, as I was too busy worried about hitting things than actually getting into the classes and the movements. In all honesty I got bored, I felt the teaching was more focused on flair than developing strength and aerial conditioning. One reason behind this could be that a lot of class members seemed to be from the pole dancing school, in which case I'm sure they already have fantastic upper body strength. But I did book onto a beginners class and I think if I had been a genuine beginner I would have felt totally lost. Its a difficult thing to review an aerial class, because everyone has their own needs and requirements. In Bodybarre's defence they did offer me a trial half-price lesson to judge whether classes were suitable and I chose to continue and sign up for the courses after having had that trial. I guess I was just overly enthusiastic about finding somewhere for aerial in Manchester and sadly Bodybarre just isn't what I am personally looking for in a studio. However don't let me put you off, I recommend you drop them an email if you have any inkling of an interest, they have a very experienced team and were very helpful.

I had my first aerial yoga session yesterday with Penny..it was amazing.I felt great after,so…read morerelaxed and stretched from head to toe.Penny is so friendly and cheerful and a very good instructor.She also gave lots of additional information that I found interesting and helpful.The Bodybarre studio has a lovely feeling about it and there seem to be lots of fun exercise choices.I shall look forward to doing it again very soon.Thank you again.Diane Faulkner.