CAMYOGA

Disappointing and expensive. Having recently moved from London, I tried Camyoga’s 1 month introductory offer but eventually decided not to join, despite my love of yoga, and ended up joining a local gym offering daily yoga classes instead.

Although I enjoyed some of Camyoga’s classes, I was disappointed overall. Why?

- The venue was cramped and lacked basic facilities. Camyoga is actually made of two office rooms with limited ventilation, one of which is (inadequately) used for hot yoga. The rooms tend to be packed and the hot yoga room absolutely stinks even before classes start due to the absence of ventilation.

- There are NO SHOWERS, which is a pain after hot yoga, especially when cycling back on cold winter nights.

- The men’s changing “room” looks more like a closet than a room. 3 to 4 people hardly fit in, often forcing members to have to wait for their turn to change in the tiny corridor. Girls seem to have to queue in the corridor too.

- Although I enjoyed a couple of classes, in particular Zita’s hot dynamic yoga and Karen’s Iyengar which were really great, I found most other teachers average or below average, compared to London.

- Few classes actually run during the weekend, so that Camyoga can charge extra for so-called ‘masterclasses’ taking place on saturday and sunday.

- This would be fine if Camyoga’s membership prices reflected these few shortcomings, but they have instead chosen to align themselves on luxury Central/West London venues prices, something that does not seem justified in my eyes.

- Unlike pretty much all sports and yoga facilities around the UK, Camyoga do not offer a break clause to your annual membership should you have to leave Cambridge. ALL other gyms in Cambridge offer such clauses. I tried to negotiate one, but their part-time sales guy remained inflexible.

Camyoga have a great website and seem to be very good at promoting themselves. Perhaps the management should spend a bit less on marketing and a bit more on the facilities.

Such a shame! I would have loved to join a dedicated yoga club in Cambridge, but found Camyoga’s bizarre mix of pretentious and expensive amateurism frustrating.

'Camyoga offers a really varied range of yoga styles so someone new to yoga can have the opportunity to see what style suits them. All taught by very experienced and friendly teachers.
There is also a wonderful vegetarian and vegan choice of food at there cafés which encourages the whole yogic approach of good diet.
Both studios offer mats, props etc so if students are walking or travelling by bike they don't need to worry about carrying lots of equipment.’

I am a long-term yoga fan, and have tried a wide-range of classes, styles and locations. In looking for a class in Cambridge I have been very disappointed with Camyoga. Camyoga seems keen to promote a particular lifestyle, but their ethics come across as rather superficial. I have tried a few classes on a drop-in basis, and each time have been harassed by the reception staff to sign up for membership, rather than welcomed and made to feel at home and allowed to explore the studio.

The teachers I have met were variable, some better, some worse, but none I have met specifically welcomed newcomers or made an effort to find out if I (or my partner) had any special requirements. In the class I took this week the teacher neither said hello to the students on entering, or goodbye to the students on leaving, instead she just strode in and out of the room. She pushed my shoulder into a painful position and only asked afterwards if I had an injury that was making the manoeuvre difficult.

The classes are VERY expensive compared to others in Cambridge, and although it is true that the studios are well-equipped and clean, I would much prefer to use a less 'hi-tech' space, (or dusty village hall as one other reviewer put it) and be taught in an environment that made me feel that my needs (rather than just my financial contribution) were recognised and respected by those involved in running the classes. Yoga is a wonderful tool and journey of discovery in all kinds of ways but I won't be going back here to continue it.

The way which I have found myself treated by Camyoga has been terrible. On several occasions I have attempted to cancel my membership, but their management team refuses without paying for another month, although I had previously paid 2 months in which I was unable to attend. Considering most of this was due to injury, I paid for several months but the team at Camyoga have had zero sympathy and are still after 4-5 months unwilling to cancel this membership. They have also refused to reply to many of my emails. You would have thought a yoga studio would be understanding and acknowledge the fact I've already paid £138 of yoga for 2 months I could not attend and wouldn't try and salvage another £69.
I am now having to take action through the council and the citizens advice bureau.
Do not be fooled, this is no non-profit organisation. But a money hungry company that has prices you would expect from a luxury yoga studio, with showers and other amenities.

I never thought I would have to give a yoga studio a bad review. For some background, I have been a student of yoga for over a decade, practiced in numerous countries, with countless teachers. Never before have I seen instructors berate students in the middle of class, or tell a student they were not allowed to do any movements that weren’t instructed by the teacher. Yoga is a deeply personal practice, which should be guided, not dictated. One student was even told she was not “advanced” enough to sit in the front of the class, and I actually had 1 teacher tell me that I had poor teachers previously because of the way I was holding a certain pose. How dare you judge the practice of another yoga instructor. No two teachers are the same, and their differences in teaching style should be celebrated (obviously potentially harmful positions are the exception and should be corrected- this was not the case). Obviously now that my package has ended I will not be returning. I hope the instructors at this studio remember the core purpose of yoga, and address their judgement of others accordingly.

I guess I will need to continue visiting this studio in the future for the lack of anything better in central Cambridge (80 per month). However, I wish they could be more like Triyoga in London (100 per month) or Tribe Yoga in Edinburgh (95 per month) which are in a similar pricing range but offer so much more such as infrared heating panels for the hot yoga classes which ensure that you can breathe during class while achieving the proper temperature. I wish Camyoga could invest in this essential more than anything - this will make the experiene of hot yoga so much better. I wonder if they should actually be allowed to carry out hot yoga classes when they heat up the studio with the heaters which are currently in place, unfortunately there is no regulation in place yet. I would also recommend diversifying their teacher body and creating a more innovative practice - perhaps send their teachers for further training which will allow them to provide a more interesting practice. I think that Camyoga should not allow the lack of competition within Cambridge to stop them from innovating and investing in the studio. I saw that another reviewer here had a similar impression - if Camyoga wants to charge the prices they do, they should really consider giving more in return.

Really enjoyed this class. I’ve practised hot yoga in other establishments, whilst fun, is less focused on correct technique. This class was a lot more “serious” which I loved. I found Camyoga has much greater emphasis on proper form and alignment and I learned a lot. (Jozef corrected many mistakes I didn’t even know I had). Great class.

Really enjoyed my first class in Camyoga with Anita Tambala. What a nice studio and a great teacher!
I wish there were more warm/hot classes, HotPod studio is always packed, but it's too far; why not schedule at least one a day in Camyoga )))