Yoga in Oakland Park

The Bombay Room's experienced and passionate instructors foster confident breathing and bending as they explain each movement and posture in an intimate class setting. Stretching, breathing, postures, and meditation join forces to form an exercise supergroup that combats stress and pain lurking in the dark corners of body and soul. Gentle, Vinyasa, Hatha, and midday and morning flow classes inhabit the studio's class schedule, which makes yoga more accessible to busy mat masters by offering instruction seven days per week, mostly in the early afternoon and evening. Arrive 10 to 15 minutes before class to sign in, get centered, and clear your head of catchy but off-color limericks.

Housed inside the giant oyster that is the state of Florida, Red Pearl Yoga offers an array of yoga classes for all levels of flexers and focused breathers. Bend your body and stretch your spirit in an Ashtanga yoga class, linking together physically challenging poses through a set series of flowing movements. Roll the dice that is your body with a Vinyasa yoga class that flows unpredictably from pose to pose while maintaining a focus on breathing. Merge the oil of the body and the water of the mind through the alignment focus of Hatha flow, or prepare yourself for motherhood with a pre-natal yoga-therapy class. There are several other yogadventures to set out on at Red Pearl Yoga, so check the schedule to see what's being offered when and by which of Red Pearl Yoga's 12 orange-tinted instructors.

Owner Rosa Santana had the privilege of learning directly from BKS Iyengar, the Indian founder of Iyengar yoga. She was so inspired by his unique approach to yoga—which combines poses with props such as blankets, bolsters, blocks, and straps to develop proper musculoskeletal alignment—that she began to devote her life to the restorative practice, becoming an instructor in 1995. Today, she shares her passion with students in her a soothing, pink-hued studio. She and a team of equally fervent yoga teachers work with students of all abilities during the 60- and 90-minute sessions, shepherding students through a tapestry of postures and prop-fortified movements. With enough practice, Santana believes that students may see an increase in strength and flexibility, as well as a decrease in stress and spirit-animal freak-outs.

In a specially heated room, Bikram Yoga Fort Lauderdale’s teachers walk students through 26 postures during their signature 90-minute Bikram yoga classes. Students move twice through the whole sequence of 26 poses and two breathing exercises to center, strengthen, and lengthen every muscle with the muscle-melting powers of a 100-plus-degree room. It's designed to cater to all skill levels, allowing practitioners to choose the intensity of each workout. These sweat-inducing exercises can help patrons sweat out toxins so that they leave focused, with a cleansed, centered, and worry-free glow that outshines even the sun on its sweet 16 birthday.

Inspired by the design of an Indian temple—replete with vibrant fabrics dangling from the ceiling—Anuttara Yoga had no trouble catching the attention of New Times Broward-Palm Beach, which hailed it as the Best Yoga Studio of 2012. The space recently underwent an expansion to encompass nearly 8,000 square feet, including two 1,600-square-foot yoga rooms.

The Kula Room, with its spacious floor plan and minimal decor, stays at a balmy 85 degrees during nonheated classes such as yoga barre. The dimly lit Grand Tapas Hall, however, facilitates deeper stretching with a thermostat set to a sweat-inducing 95 degrees. This higher temperature loosens muscles, expels toxins, and thaws ancestors preserved in ice during 90-minute hot-yoga classes. New class offerings, to go along with the studio's recent expansion, include suspension yoga and chakra spinning.

When they aren’t teaching yoga classes, the studio’s 15 certified instructors pass on their knowledge to apprentices in training rooms and a well-stocked library. Other amenities include spa-like bathrooms with showers and a boutique area lined with yoga accessories and apparel.

Yoga Source’s instructors run more than 90 classes each week geared toward students of all levels. Kundalini yoga classes work to relieve tension and increase energy, regardless of degree of flexibility or experience, using a symphonic gong to clear the mind while healing the body and elevating the spirit. Hatha yoga classes use stretches combined with breath work to develop flexibility and increase relaxation. To give back to the community, the teachers offer a free class that helps war veterans sleep better, lower their stress levels, and reduces their reaction to loud noises.