Yoga In The Shard, Is It Worth The Hype?

Do you ever go into something expecting it to be amazing and leave feeling a bit meh? That was me taking yoga at the shard... lets talk about it.

Admittedly I've never been that into yoga (read as: I'm a former yoga hater) but this year I've surprisingly become quite the little yogi! It all started as part of my ongoing physio therapy but before I knew it I was living for that gong sound at the end of a 90 minute Yin session. As a Classpass member I have the pleasure of studio hopping around London to my hearts content, so when I saw yoga at the shard was available through Classpass I jumped at the chance! 

I had no idea what to expect but if you google shard yoga this is what you see:

All attendees are advised to arrive 15 minutes early to pass through The Shard security and I'm not kidding it's like a mini airport in there. Be sure to bring photographic ID and expect to have your bags scanned before you're allowed in.

The yoga space is a large company meeting room that's been emptied out and filled with yoga mats. I reckon there were about 30-40 places available and although It wasn't the most spacious layout I didn't touch anyone either. I'd have personally preferred it to be a bit more roomy though, nobody likes an over filled yoga class.

During the class the teachers position meant I could never see what they were doing because there was a pillar blocking my view. The teacher did walk around and occasionally correct positions but when you have no idea what you're doing to the first place corrections are a little useless. I ended up copying as much as I could from others around me but I'm pretty sure I improvised half the class.

The view was great but the lights from the main office were reflecting off the glass and blocking a lot of it. It would have been better if those lights were dimmed, I'm a sucker for a bit of ambiance which somehow even with the gorgeous view this class was lacking.

As the class progressed I could hear office workers saying their goodbyes as they left and the frequent clitter clatter of the evening cleaner moving trolleys of kitchenware around the office floor. As someone who works in an office nearby I couldn't help but feel like I was at work, and it felt quite awkward.

Overall I wanted to love it but left feeling a bit meh. The surrounding vibe was split down the middle, I had a few eye contact giggle moments with other attendees who clearly were feeling as 'what the fudge is going on here?!' as me and I also saw a few regulars who looked like they had reached peak yoga zen mode. For this reason I really do think your enjoyment of this class is dependent on how much of a yogi you are before you even walk in the room. Is it worth the hype? In my opinion, no it's not.

Some of the reviews on Classpass are unbelievably positive though, I'm genuinely still wondering if we took the same class. I just can't see the average person enjoying this unless you're really into yoga then you might be among your people and totally love it.

Classes on the 24th floor usually costs £25 and the 40th floor costs £40, both are run by Yogasphere. However through Classpass the 24th floor class costs 9 points which works out to around £11 a class. You may even be able to use Classpass' new members free class offer to book into this if you play your cards right. A work colleague also told me they've seen offers for this on Groupon too so keep your eyes peeled if you're interested.

I will say though before I end this post, Yogapshere plant a tree each time someone attends one of their classes and I love that! I may not be the biggest fan of the actual class but I'm a huge fan of the tree they planted on my behalf.

Until next time, J xx

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