The Best Yoga Studios in Sydney

Honestly, for a second we didn’t feel cool enough to go through the front door at Humming Puppy in Redfern, close to the CBD. It’s a little hidden for first timers and is covered in New York-style graffiti, plus the sign is tiny. But that just adds to the allure of this super hip yoga joint.

Once you climb the steep staircase, the reception and lounge area opens up into a converted loft space with huge warehouse windows and deep velvet couches. In the corner, you’ll find hot tea, filtered water and coconut water for before or after your class, as well as the steady flow of yogis waiting for the next session or recovering from the last one.

Past the reception the sleek change rooms are well designed and spacious, even though their footprint is quite small. It’s best to use a locker as phones aren’t encouraged in the yoga shala itself. 

Best Yoga Studios in Sydney


Yoga that resonates

Once checked in, we ascend another staircase in the corner of the lounge room to a space with high ceilings and mats spread out over three subtle levels all facing towards the small stage for the instructor.

The lights are intentionally kept low and underpinning everything is the gentle hum for which Humming Puppy is known. This calming vibration is based on some pretty complex science, so it’s best for us to refer to the Humming Puppy gurus to explain it:

“We use a combination of 7.83hz and 40hz. Being submersed in these frequencies helps you to naturally produce matching frequencies through a process of entrainment. 7.83hz otherwise known as the Schumann Resonance is actually the frequency of the earth itself and helps to ‘ground’ you through your practice. 40hz is specifically associated with ‘Gamma’ brainwave activity, integral for achieving states of peak performance. Elite athletes, top-notch musicians and high achievers in all fields, typically produce far more gamma waves than average.” 

In other words, the hum aims to make you feel calm, positive and centred, and mixed with the fact that the space is kept at a constant 27 degrees, the studio has a cocoon-like, safety blanket effect on us almost immediately.

 

Best Yoga Studios in Sydney

 

The perfect antidote

We chose to do a ‘Mellow Hum’ class which is similar to Yin yoga but Humming Puppy doesn’t like to classify the kind of yoga they offer. Instead the classes are based on the principles of breath-pranayama, movement-asana and awareness-meditation.

In any case, the class was so relaxing I heard a couple of snores from my neighbours… The slow movements and focus on mindfulness was a welcome break from the chaos of the world outside. A sanctuary from the non-stop, notification-filled life we all lead!

So, will we be back? Yes, definitely. And in the meantime we’ll also log on a try a few of their on-demand and live streaming classes as well.

Humming Puppy have studios in Sydney, Melbourne and New York (hence the cool factor). To find a class, we booked through MindBody, which was easy and quick to do.  And if you’d like to see what they are all about, they even have a selection of one-hour classes on their website you can try out for free, any time you like.

 

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