Although I have been a fan of yoga for a long time, I have recently found myself with a renewed love of it and wanting to practise as often as I possibly can. Thankfully, yoga in Abu Dhabi has come a long way in recent years and now we are spoiled for choice with types of classes and where to go!

Yoga One

Having opened earlier in 2017, Yoga One is also one of my own go-to havens for yoga. Located behind Al Seef Village Mall within the Mangrove One compound, Yoga One is a small but friendly and welcoming studio with multiple classes offering both heated and non-heated options. Class types include Ashtanga, Yin, Vinyasa Flow (gentle and power options), restorative, hatha and more. They also run regular workshops focusing each time on a different aspect of developing your yoga practice or working on specific problems such as improving posture.

The Hot House

Founded by Tasha Hawkins and located at Al Zeina, The Hot House offers both heated and non-heated classes including Bikram yoga, Ashtanga yoga, hatha-vinyasa flow, Moksha/modo vinyasa flow, kids, prenatal, yin and restorative forms of yoga. Tasha also runs occasional workshops for Tibetan Singing Bowls meditation.

The Room

The Room at Zayed Sports City inside the International Tennis Centre is a wide-ranging health and fitness club but has a number of yoga classes on their schedule mainly focusing on the power and flow styles. The Room also run occasional yoga workshops taught by local teachers and visiting international teachers.
As well as their main location in their home at Zayed Sports City, The Room also provides some classes at Al Rayyana, Intercontinental Abu Dhabi and the Hiltonia health club. In my experience, I have found The Room to be very friendly and welcoming, it’s not at all an intimidating experience as it sometimes can be at some other fitness centres in the city. They also have their own app so you can check the timetable and book classes directly for seamless check-in which saves time and works really well.

Bodytree Studio

Bodytree Studio are probably the most well-known in the city and provide a range of classes including Ashtanga, Kundalini, Hatha, Kids, Mum and Baby, Vinyasa Flow and more. Bodytree Studio is located in a large villa with multiple rooms on the corner of Hazza Bin Zayed and Mubarak Bin Mohammed Streets and their schedule also includes Pilates and a wide range of other fitness classes. Bodytree also has an in-house juice bar and aims to offer an inclusive, friendly and supportive community.
Bodytree Studio also run classes at Saadiyat Beach Club all year round and at the Mushrif park (now Umm Al Emarat Park) during the winter season when the Ripe Market takes place. Again during the cooler months there’s also the ‘Feed Your Soul’ yoga and detox dinner evenings at Asia De Cuba.

Let’s Go Yoga

Approved by the UAE Sports Council, Sasha Quince runs Let’s Go Yoga offering a regular Sunday evening class at the Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel. In addition to this Sasha is involved in several other courses and classes throughout the year. There’s the bi-annual Brazilian Drum beat yoga, periodical 4 week yoga shred programmes promising a mix of yoga and HIIT moves and a detox yoga programme. Sasha also runs Kids Yoga Teacher Training and Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training courses in Abu Dhabi. Check out her website for the latest details.

The Studio

The newest yoga studio in the city having opened in April 2017 as a Pilates and Yoga studio, The Studio schedule includes Yin, Flow, Vinyasa Flow, Therapeutic, pre-natal, post-natal, kids, mums and baby and even aerial yoga styles. The Studio is located along the Corniche, near the Third Place Cafe.

Emirates Palace Full Moon Yoga

Although yoga classes at Emirates Palace are reserved for beach club guests, the one exception to this is Full Moon Yoga. Taking place in the evening of the full moon every month, Full Moon yoga is held outdoors, either on the beach or on the lawns of the palace and lit with gentle low lighting and a bonfire. Call for further details and confirmation close to the date of the full moon each month.

Meetup – Raw Yoga Abu Dhabi

There are also plenty of yoga classes hosted by independent teachers at locations around the city. Check out the Raw Yoga group on Meet Up to find regular classes on the Corniche and Corniche Beach for Ashtanga, Power Flow and Vinyasa Flow styles, Watercooled at Hiltonia Beach Club for stand up paddle yoga, hot flow in the hammam at the Anantara Eastern Mangroves and more.

Others

Of course many of the hotels and other multi-discipline gyms and health clubs in the city also run yoga classes that are open to the public. The best bet if you’re interested is to enquire at the health club of the one that’s closest to you to find out what they offer.

If you’re interested in doing the rounds and trying out a number of classes to see which suits you best, there’s also GuavaPass. Based on a very reasonable monthly fee, signing up for GuavaPass doesn’t just limit you to yoga, but a huge range of different classes in fitness facilities all over the city (and beyond with options in Dubai and around the world included too).