It was a hot, sweaty urban oasis for many.

But when the pandemic hit, Bikram Yoga Cork suspended classes at their Tramore Road base in Togher indefinitely, a decision that would ultimately see the studio doors closed for six months.

Now, after a summer of online classes, owner, Kate McNamara is ready to take the first tentative steps into the new normal.

Studio classes are back on from Monday, October 5th, with Bikram Hot Yoga, and Inferno Hot Pilates, which both take place in a 40C heated room, and Yin Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga on the schedule, albeit with some major changes.

“Lots of investments have been made in our studio,” says Kate, who will be operating classes at 40% capacity to allow for 2m social distancing.

“There’s a new ventilation system in both yoga rooms, a UV Air Disinfection Purifier, which destroys more than 99.99% of airborne viruses (Covid-19, Influenza, MRSA etc.). We have no contact check-in in operation, a sneeze guard at the front desk, hand sanitiser throughout the building, a one-way system in and out of yoga rooms and a booking system in place for classes.”

The studio will open 20 minutes before class and close 20 minutes after class to allow for cleaning. All participants are required to wear a face-covering coming into the studio and at all times except while on the yoga mat.

Interestingly, the studio has made some changes to their yoga practice too: “We have eliminated all mouth breathing in the hot room.” says a notice on their website.

“The deep breathing and the final breathing exercise in the Bikram class will be done through the nose. We are also omitting the sit-ups throughout the class to avoid strong exhaling through the mouth.”

Drop-in classes are available from €17 per person or €105 per month for unlimited sessions. Monday’s Bikram classes are already booked out but you can check out the new timetable here.