Eastwest Yoga.

Eastwest is the studio that has been quietly doing classic Bikram-style hot yoga properly on Ponsonby Road for the better part of two decades, and that has, in the last seven or eight years, become something more interesting: a small, family-run, wāhine Māori-owned hot-yoga house with a second location in Newmarket and a habit of teaching the 26+2 sequence at the temperature it was meant to be done at. Forty degrees Celsius, ninety minutes, no shortcuts, no music, no flourishes. If you want the real thing, this is where it is.

The owners

Sheryn Gieck and her daughter Amelia McCombie bought Eastwest from its original founder Nikki Harris in about 2017 or 2018. The studio itself dates to around 2007, so it has been in continuous operation for nearly two decades, but the ownership story that defines its current character is the seven-or-eight-year mother-daughter chapter. Both are wāhine Māori (Ngāti Pāoa, Tainui). Sheryn began Ashtanga about thirty-two years ago and studied under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois directly; before Eastwest she owned Ashtanga and Vinyasa studios in Wellington. Amelia has been teaching for twelve years with more than 1,800 hours of in-person teacher-training, including under Dena Kingsberg. They frame the work explicitly through the four-dimensional Māori model of hauora — wellbeing across taha tinana, hinengaro, whānau and wairua. You will not find that framing anywhere else in Auckland hot yoga.

The Ponsonby room

Up the stairs at 26a Ponsonby Road, Level 1 — an inner-city sanctuary, in the studio’s own words, with a heated practice room that runs to about forty degrees for the classic Hot Bikram class. Towels and water are essential. Mat hire is two dollars (free if you cycle or are on the intro pass). The room is not chic; it is functional and clean, and that is the point.

The line one regular gave, which the studio quotes on its own about page, captures the vibe better than any description I could write: “There’s no pretentiousness at Eastwest. You can wear whatever, turn up on the mat however and you feel welcomed.”

The Newmarket room

The second location at 489 Khyber Pass Road, Newmarket, opened in May 2022 in a building that previously housed Hot Yoga Auckland, The Yoga Corner and Mahi Yoga. The big surprise: the Newmarket room runs at about thirty degrees, noticeably cooler than Ponsonby’s forty. At launch it offered twenty-two classes a week — Vinyasa, Yin, Yoga Nidra, Ashtanga, Yin Yang — and no classic Bikram. If forty degrees feels too punishing, Newmarket is the way into the practice.

The classes

Six formats run across the two locations:

• Hot — the classic Bikram 26+2 sequence, ninety minutes, forty degrees (Ponsonby)
• Vinyasa — twenty-eight degrees
• Ashtanga — twenty-nine to thirty-three degrees, sixty, seventy-five or ninety minutes depending on the day
• Yin — warm rather than hot
• Yin Yang — alternating styles in one class
• Hot Pilates — for cross-training

Live bookings run through Momence (momence.com/u/eastwest-yoga) rather than Mindbody. Reviewers consistently single out Kristy and Alex for clear cueing and a soothing delivery.

Pricing

All tiers verified on the live pricing page:

• Drop-in: $30 (mat hire included)
• Intro: $60 for fourteen days, six classes plus mat hire
• 5-class pass: $89, valid one month
• 10-class pass: $220, valid six months
• 8x per month: $120 a month, three-month minimum
• One month unlimited: $200 (no commitment)
• Ongoing unlimited: $165 a month, three-month minimum

Gift cards available in custom amounts. A summer special sometimes runs one month unlimited at $165. Both recurring memberships carry a three-month minimum, which is a real lock-in — best to start with the $60 fortnight before committing.

Not on ClassPass. Eastwest deliberately runs its own booking. If you are studio-hopping on the ClassPass deal, this is one of the studios you will not reach on it.

What people say

The same words recur across Google, Urban List and ClassPass-aggregated reviews: welcoming, unpretentious, community, clean, supportive, knowledgeable instructors, inner city sanctuary. I have not been able to find substantial negative reviews; the studio’s public profile is unusually consistent. The “wear whatever, turn up however” line is on the studio’s own About page because it is real and recurring.

Honest criticisms

Common notes from Google reviews. The 40°C Ponsonby room is genuinely hard for newcomers and the studio itself says it can take a few visits to settle. Doors lock on the exact start time with no late entry, so traffic on Ponsonby Road or Khyber Pass can cost you the class. The monthly unlimited carries a three-month minimum, which is a real commitment given Eastwest isn’t on ClassPass. Newmarket runs cooler (around 30°C), so some practitioners book there over Ponsonby’s full 40°C. Street parking is workable outside business hours and tight during the day.

Practical

Ponsonby is street-parking only — usually easy outside business hours, leave extra time during the day. The Inner Link bus (green, every ten to fifteen minutes) stops on Ponsonby Road, roughly opposite the studio. Newmarket has street parking on Khyber Pass and a Wilson Parking at 90–96 Khyber Pass nearby at around $6 casual. Newmarket train station is about a six-minute walk. Doors open twenty minutes before each class and close on the exact start time.

Who it’s for

Anyone who wants the original Bikram 26+2 done at forty degrees with a small family-run studio rather than a chain; people responsive to the hauora and te ao Māori framing; central-city locals who want consistency over novelty; anyone who would rather feel welcomed than impressed.

It is less the right fit for ClassPass hoppers, people who want boutique-fitness gloss (try Sala Studio or Redroom Wellness), HIIT-pilates hybrids, cooler or shorter formats, or anyone commitment-averse to a three-month lock-in.

Contact

• Ponsonby: Level 1, 26a Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby 1011
• Newmarket: 489 Khyber Pass Road, Newmarket 1023
• Phone: +64 9 360 1885
• Email: info@eastwest.co.nz
• Website: eastwest.co.nz
• ClassPass: no