Lofts yoga in Kathmandu
High ceilings and old factory light.
Loft classes happen in old industrial spaces: former factory floors with high ceilings, big steel-framed windows, exposed brick and wide open floors. In Berlin these are often Fabriketagen in Gewerbehöfe, commercial courtyards built for workshops and light industry.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Lofts does for you
You get height: ceilings that make your arms and your breath feel bigger. Big windows bring in plenty of daylight, and the open floor feels spacious even when the class is full. Raw walls and worn wooden floors have a calm, workmanlike character. Many people like practicing in a space with a past.
It suits you if
- you like plenty of space around your mat
- you love daylight and industrial character
- low ceilings make you feel boxed in
- you enjoy livelier, fuller classes
Read the full guide to LoftsWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Expect large open floors, wooden or concrete, sometimes with iron columns. Upper floors are reached by old stairwells or a goods lift. Sound can echo, so facilitators often use music or a microphone. Big spaces take a while to heat in winter and can feel cool at the start of class, while summer sun through the big windows can make them warm. Changing areas and showers may be simpler than in purpose-built studios.
Your first time
- Check the address for the right courtyard and stairwell (Aufgang), since Gewerbehöfe can have several.
- Bring socks and a layer for the first minutes and the final rest.
- Arrive a little early, because finding the entrance in a big complex can take time.
Good to know
- Old factory buildings often have steps and stairwells, and some lifts are goods lifts with limited hours, so ask if access matters to you.
- Large spaces can be cool in winter before they warm up, so bring layers.
Where it comes from
Around 1900, Berlin was one of Europe's great industrial cities. Alongside the big plants on the edges, the inner districts filled with Gewerbehöfe: commercial courtyards with several stories of factory floors, the Fabriketagen, for printing, clothing, electrical goods and precision workshops. Built to carry machines and catch daylight, they had strong floors, high ceilings and large windows, and often shared their blocks with housing, a mix known as the Berliner Mischung.
After the Second World War, industry left West Berlin step by step; in 1965 the city founded a company to keep small manufacturers in Kreuzberg's courtyards. After reunification in 1990, much of East Berlin's industry closed, and many factory buildings stood empty. Artists, clubs, studios and young companies moved in, often on short-term leases, and the factory loft became part of the city's image.
Many of these buildings are now renovated and fully let, with offices, ateliers, galleries and studios side by side. Yoga, dance and movement studios took to them early because they offer what is rare elsewhere: big open floors and good daylight. Rents have risen a lot since the 1990s, but the loft studio is still a Berlin signature.
Words you will hear
- Fabriketage
- A factory floor in a multi-story industrial building, today often a loft.
- Gewerbehof
- A commercial courtyard complex built for workshops and small industry.
- Aufgang
- A stairwell entrance; addresses in big complexes often name one, such as Aufgang B.
- Zwischennutzung
- Temporary use of an empty building, common in Berlin in the 1990s and 2000s.
- Berliner Mischung
- The Berlin mix of housing and workshops in the same block.