Still Yoga brings infrared heated classes to downtown Arlington Heights

Still Yoga will open July 18 at 44 S. Vail St. in downtown Arlington Heights, bringing an infrared heated yoga studio to a one-room space built for up to 47 students per class. The new studio is the work of Arlington Heights residents James Babiarz and Paige Prudden, and it will operate seven days a week.

The opening lineup centers on two formats: Infrared Flow and Infrared Sculpt Flow. Still Yoga describes Infrared Flow as a fully guided practice rooted in classic vinyasa and breath-led sequencing, while Infrared Sculpt Flow pushes the pace with controlled core holds, resistance work, and beat-driven muscle sequences. On its website, the studio says it is blending ancient yoga tradition with infrared-powered classes, aiming for a mix of movement, meditation, and a mind-body reset.

The heating system is the studio’s clearest point of difference. Instead of the humid conditions tied to many Bikram-style hot yoga rooms, Still Yoga says it uses dry infrared heat created by ceramic panels that warm the body directly rather than simply heating the air. That setup places the studio somewhere between a traditional yoga room and a fitness-forward boutique concept, with a pitch built around flexibility, mobility, muscle recovery, and focus.

Babiarz and Prudden have framed the opening as a neighborhood project rather than a corporate rollout, and the address fits that story. The studio sits in The Exchange at 44 Vail, a flexible short-term retail and office space in downtown Arlington Heights, in a village center that the Village of Arlington Heights says draws more than 300,000 visitors annually. The downtown district has also been the focus of a master plan effort that emphasizes a more pedestrian-oriented and community-centered Vail Avenue corridor.

The location lands in a suburb of substantial size. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Arlington Heights’ population at 76,216 in July 2025, after counting 77,676 residents in the 2020 census. That puts Still Yoga in the middle of a village with a large enough customer base to support specialized formats, but a downtown compact enough for people to walk in, take class, and head back into the business district.

Still Yoga’s approach also comes with the usual heat-room caution: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says exercising in heat can raise the risk of dehydration and heat-related illness. For a studio built around infrared warmth, that makes pacing and hydration part of the experience from the first class on July 18.