The New Year is upon us and Vauxhall is ready to help make your resolutions a reality. Whether you’re looking to prioritise your mental or physical health, Vauxhall is full of people and places perfectly kitted out to give you a calmer, healthier, and more productive year. From finding the pinnacle of peace in a floatation pod to kickboxing, pilates, and dance, below is a list of activities to suit all your budding goals and interests. 

VauxWall

Bouldering took London by storm this year. Whether you’re a seasoned climber or looking to do it for the first time, VauxWall has hundreds of climbs beneath six railway arches under Vauxhall Station. A type of climbing that takes place on low-height walls without the aid of ropes, bouldering emphasises problem-solving and technique while providing you with a full-body workout – it’s the perfect way to exercise both body and mind. In honour of the New Year, VauxWall is even offering free dedicated induction sessions for the whole of January to give new climbers all the bouldering basics for a new and healthy obsession. 

Floatworks

A must for anyone looking to unwind after the chaos of a busy festive season, Floatworks offers pods filled with an Epsom salt solution allowing you to effortlessly float. Heated to skin temperature, the pods provide the ultimate relaxing space to drift off, revive, and unwind. Completely shut off from the outside world, you can take that much-needed alone time to kick off the year the right way. Floating is scientifically proven to increase mental and physical wellbeing in as little as an hour. Other than relaxation, benefits include longer and more refreshing sleep, stress and anxiety relief, better connection to self, and relief from body pain. 

Pilates with Hernan

Hernan Castro-Vidal is a qualified nutritionist and certified Body Control Pilates instructor. His ethos is geared towards achieving wellness through a holistic approach to nutrition and movement. From group to private and corporate sessions, the classes help you gain body control, enhance posture, balance, and flexibility, as well as allow you to acquire a greater awareness of the connection between body and mind. Combine nutritional advice with mat work or sign up for a simple pilates class which will take you through the bodyweight resistance that makes this form of exercise so popular. 

Base Dance Studios

If you’re looking for a fun way of exercising then look no further. Offering a wide variety of dance classes for all levels, Base Dance Studios is a multi-purpose dance studio with teachers who have over 50 years combined experience within the entertainment industry. Weekly timetables include classes in Golden Age Jazz, performance choreography, African Modern Styles, ballet, burlesque, and even twerking. The Studio’s directors have performed on some of the most famous stages and worked alongside the world’s most elite creatives, giving you the best start to a fulfilling and creative form of exercise. 

Neon Performing Arts

This is the creative home for young artists and performers. A specialist school for children aged between 3 and 18 years old, Neon Performing Arts offers classes in ballet, hip-hop, modern, jazz, contemporary dance, drama, singing, and acrobatics. Impressively part of the Royal Ballet Associates, teachers are graduates from institutions like the Royal Academy of Dance and BRIT School. Founded by Emanuela Pagliei, a dancer and choreographer from Italy, and Delroy Blake, a singer, and musician from London, the school aims to engage the next generation of performers for professional careers within the entertainment and art-based industries. 

Sleven

Sick of the gym and the same old boring, isolated workout routine? Sleven heralds the end of the running machine, rowing machine, and stationary bike in favour of sleek design and a community feel. The CrossFit gym elevates the fitness experience through industry-leading classes, personal training, nutrition, and physio in an architect-designed facility. Programmes are suitable for complete beginners as well as competitive athletes and include classes in functional fitness, Hyrox, and more. Sleven’s ethos is that good fitness is a lifestyle and it supports this by combining exercise with friends and social life. Group training is encouraged and socials are a common occurrence at the nearby Black Dog pub. 

Crossfit Vauxhall

With decades of experience coaching in CrossFit gyms across the UK, owners Mario, Mike, and Charles are united by a desire to create the best CrossFit experience possible. With a unique membership onboarding process, beginners are given a thorough understanding of their goals as well as time to properly prepare for the classes. One-on-one sessions continue throughout the membership, checking, reviewing, and refining your skills and abilities. It’s a gym experience that prioritises enjoyment to ensure a long and result-focused relationship with exercise. 

Black Prince Trust

From football to boxing and basketball, the Black Prince Trust runs regular accessible and inclusive sports sessions to deliver positive social outcomes. Classes can be booked for all ages on their website, even catering for over 55s with activities including mat and chair yoga, table tennis, and non-contact boxing. With more than 70 weekly community sessions available, there’s bound to be something to suit all needs, with the majority of sessions completely free of charge. 

Kickboxing with Kru Thai Srikrotriam

Kru Thai Srikrotriam is a Muay Thai coach and ex-fighter from South Thailand. Muay Thai, sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching techniques. Known as the ‘art of eight limbs’ it combines the use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins for all-around physical challenge. Give yourself the unique opportunity to train with a highly trained professional fighter and learn a martial art with a history that dates back to at least the 16th century.

Embody Wellness

Designed to enhance wellbeing, Embody Wellness offers over forty yoga, Pilates, and barre classes to guide you through a journey of self-discovery and self-improvement. There’s also the addition of friendly and experienced in-house therapists on hand seven days a week offering a range of facial, waxing, and massage treatments. It’s a one-stop shop designed to ensure you leave feeling relaxed, restored, and rejuvenated. 

Heaven Man Earth Tai Chi

A martial arts school, unlike any other, Heaven Man Earth is dedicated to the training of authentic Yang-style taijiquan. You’ll be trained in the basic body skills, qi gong, forms, weapon training, pushing hands, and fighting skills drawn from two Yang-style lineages to make one of the most complete and authentic teachings of the ancient art available today. Taught by Duran Mack and a group of top senior students, you’ll undergo a programme of training methods to achieve your personal goals in the health, martial, as well as spiritual aspects of taijiquan. 

Mind and Body Instructor, Claire Hawkins

Claire Hawkins is a musical theatre actor, yoga instructor, and barre and Pilates teacher, who identifies herself as a mind and body instructor. With a free-spirited approach that focuses on music and movement, her classes range from Vinyasa Flow to Mandala Vinyasa, mat-based Pilates, Reformer Pilates, and Barre. A weekly timetable of classes can be booked through her website and are available both in person and online. For more personalised tuition, individuals can sign up for one-on-one sessions designed for a more tailored Yoga or Pilates practice. 

Lisa Milnes Acupuncture 

Known far and wide as an oasis of calm, Bonnington Square is already a go-to destination for those looking for some much-needed recharge time. Add Lisa Milnes’s Five-Element acupuncture to the peaceful neighbourhood spot and you’re pretty much guaranteed at least a month of uninterrupted zen. Taught by Professor J.R. Worseley, Classical Five-Element acupuncture is a 2,000-year-old ancient discipline that helps restore both mental and physical health by diagnosing and treating a patient’s (root) source of imbalance, rather than treating the (branch) symptom.