Gone are the days when yoga was about stark white studios, threadbare carpet and a CD player. Instead, at W1LL, a new concept yoga studio in Surry Hills, it’s about a big dark room, lit up by a giant screen that plays looping footage of snow falling on Aspen trees, while a DJ-mixed soundtrack reverberates through the space. It’s a new kind of energising that has us pretty keen to work up a sweat every day.
Daily Addict was lucky enough to head into the studio at W1LL for a few classes – and we’re never coming back. Seriously, if W1LL’s waiting area/relaxation room/lounge room was for sale, we’d be moving in today. The space is an oh-so-cool collection of chic low lying lounges, indoor plants, candles and a never ending supply of tea. In the change rooms, there’s piles of hair elastics, bobby pins, tissues and burning aromatherapy oil, but we’ve already instagrammed the Damselfly’s “Namaste bitches” dream cream before lathering ourselves in its vanilla, sweet orange scent.
Okay, okay, back to the yoga. Jacinta McDonnell is the mastermind behind the space. She’s no stranger to the fitness world, as part of the brother/sister team that started Anytime Fitness in 2008. Not one to rest on her laurels, McDonnell has created this super cool space not only to help Sydney’s stressed out locals decompress, but also to give back, with a part of the membership dues going to The Human Kind Project, a charity she set up to help communities in Africa and India. Yoga that does good, for you and the wider world, and is super cool at the same time? Yep, we told you, we’re moving in.
Not so keen on heading to Surry Hills for your practice? The good news is whether you live on the other side of Sydney, or the other side of the world, you can still enjoy W1LL’s practice. This is Australia’s first online yoga and meditation platform – membership to the online portal lets you access meditation and yoga videos anytime, anywhere.
Uniquely, some of W1LL’s studio classes are “guided” by a pre-recording created by a production studio – you still get the same surround-sound visual experience of classes with instructors. We’re big fans of both, because the practice is so different to your standard yoga session. There’s energy and movement, with the music and the big screen to take your mind off, we meed to center you, as you try to hold that tree pose!
W1LL
Level 1, 401 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills
T: (02 9310 3271)
