A short walk will take you from the chaos that is Highbury & Islington at rush hour to a corner of calm: Sāmya Studios
In a city like London, it can be near impossible to relax, and while the Tube is bad at the best of times, at worst (i.e. in winter), it plunges to new lows. Stations are even more crowded with Londoners avoiding the dark and cold, clamouring over each other to get home as soon as possible. It all makes getting from A to B feel like you’re in the middle of a Hieronymus Bosch painting, leaving even the chillest among us with their shoulders up around their ears.
Fortunately, there are benefits to living here, one of them being access to some of the best tension-releasing resources. A yoga studio with a built-in treatment space, for example. That’s what you’ll find tucked away from Islington’s Upper Street at Sāmya Studios.
Founded by San Franciscan Laura Childs, who’s spent more than 10 years studying yoga, Sāmya Studios is a unique space with high, beamed ceilings, large windows and hardwood floors. Crucially, they teach proper yoga here, not the watered-down style you tend to find at major fitness franchises (you know the ones), with a programme of vinyasa and slow flows, breathwork, pilates, prenatal yoga and more.
Their classes are excellent (we rate them among the best yoga classes in London), but just as good are their treatments – specifically the massages by therapist Diana De Leon. Diana’s focus is on tailoring each treatment to your individual needs, and this is evident from the deep tissue massage we had. She started by sitting us down to talk through what exactly we wanted to get out of the session: for us, it was to address the buildup around the shoulders that comes from craning over a laptop all day. We then chose between a scented or unscented oil before kicking off the 60-minute session.
Throughout the massage, Diana worked on problem areas typical of anyone with a 9-5 desk job – neck, shoulders, arms and hands – as well as throwing in a head massage. At the end, we stood up straight for the first time in months (could it be, a couple inches taller too?) and left with some serious knots ironed out, along with advice from Diana on how to prevent them from returning. A trip on the Victoria line didn’t seem so bad after all.
Key Information
Address | 19A Cobble Lane, London N1 1SF
For more information | samyastudios.com