Yoga in North York

The Greek word iam means "to be present," and the instructors at Iam Yoga encourage this mental state. They draw from dozens of forms of ancient and modern exercise, including Yin meditation, Hatha yoga, and Pilates. The mélange of influences leads to a roster of class styles that, like a lazy ferris wheel, rotates daily, staving off the boredom of repetition and encouraging pupils to stay mentally present. Frosted glass windows filter blue-tinged sunlight across the studio's polished bamboo floors. In contrast to the cool colour scheme, heated rooms summon detoxifying sweat and loosen muscles for deeper stretches during more than 22 styles of yoga each week.

At Bikram Yoga East York, classes combine two key fitness principles: yoga and sweat. As practitioners cycle through the set regimen of Hatha yoga poses and breathing exercises during each Bikram session, the heated studio enhances their stretching ability and accelerates the fat-burning process. An instructor certified at the Bikram Yoga College of India leads each session, adhering closely to the Hatha-inspired practice originated by Bikram Choudhury and his guru, Bishnu Ghosh. This hot-yoga style helped Choudhury recover from a knee injury, from which doctors predicted he would never walk again. Beyond speeding injury recovery, Bikram yoga can also prevent injuries, much like high-fiving people in very slow motion.

Helmed by yoga and Pilates enthusiast Meaghan, the three passionate instructors who comprise Serendipity Yoga and Pilates's team dedicate themselves to creating personal and intimate classes capped at eight students. Sunlight streams in through the studio’s large windows, illuminating the airy, bright space and refracting in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors as classes perform sun salutations and downward dogs.

Yoga classes aim to increase flexibility while toning muscles through the fluid repetition of various poses, which can be modified for all skill levels. Patrons sculpt physiques while relieving stress in various forms of yoga from Vinyasa flow to Hatha to prenatal yoga. For more intense classes, Pilates slims silhouettes by focusing on toning the body's core muscles and stretching the spine, building long, lean muscles. Pilates Reformer classes raise the challenge level with resistance-training machines, which, in addition to adding resistance to routines, also obstinately refute everything you say.