A Very Hot Pod with Hotter Results!

Here in Fulham we have an ABUNDANCE of cool new start-up businesses, so much so that we are compiling a round up of the best, there is obviously something in that South West Thames water. Loving new local businesses and anything independent and passion driven, we were desperate to try out Fulham's latest craze, Hot Pod Yoga. 

Set up by Nick Higgins and Max Henderson, a yoga teacher and a strategy consultant from London in January this year, this start-up may be fresh out of the womb but it has already received an impressive amount of press coverage and attention. Max and Nick are young, enthusiastic and charming, whilst being relatable and cool, a quality not often associated with yoga. Jess and I both agree that there is nothing worse than turning up to a yoga class and feeling like the home school student who has just joined secondary school and hasn't heard of facebook. There were no die hard yogi cliques and the class felt informal and quite fun, despite the soaring temperatures in the pop up inflatable pod. 

I decided to wear my new Zaggora trousers to the class for an added workout (more on these coming soon) and despite feeling apprehensive was instantly impressed by spacious lay out and cool music inside the pod - a much less rush-hour on the district line feeling than other hot yoga studios. The class was taught by Nick and combined some Vinyasa style flowing moves with a great pilates-esque tummy toning section. Despite the sweat starting to run down my chest which usually distracts me a bit with hot yoga, I really got into it and felt my muscles really start to stretch and work, toning from the inside out. 

The class flew by and we left feeling a million times better at the end than when we had shivered our way there from the bus stop to Hortensia Road. A fun atmosphere, cool concept and brilliant start up which will no doubt grow in popularity at a rapid pace - it got both thumbs up from us and we will definitely be back! They also have a great value launch offer of £10 per class or £80 for 10 classes, and three South West London locations! For more details visit www.hotpodyoga.com 

Calorie burning without the boredom

As everyone knows Jess and I are the first girls to put up our hands to try the latest fitness fad and love the variety that SW6 has to offer. Whilst Jess is a Bikram girl through and through I tend to mix up a combination of running (yawn) pilates and spinning. What I really crave though, is an exercise class that I look forward to going to and don't spend the day at my desk dreading. Heaving myself around the park for an hour in the dark following nine hours at my desk takes serious amounts of willpower and motivational encouragement from colleagues. 

However, I think I may have just found an alternative. Last week I visited Slice Studios. This pay as you go fitness studio is a novel offering in social fitness and dance classes, with an innovative selection including vitality-infused Yoga, Pilates, Zumba, 80s Aerobics, Holistic Fusion, Total Body Workout, Core Circuits, Workshops, Dance and Barre Workout classes.

The Slice payment structure works like an Oyster card, allowing fulhamites to suit their lifestyle/ schedule with pay-as-you-go classes with no commitments. The delightful Colby Hanks, a lifelong dancer and choreographer, was inspired to set up a place which drew its members in without being bullied into signing ridiculous binding contracts to then stand and queue for 10 minutes to use a clapped out old treadmill. 

It's ideal for those who, like me, flit between wanting a calorie busting circuit session to a relaxing yoga class and like to mix up workouts to avoid boredom. They are hosting a Launch Party this Thursday so locals can tour the studios and try every class they offer. There will be taster classes, goody bags and the chance to win a FREE six month unlimited membership - not bad!

**For our readers who can't make Thursday but like the sound of Slice, book in for a first free session by quoting 'SouthWestSix' when booking and see what you think!**

SLICE URBAN LIFESTYLE STUDIOS
11 Heathmans Road
London SW6 4TJ
PH: 020 7186 6007
Email: hello@slicefitness.co.uk

Veggie Vegan-izing

One of my favourite Saturday morning rituals is to make the walk from the Sands End to the North End Road, and spend a few hours picking up my groceries from the fabulous local market they have there. This is no posh farmers market (although there is a fabulous cheese stall, a place with oils and olives, the odd food cart and an excellent fish stall) - we're talking good, honest and super-cheap bowls of veg, real local traders and no frills. The queues are long but I like this way of shopping because it's an experience, you feel like you're helping the community and the slow pace and social atmosphere beats a trip to Sainsbury's hands down.

But I digress.... the point is, whilst I'm off feeling a bit eco, a bit community-spirited, super-duper healthy (I am, after all, lugging cart loads of vegetables about in resusable canvas bags - indulge me), I always feel a renewed impetus to try and act a bit more healthily in general. Then last week, I made a truly serendipitous discovery. Having ventured a few blocks further down the road, avidly plotting my new Gwyneth Paltrow-like existence, I came across 222 Veggie Vegan. I've never really considered going vegan, but those who know me well will remember various short-lived health fads: an obsession with quinoa, smoothies containing algae, a period through which I drank quite absurd amounts of green tea.

222 is absolutely nothing fancy at all - and I don't mean that in a pejorative sense. The space is small, the decor very plain, the food served from a small and crowded metal buffet bar (although, I understand that in the evening the candles come out and you can go a-la-carte). However, with an all-you-can-eat vegan lunch buffet at £7.50, you can't exactly expect white table cloths and atmospheric plant-life. And my goodness, this food was not the vegetable mush and abundance of tofu you might expect (and fear) of vegan cuisine, this is the sort of food you guzzle more and more of. I filled my boots three times over, and best of all, it was totally guilt free. Vegan food is super healthy, right? Not a hair on an animal's head harmed in the making of this lunchtime feast. We had carrot tart, we had aubergine and faux-mozarella bake, we had an awesome chickpea salad: all the while imagining ourselves taking on increasingly glowing hues and fizzing with vitamins - a bit like Super Mario when he eats his magic mushrooms.

A vegan menu might not be for everyone, but this little place offers cracking value, and the food may just surprise you. You often pay through the nose for health-food, but this joint offers delicious, low-key, wonderfully nutritious and guilt-free grub at incredible prices. Next time you feel like giving your insides a little TLC, I highly recommend you check it out.

222 Veggie Vegan
222 North End Road
London
W14 9NU