New Meditation & Yoga Studio Ong Aims To Set New Industry Benchmark

LONDON, United Kingdom — Ong, a yoga and meditation studio launching in London early next year plans on repackaging yoga and spiritual self-improvement for the modern consumer, to set a new industry benchmark.

The concept, founded by Neil Sanyal, one of the co-founders of premium boxing gym BXR, and Rami Ajami, the co-founder of children’s experiential event space Pips Island, in New York, will occupy a 5,000 ft studio in Fitzrovia. Complete with two immersive studios, a cafe, retail space, community lounge and outdoor areas, the physical space will sit alongside a digital offering enabling customers to partake in live-streamed classes from their own homes.

According to Sanyal: “For over five millennia, yoga has helped ordinary people transcend the everyday. Its secret being in the interplay of the mental and the physical: the complete balance of mind and body. But all too often, modern yoga forgets this — increasingly prioritising the physical.”

New Meditation & Yoga Studio Ong Aims To Set New Industry Benchmark
Image: Ong

Many of the yoga classes that are being offered today are overly westernised, with little attachment to the powerful healing properties that are at its core, he argues.

Ong, Sanyal says, addresses this gap by “building the ultimate practice: simultaneously taking yoga back to its roots and evolving it for the way we live now.”

By integrating its spiritual elements and reinforcing the mental and emotional components that he sees as being missing in a lot of yoga classes today, he hopes Ong can change the perception of “yoga” as people now see it.

Ong 360, the practice at the centre of the proposition, will combine meditation and mindfulness with fitness and exercise in an optimised format for time-poor participants. Incorporating breathing techniques, sound healing and unique postures, it is designed to engage every part of the mind and body, stimulating mental clarity and delivering renewed physical energy.

Other classes will cover mental focus, strength, flexibility and relaxation, with a special focus on teaching customers more about breathwork and Kriyas, which Sanyal argues have again not yet become accessible to the mass market.

New Meditation & Yoga Studio Ong Aims To Set New Industry Benchmark
Image: Ong

By creating a full ecosystem offering, allowing people to access physical studios or live stream classes from home, as well as shorter on-demand sessions via an app, Sanyal hopes the brand’s convenience will encourage customers to stay engaged and embed this type of practice more easily into their lifestyle.

“Once people try it they immediately can tell it is hugely beneficial, but Ong allows them to stay tuned in with push notifications to motivate them daily, fun well-designed venues with state of the art studios and a strong vibrant community.”

The overarching goal is to create an elevated experience that’s so convenient, Ong’s community can immerse themselves in its practice in and around their busy lives.