Bikram Yoga North Shore

Very friendly and genuinely concerned for every person who walks in the studio.

I love Bikram. The studio is very nice. They have child care for select classes which is differentiating.
The owners are very friendly and welcoming. I just wish it was closer to my home.

The Bikram classes offered here are phenomenal — the teachers are caring, generous, and thoughtful. Bikram works for me because I like the 90-​minute routine that is always the same. I know what to expect and I know that my body reacts differently every time.
It’s helped me with various aches and pains — both neck and shoulder pain are completely
gone. I’m working on lower back pain which is slowly improving, and my posture is better.
It’s fast-​paced, rigorous, and invigorating. And if you think that yoga is not a cardiovascular exercise, think again. There’s some serious heart-​thumping, and needles to say, sweating!

Love the facility and instructors. So much peace and love. Thank you.
I feel better every time I attend.
An exceptional studio.

This studio is clean and well managed. Staff is always friendly and willing to offer assistance.

Friendly staff and a great space! The instructors are knowledgeable and keep you focused and motivated during the classes. The space itself is set up nicely and is well-​maintained. Easy parking in the lot next door.
They offer classes at a wide variety of times and usually have a class or two scheduled on holidays so you can get your yogi on before gorging on Thanksgiving dinner.
The only downside to the place is the carpeted studio — I wonder how often it is cleaned and with the amount of sweat pouring out of everyone’s body, hopefully it is often. I wish they’d replace the carpet with hardwood flooring like some of the others studios I’ve practiced in.
The studio also had an introductory week which I took advantage of. If you go four times during your first week, you get another free week! It was a great opportunity to give Bikram a shot as a beginner!
If it’s your first class, make sure you bring a MAT, a TOWEL, and a lot of WATER. They can rent you a mat or a towel for a $ 2 charge if needed.

Very enjoyable experience with excellent staff and facilities and convenient parking.

II’m a big fan of Bikram having been to many studios across the country. This studio was greatly disappointing.
When I walked in the door I was immediately overcome by the smell of locker room. The reception and instruction around the studio were fine. Locker room OK although parts unfinished. The studio is upstairs and was hot as expected. Surprise — it’s carpeted? The room smelled obnoxious. With all that sweat — how can it be kept clean and sanitary? I’ve never seen a yoga studio with carpeting, let along a hot Bikram place with anything other than a wood floor.
The instructor stood in the front of the room and called out poses. They did not walk around and offer any individual support or guidance at all.

Initial impression is that this is a clean and well-​managed studio. The flow of the studio is comfortable. There appears to be more space here outside the yoga room than some of the other studios I have practiced at that may have more actual square footage. I particularly like the private feeling of the downstairs and seating area…
The yoga room is HOT, not sure if the initial posts were when the place first opened but damn, they fixed that issue. The room is big. The teachers were great, a few familiar faces and a few new faces. Some of the yogis are not as experienced as you may see in the city and they don’t exactly enforce the «front row for the pros» rule.
I live on the Northwest side of Chicago and am closer in mileage to the Wicker Park Bikram studio but think I’ll be driving just to come to this studio to avoid the crowds and to enjoy the parking lot!

I tried the beginner bikram yoga class, which was 90 minutes of atypical yoga in a room that’s set to 105 F and 40% humidity. Why «atypical?» You won’t find sun salutations and vinyasas («typical» yoga) in bikram, rather you’ll spend about half your time doing difficult standing poses (e.g. dancer’s pose) and half your time doing sitting poses (e.g. camel).
Although I’ve done yoga for a while and am a fit and active person, I found that class to be extremely draining, perhaps one of the most difficult exercises I’ve attempted. A number of other first-​timers only managed a handful of poses before resorting to merely sitting on their mat. The instructor assured them that for many people the first class is spent simply sitting in the heated room for the full length of class.
Speaking of the instructor, Holly was wonderful. She gave clear instructions, encouraged participants by name (even though she had only met many of us briefly), gently corrected mistakes, and explained the purpose and benefits of various poses. In general I appreciated that she didn’t indulge in idle chatter; the periods of silence were complete and purposeful.
After class, some of the regular members approached me to chat. They were all friendly, supportive, strong believers in the benefits of bikram, and clearly dedicated to this studio. I think these people reflect very well on this business. Additionally, the studio was modern, neat, and clean, and there’s a private lot for easy parking.

This was an amazing experience for me. I am fairly new to Yoga and trying it with a high temperature made every fabric of my body feeling it. I really, really liked it.

MY STORY
Prior to this, I have done Bikram 3x before at 3 different studios in the city between 3 – 5 years ago. My overall sentiment before was: «too long of a class» (it’s 90 minutes), «the pace is so slow,» «I don’t know what I’m doing,» «I can’t do half this stuff»… Fast forward to 2013. I’m now in my 30s and am trying to live a more healthy, natural, calm life. I also wanted to increase my flexibility to improve my running, weightlifting, and spinning. I did a free yoga class at lululemon and really enjoyed the verbal «script» as much as the way the poses made me feel. So I signed up for my first free week at CorePower Yoga (a hot yoga studio) which offers several different kinds of vinyasa style classes. My favorite class there was Hot Power Fusion which felt oddly familiar. Then one day it hit me like déjà vu, and I flashbacked to a moment when I did Bikram years ago. Could it be? Could I actually appreciate Bikram now? That’s how I came crawling back. So thus, I entered my experimental week at BYNS.
I waited until I took a week off work so I could participate in the new student $ 25 first week special at BYNS, attended 4 classes, and got my 2^nd week for free! It was so worth it, and it greatly increased my appreciation and respect for this particular discipline. The studio & locker room are really new, modern, clean, and comfortable!
HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT THAN OTHER YOGA STYLES?
Compared to Vinyasa (which I describe as more «free spirited»), Bikram is all structure and is for the person who truly wants to learn and improve on technique (via verbal cues only because Bikram yoga does not allow teachers to physically adjust students). It is not a place for goofing off or socializing with your friend like some other yoga classes. There is no music, no dim lights (the lights are pretty bright), no zen verbiage about chakras or «setting your intentions.» No freestyle time during class for you to go into that advanced inversion. In fact, the teacher will most likely stop you before you injure yourself due to the high temperature & humidity level. It is very black & white but somehow gave so much color to my newly discovered yoga world.
There are 26 postures… the first half of class you’re standing, and the last half is done sitting or lying down on your mat. You do each pose twice before moving onto the next. There is no deviation in the sequence of the postures, and the teachers oftentimes describe the movements exactly the same way (i.e, «fall back, way back,» «Japanese ham sandwich,» etc.). Most of the postures are common yoga asanas to me, while others in my opinion are just deep stretches, but I was surprised to know there are even Sanskrit names for those too.
You stare at yourself in the mirror the whole time, you listen to the teacher who gives extremely descriptive verbal cues (which are better than any other yoga classes I’ve had), you hold the poses for longer than you’re used to, and you sweat like never before.
TIPS
Bring with you:
— a yoga mat
— a full body towel to lay on top of your yoga mat
— water
— face towel (optional)
Wear:
— fitted clothing (I prefer a tanktop & short bike shorts… some women go in their sport bras & hot shorts, guys are sometimes shirtless)
Lastly… Resist the urge to fidget in class. Resist the urge to look at or compare yourself to other people in class. Resist the urge to grab water (it’s ok, you can survive with having only 1 official water break 25% of the way through class). Resist the urge to break your concentration to wipe your sweat away. Resist the urge to close your eyes — just keep staring straight ahead at yourself in the mirror. It will help you truly connect your mind with your body. Namaste!

A little back story: I started practicing Bikram yoga over three years ago at a studio in Naperville. I have practiced Bikram Yoga at 5 different studios, with well over 30 instructors. Additionally I have read Bikram’s book of yoga to ensure I was getting the most of my practice. Therefore, I consider myself fairly knowledgeable on this subject.
When I first moved to the northwest suburbs, I was unable to find a Bikram studio that I liked. I tried other studios and other forms of yoga, but I missed my 90 minutes in the hot room. Unfortunately, except for the sporadic class here or there, I stopped practicing for over a year.
Then I found the Bikram Yoga North Shore studio. Although it’s not close (approximately 30 – 40 minute drive, depending on traffic), trust me, this studio is well worth it. I have completed 10 classes with 4 different instructors, and I can say that Bikram — North Shore is, hands down, the best Bikram Yoga studio that I have been to.
Since I was out of practice, it has taken me a few sessions to get back into the groove. And there are so many poses that I can no longer do. But the instructors pay very close attention to the students’ poses to ensure accuracy. It can be easy to cheat doing yoga poses, but not only are you cheating yourself of the full benefits of the yoga practice, these instructors will not let you cheat. They will explain everything thoroughly. On top of that, the studio is extremely clean, and they have water fountains (yes, I have been to studios that don’t have water).
I will also add this. I have had back problems throughout the years. When I regularly practice Bikram Yoga, my back problems diminish. it is, by far, the least expensive chiropractor I have ever been to.
If you have been hesitant to try this yoga, this is the studio to go to.

I needed this yoga. My back was achey from repetitive movements at work, I had the flexibility of thick plank of wood, and I was tired of being sedentary. I found this studio and went to it because it’s close to my house. I am so happy I went because this studio is really terrific. I bought a beginners deal which is $ 25 unlimited for a whole week. I am on day 3 thus far and I couldn’t be happier to spend my time here.
The studio is welcoming, clean, professional, and the teachers are awesome. I’ve been to classes that Heidi and Ashley taught and I really feel like they pushed me to go further than what I was capable of. I really loved that they took the time to troubleshoot my errors in order for me to feel the full effect of the pose. After these 3 days I can feel by back aches slowly diminish. This style of yoga is also improving my flexibility. I am also becoming more mindful of my body mechanics in order to protect my body when working through this practice.
My ass has never burned so good, I have never been prouder to sweat so hard, and I’m peeing like a pregnant lady due to the copious amounts of water I drink to prepare for classes. I sense myself approaching ‘regular’ status. I would definitely recommend this studio to anyone-​you don’t have to have experience to start and the teachers love new yogis :)

I cannot say enough about this wonderful place. It is where I first tried yoga of any kind about a year ago and I am addicted! I have loved all of the staff members and find them encouraging but rigorous.
It is VERY clean and the décor is hip and fantastic. I have been to other studios in the Chicagoland area and this is the freshest smelling by far.
They follow Bikram’s dialogue to the letter down to the required carpet in the room.
I highly recommend it!

I can’t say enough about this wonderful studio! I have been coming since January 2013, and have no intention of stopping any time soon.
The facility is very clean, spacious and «zen» feeling from the locker rooms to the HUGE studio.
The instructors are just wonderful. They are very disciplined in their instruction, always beginning class on time and constantly reinforcing the object of each pose.
They are big on personal attention — I was having an issue with one of the poses, and three teachers helped me find a solution. They even had a veteran Bikram instructor visiting from Chicago help, as well. The fact that they took so much time and care with my concern really says something.
I have been practicing various styles of yoga for about 15 years all over the country, and I think I have found my favorite practice through Bikram. I’m not going to lie — it’s disciplined. Each practice has exactly the same format, and each pose has a very specific set of instructions. It’s tough, but worth it.

Gorgeous, state of the art studio with friendly owners and instructors! My favorite Bikram studio yet! I’ve practiced at studios like Bikram Evanston, Andersonville and Lincoln Park — I would highly recommend Bikram North Shore! I’m not sure why people are complaining about the temperature — it definitely gets hot enough in there.
Studio: The amenities are great — locker rooms have a «spa-​like» feel! The studio is spacious with high ceilings, however, it is carpeted… I personally prefer the hard flooring but it’s not a big deal. What’s really nice is that it doesn’t have that «gym locker room» smell that drives me nuts!
Instructors: Heidi & Holly are the most wonderful owners you will find! All of the teachers here are very passionate and you get the feeling that they really care about you and your practice. They don’t just «call out» the postures like a tape recording… they are in tune with everyone’s energy, daily struggles and achievements in class.
BEST BIKRAM STUDIO in the Chicagoland area!

Visiting my parents who live in the area and decided to check this studio out. Lisa was a fantastic instructor and I really liked how new/​clean the facility was.
Con: it didn’t get hot enough. Even though I was blacking out not having done bikram in over a month, it should have been warmer in there.

I really had high hopes for this place because it is literally 10 minutes away from my work. I went in once earlier this week and I have to say, it was not what I am used to: it doesn’t get hot enough, the humidity is off, and the instructor wasn’t the most enthusiastic… I feel like in Bikram, you need to have someone who is really pushing you to «fall back, go back, all the way back, keep going back…» and I didn’t feel that here. However, everyone is super nice and the décor is fabulous. I just wish they would up the heat and fill these classes!

This yoga studio is amazing! The owners are warm and friendly as well as fantastic Bikram instructors! I highly recommend trying a class at Bikram Yoga North Shore.