A few weeks ago we ran a survey to find out what YOU, our students want from YOUR studio. We had an overwhelming response, over 300 surveys were completed and you have given us some brilliant feedback.

Of course we’re not able to please absolutely everybody, but our aim is to provide as much variety in the schedule as we can so that you get more choice.

Here is some of what was suggested, and our response to your requests:

Earlier morning classes

We’ll be offering some 6am-7.30am classes, so you can have your practice and get to work on time too.

“Later” early morning classes

We’ll be offering some 7am-8.30am classes for those (like myself) who love to practice at the beginning of the day, but prefer not to get up for 6am. 6.30am classes will continue. We will continue to add morning classes depending on numbers and requests

More evening classes

There will be a 6.30pm class on weeknights for those who can’t leave work to get to 5.45pm, but don’t like hanging around until 7.30pm

More classes on the weekends

Yes! There will be 6 classes per day on weekends – lots to choose from.

More one hour classes

As well as our one hour lunchtime class, we’ll be offering one hour classes on weekends and in the early evening. Express yoga!

Meditation classes

We’re so glad you asked for this! We believe that yoga asana practice should lead us into quietness – and meditation is so important. We’ll have a daily meditation class, and we hope that these will be so popular that we’ll need to put on more classes. In February our dedicated meditation room will open. It will be a beautiful sanctuary for you to experience scheduled meditation classes, as well as opportunities for your own quiet meditation before or after your yoga class.

More Yin

We totally agree! It’s so important to balance our yang Power Vinyasa practice with a yin practice, so we’ll be upping it to 6 Yin classes per week. Prepare to chill out!

Pre-natal classes

Ok, mums-to-be, we will have weekly pre-natal classes at convenient times so you can continue your yoga practice while expecting. Our pre-natal teachers are experienced yoga teachers who have done specific training to ensure your class experience is safe and nurturing.

More Community classes

Yes! We’ll have two community classes at more convenient times on the schedule come February. Community classes operate by donation, which is given to charity. They are taught by our newly graduated (qualified and insured!) teacher trainees.

You love our teachers!

So do we! I personally believe that our teachers are some of the most down-to-earth, well-educated, helpful and fun people around. The majority of our teachers started off as students at BodyMindLife, and have grown with us over the years. You’ll see the same regular faces at the new studio, as well as some of our more recent graduates from our teacher training courses, who are blowing us away with their commitment, enthusiasm and passion for sharing their love of yoga with you.

Get rid of the carpet!

Don’t worry, it’s going! Maybe we’ll do a ceremonial burning …
You’re absolutely going to love the new wooden floors in our yoga room.

Need more space in the bathrooms

Yes, we totally recognise that our bathrooms, particularly the ladies, are cramped at peak times. The new bathrooms are going to be more than double the size of the existing, with swanky new fittings, beautiful stone-topped vanities and plenty of mirror space for the girls, places to secure and hang your gear. Guys, we know you need more space in the loos too, so you’ll have it.

Classes are currently too crowded

Ten years ago when we opened BodyMindLife studio, we never imagined that we’d max out the classes to capacity. In fact, people told us we were crazy and that we’d never fill the room. A combination of the fact that yoga has grown so much in popularity, and that people are simply enjoying and getting a lot out of our classes, has meant that we’re pushed to capacity in some of our busier times.

We’re excited to have two spacious, light-filled yoga rooms to be moving into, so we can run concurrent classes in the evenings. This will take the pressure off our peak times and you’ll have a much more comfortable yoga experience.

More assistants in class please!

How great is it to get a hands on assist in class? It’s great to know that someone is really taking notice of your practice and helping you out if you need it. Our assistants are a valuable part of the teaching team, and absolutely enhance the classroom experience for our students. But assistants don’t grow on trees! Our assistants are generally recent graduates from our teacher trainings or Art of Alignment and Assisting course, and offer their time in class as their Karma Yoga. That is, they do it to selflessly serve our students (see our little spotlight on Christian Ralston in this month’s newsletter). We offer three trainings per year and are constantly working to upskill and develop our team of assistants, they are doing a fantastic job and we are eternally grateful to all of them – past, present and future. We would absolutely love to have more of them in class…. Do you want to get involved? We’d love have YOU assisting in our classes.

Too much traffic noise from Foveaux Street

That’s an easy one to solve! We’re moving to Mary Street, which is a quiet side street off Foveaux. No trucks and buses hurtling past. Yoga rooms look onto a laneway, so that should mean less noise!

More workshops please!

Now that we’ll have two studio rooms, this paves the way for more weekend workshops taught by BodyMindLife teachers, and a host of International guest teachers. You’re going to see a lot more in this area – stay tuned!

More short teacher training courses please!

Likewise, our second studio room means we’ll be doing all of our teacher training in house. We’ve got a great line-up of courses for next year, including Kid’s Yoga Teacher Training, Voice in Yoga Teacher Training, Power Vinyasa Teacher Training, Art of Alignment and Assisting + much more!

Hopefully this has given you a little more insight into what you can expect from our new studio. Tomorrow we’re taking our teachers on a site-inspection, so make sure you ask them afterwards of their impression.

Again, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your feedback, it is always greatly appreciated and valued, and allows us to serve you better. We appreciate your continued support over the years that has allowed our studio to thrive, and create opportunities to make yoga more available to people in our community. We absolutely love what we do, and thank you for helping us to make this possible.

Namaste,
Nicole, Phil and the Surry Hills Team