Where to try hot yoga in Melbourne

Attending a hot yoga session at One Hot Yoga will leave you feeling like you have just had a blissful spa treatment. The award-winning studio in South Yarra feels like a calming sanctuary, with floor-to-ceiling windows, moody interiors, dim lighting and minimalist furnishings. The main room where the signature Slow Hot Flow classes are held is long enough to fit plenty of budding yogis, and has been designed to provide a retreat where you can focus on your health and wellbeing.

"I wanted to create a space where people could learn the full scope of these modalities without having to turn their lives upside down," says founder Lucinda Mills. "We centre the needs and experience of the client, and continually push ourselves to refine what we do so that our members are really progressing their practice."

One Hot Yoga also has a second studio, heated to 27 degrees for more vigorous power flow classes. The studio offers a comprehensive range of hot pilates classes and reformer classes.

Located in the leafy suburb of Malvern, Here Yoga is a vibrant, friendly community studio that boasts a welcoming vibe as soon as you walk in. Sessions take place in a spacious, light-filled studio with architectural windows. The hot yoga offerings consist of flow classes in an infrared room heated to 30 degrees, while the yin classes take place in a warm space heated to 26 degrees and focus on long stretches.

At Here Yoga it's all about tuning and moving for feeling and sense of flow, rather than alignment – so by the end of class, your mind, body and energy levels should feel more balanced than ever before. Getting here is easy, too – there are heaps of free street parking and no advanced bookings required. 

You will find Little Mandarin in three locations: Burwood Brickworks, Camberwell Junction and the historic Nicholas Building in Melbourne's CBD. The CBD and Burwood Brickworks studios have a far-infrared radiant heating system, while the Camberwell studio uses a hydronic heating system.

In addition to mat, aerial and reformer classes, there are a few other hot yoga sessions you can try. Hot flow, practiced in a 30-degree Celsius infrared heated room, incorporates influences from Bikram and Iyengar yoga styles. Practiced in silence and with minimal cues from the teacher, it’s for when you really want to turn your attention inward. Hot vinyasa is also held at 30 degrees, and is a moving meditation with synchronised breathwork.

Classes held at 25 degrees include yin, a slower style that helps stretch the deep connective tissues, with longer pose holds. And the alignment session, which focuses on alignment in each pose (asana) and explores new ways of each posture. You may get to try full inversions, arm balances and backbends in this luxuriously long class that can run for 75 or 90 minutes.

Amid the buzz of Melbourne’s CBD, you can find respite at Move Yoga’s award-winning studio on Flinders Lane. Designed in 2014 by top architect Hecker Guthrie, it features two large rooms where a variety of classes are held.

Studio one is heated to 30 degrees and hosts yin, 'move and let go' and power flow classes. Power flow focuses on strength and stability, while 'move and let go' starts with vinyasa flow but ends with a delicious range of slow and long holds for deep fascial muscle release. Studio two (the larger room) is heated to 36 degrees and is where hot flow – an energetic vinyasa practice – is held.

Kula Yoga has you covered with locations in Hawthorn and Hampton. Enjoy spacious studios with plenty of natural light, soft tunes, experienced teachers and a welcoming community. The hot yoga classes are held at a balmy 27 degrees, with specialised far-infrared ray (FIR) heaters.

Kula's hot yoga classes are a slow, hot vinyasa flow rather than a static practice like Bikram. A hot pilates and yoga fusion class has been added to the Hampton class line-up, but you can do flow, slow flow and yin yoga at both studios. All newcomers are eligible for the two-week unlimited yoga for $55 intro pass.

Located on a leafy street in Armadale, Happy Melon is a lovely haven where you can treat yo' self to some soothing hot yoga classes. Happy Melon flow is practiced in an infrared room heated to 27 degrees, and the class consists of a series of fast and dynamic poses designed for those with a more advanced skill set. It provides a cardio workout, plus builds strength and flexibility. 

If you’re a beginner, or just desire a more moderately placed class, it might be worth trying one of the yoga slow and yin sessions, held at a comfortable room temperature. Due to positive demand for more hot-style classes, the studio has also added a hot power pilates offering to their schedule. 

This studio even boasts a garden and tea station for relaxing pre- and post-class. Heaven!   

For a truly exceptional yoga session, come to Humming Puppy where you get to experience the ‘hum’ as you practice.

“We have always had a focus on sound and the benefits that sound and frequencies have on your overall wellbeing,” says founder Jacqueline Alexander. “The hum which plays in every class is a bespoke soundscape that is made up of 40 hertz which is the gamma brain wave frequency and 7.83 hertz which is the actual frequency of the earth. The two frequencies combined aim to put you into a meditative and focused state of being when practicing.”

As if that wasn’t relaxing enough, this hum is accompanied by the sound of Himalayan crystal singing bowls, which creates a soothing sound bath. All four classes are held at 27 degrees, and there are options for beginners (which involve lying down poses and stretching) or those more advanced (which offers more challenging sequences at a faster pace).

Yoga Corner is a quiet oasis tucked away on Little Collins Street and is perfect for those seeking a calm and peaceful refuge in Melbourne’s CBD. It was actually the first boutique studio offering hot yoga in the city almost a decade ago. The ethos here is very much ‘yoga is for everybody’ and classes are accessible to anyone who is interested.

Yoga Corner’s hot yoga classes are warmed with an FIR heating system, a technology that has been used in saunas in Scandinavia for more than 30 years and has won multiple awards for its eco-friendly output.

The hot yoga flow and hot yoga basic classes are held in 37-degree heat. The vinyasa flow and jivamutki yoga classes are practised at 25-27-degree heat to make space for a faster-paced rhythm where you can build internal heat. The gentle and restore classes are also at 25-27-degree heat to keep you comfortable while exploring these slower practices.

With 18 studios scattered around Victoria, there’s a good chance there is a Core Plus near you. The studios turn up the heat with infrared, and a variety of classes are offered, including hot yoga, pilates and reformer. Each session is sequenced with a combination of challenging and restorative moves, so that the 45 minutes go by quickly.

“When we arrive for class, we leave everything at the door,”  says general manager Lee Kelly.

As well as hot yoga flow classes, which provide an effective and demanding workout, there are also slower-paced classes held at 27 degrees.

Yoga 8 has been running since 2007 from a loft studio in Prahran. All classes are held in three heated rooms, where you can try Bikram yoga (in 40-degree heat!) or hot hatha (at a slightly cooler temp of 30 degrees). You can also try Kundalini yoga, a style that involves breathing exercises, chanting, singing and working through a series of poses to awaken the energy within you and enhance your awareness.

Even if you’re not from the area, it's well worth travelling to Sixtwo Pilates and Yoga, a boutique wellness studio located in the eastern suburb of Doncaster East. The space is calming, with concrete floors, clean and minimalistic interiors, and a bright, light-filled space.

You can do reformer, hot pilates and hot yoga classes, with the infrared heating warming the studio to temperatures of 32 degrees Celsius. It can get sweaty, but you'll feel great afterwards – we promise!

Feel uplifted yet calm in the warm and welcoming studio of Fairfield's Yoga Spot, complete with a green leafy décor, timber floors and a modern aesthetic. Hot yoga classes are held in the infrared-heated studio, with temps reaching 34 degrees. Fast-moving flow classes are run in a moderately heated room of 28 degrees. Yoga Spot has a strong community vibe, and people of all skill levels are invited to come along to a class.