Yogi Sanctuary

They say you don’t really appreciate something until you lose it.
Over the last year through a run of injuries, it has meant me moving less and I have lost a lot of my strength.

It was through yoga that I first noticed how, when my body got stronger, life got easier - I was less physically tired, more physically able, I had more choices in life and less restrictions on what I could do. I never had to think about how long a flight of steps were, how heavy something was or whether I needed to haul myself up from a squat or a chair. I had energy for life and an ability to live it without restriction. When I added resistance training my body was transformed.

So when I became a yoga teacher I always said I wouldn’t apologise for including strength work in my flow classes. Whilst the purpose of yoga is to still the fluctuations of the mind and create a connection between mind and body, many people like me, find their way to yoga for the physical benefits.

And that stands today. Flow is a strong form of yoga - through poses that are dynamic and static we build strength. Even our gentlest flow ‘Nourish’ challenges the body - all be it in a much softer way than ‘Align’ and then our strongest flow ‘Evolve’. With three different levels of energy and intention, our flow classes offer choice.

With the studio, came the ability to offer a wider variety of classes for you to work on strength, bringing in experts on Pilates and weights based Circuit classes and less obvious but vitally important for gentle strength to those that practice - Chair Yoga and Tai Chi.

If you are not sure where you should start get in touch and let us guide you on a journey to a strong, powerful, independent body.
💛

Stef x

Your perfect Bank Holiday moment is right here !
💛

In September we softly introduce a few changes:

🍂 We have two 4-week beginner courses starting - Foundations: Yoga Flow on Saturdays with Justine and Foundations: Mat Pilates on Tuesdays with Laura. Their aim is to teach you the foundations to give you the knowledge and confidence to join our regular classes.
🍂 We have our ever popular Tai Chi class with Gaynor moving from Mondays at 2pm to twice a week on a Tuesday and Thursday at 2.30pm
🍂 Jess of OurWildSouls takes up her new permanent place with us every Friday Morning with Evolve at 9.30am and Nourish at 11am
🍂 For September at least, Earth Sky and Sound (our yin and floating sound event, held on the last Friday of the month) will pause and Fran will run Empower Circuits, and Nicola will hold her Surrender Yin class

As I take tentative steps back to teaching (if the consultant gives me the all clear on Tuesday 🤞🏻), I will need time to fully recover - so there may be some more teacher changes to support a phased return to work and sadly the Monday 7pm Yin Yang and Sound may need to wait a while. Thank you for your patience x

September at Yogi Sanctuary 🍂

As Summer begins to soften into Autumn, September can arrive carrying a quiet pressure to get back to things.
Back to routines. Back to good habits. Back to the version of ourselves we think we ought to be.

Our invitation this month is a little different.

Begin where you are.
Not where you were before the summer.
Not where you think you should be.
Not where somebody else appears to be.

Here.
With the body you have today. The energy you have today. The life you are living today.

Throughout September, our classes will gently explore the practice of paying attention - noticing what is present before trying to change it. Listening more closely to what our bodies, minds and energy are telling us. Learning when we need to soften, when we need to challenge, when we need to stay and when we need to ease away.

Because self awareness is more than noticing. It is learning to respond.

Yoga has always offered us something far more interesting than simply becoming stronger, calmer or more flexible.
It gives us somewhere to practice knowing ourselves - without judgement, comparison or expectation.

So perhaps September doesn’t need to be about getting back on track.

Perhaps there is no track.
Just a mat, a breath, a little curiosity and the willingness to meet yourself exactly where you are and see where the journey takes you.

That is our invitation for September.

And wherever that happens to be, there is a place for you here. 💛

Some things we make.
And some things become part of how we live.
💛

A favourite mug.
The one your hands reach for without thinking.
Filled in the morning before the day begins, held between both palms when you need five quiet minutes, brought out for cacao, tea, coffee - whatever your ritual happens to be.

Now imagine you made it yourself.

For two unhurried hours, we’ll put down the phones, quieten the noise and work with our hands.

Clay has a wonderful way of asking for your attention. You press, shape, smooth, change your mind, begin again. There is nowhere else you need to be but right there, with what is taking shape beneath your fingers.

And perhaps that is why making things feels so good.

Creativity gives our busy minds somewhere different to go.
Ritual gives us moments to return to.
And doing both alongside other people gives us something increasingly precious - time spent together, talking, laughing, learning and connecting.

No need to be artistic.
No need to have touched clay before.
No expectation of perfection.

Just come and make something that is yours.

Catriona will gently guide us through hand-building our own cacao mug or tumbler, ready to be glazed and fired - a beautifully imperfect little piece of your own making that might just become part of the rituals that help you slow down.

And because this is part of our Unplugged events, there will, of course, be tea, homemade cake and good company along the way.

✨ Unplugged : Cacao Mug Making
✨ Saturday 12th September 2 – 4pm
✨ Yogi Sanctuary Studio, Pentyrch
✨£45 pp book via our website under the Unplugged tab

Come for the mug.
Leave with something a little less tangible too.

Want to fire up your heart,
or slow down your mind?
Want to build up a sweat,
or find peace in your soul?
Want to focus on strength,
or stretch out the stress?
Want to catch up with friends,
or enjoy some peace and quiet?
Want to challenge your edges
or find comfort in familiar?
Want to shake off the day,
or jump start your morning?
Or maybe you just want to come to your special space, and roll out your mat for some ‘me time’.

What ever you need, we’ve got you # # #

It’s been 20 months since we first opened, and even though it still feels like new, we closed our doors last week to give the space a little special love and care.

And now we’re ready for you to return ….

- We’ve had Sherwood Forest Flooring in to renovate our floor (they’ve sanded, repaired and filled, stained, varnished & polished it). The few character squeaks have sadly not all gone but the surface is gorgeous! You’ll really notice the difference.
- We’ve given window ledges, skirting boards and walls a fresh lick of paint where needed
- We have added some new thick luxurious fleece blankets to replace our existing ones - Savasana is going to be your new favourite time of the day!
- We have added new premium quality Pilates balls from Onyx with more equipment on the way soon
- We’ve put lovely freshly laundered covers on all our neck pillows and bolsters
- And finally, Mia and Katie from Pairfect cleans came in today and deep cleaned it for you

Over the next two weeks, as I am still recovering from foot surgery you will have some different faces at the front of the class but nearly all classes are still running. We can’t wait to welcome you back. Ras Shaw kicks things off at 7am tomorrow morning (Tuesday)

Personally, I can’t wait to see you all again in a week or so with a fresh new studio and a fresh new program of classes, courses, events and our newly launched Unplugged clubs and workshops.

Much love Stef x
🥰

-

Starting something new can feel daunting, especially when it seems as though everyone else already knows what they’re doing. We get it - we were where you are too. We remember the feeling of wanting to join in but not wanting to feel lost in class.

So we have created Foundations : Beginners courses in Yoga Flow and Mat Pilates. These two 4 week courses are created to give you the time and space to learn before stepping into a regular class.

Whether you choose Yoga or Mat Pilates, you’ll start with the fundamentals, learning the key movements, techniques and language you’re likely to encounter in an all-levels class.

Each week will build on the last, giving you time to practise, ask questions and develop confidence in a friendly, supportive small-group environment.

There’s no expectation that you’ll already know the poses, exercises or terminology – that’s exactly what these four weeks are for.

These courses are designed for people who are new to Yoga or Pilates, or perhaps returning after some time away, but who are generally mobile and getting up and down from the floor independently.

By the end of the four weeks of September, our aim is simple: for you to understand the foundations, feel confident in your movement and be ready to continue your journey in our regular classes.

✨Four weeks to learn.
✨Four weeks to build confidence.
✨A foundation you can keep building on.
💫The start of a life long practice for health.

Visit the ‘Beginners’ tab on our website and sign up today.

One last three-legged dog before I become a rather more literal version for a while… 🥴
And with that, I’m signing off.

Tomorrow I’m having surgery on my foot, so for the first time in a very long time, I’m taking a proper week off. Not working-from-home-off. Not checking-the-inbox-off. Not “I’ll just quickly reply to this” off.

Actually off.

The studio is taking a little pause with me and will reopen Monday 24th August at 7am. It will open with a beautiful new floor, a lick of touch up paint in places and some lovely new props.

A few practical things before I disappear:
• All memberships have been frozen for the week. So payments are also frozen - you won’t be paying for the week we are closed. Once they are released on Sunday you can use them to start booking again.
• All pricing plans / blocks have had an extra week added to their expiry date.
• There will be no one monitoring emails, messages or social media while we’re closed, so please don’t worry if you don’t hear back — we’ll pick everything up when we return.

And as for me, I’m swapping yoga mats for crutches, three-legged dogs for one-legged hopping, and, perhaps the biggest challenge of all, my phone for a proper tech detox.

This photo might be the last time I’m up on my tiptoes for a little while. I know there’ll be a period of adapting, rebuilding and finding different ways to move, but I’m rather curious about what that might teach me too.

For now, though, I’m going to practise something I spend an awful lot of time encouraging everyone else to do:
Rest.

Look after yourselves, enjoy the quiet week, and I’ll see you on the other side. 💛
Stef x

And yes … the irony of posting this here is entirely intentional.
Because I’m not asking us to abandon our screens. I’m asking whether we might remember to put them down.

💛 This is Yogi Sanctuary Unplugged 💛

MADE - BOOKISH - PLAYED - WANDER
A growing collection of reasons to step away from the scroll and back into our own lives.

Come make something. Read something. Play something. Wander somewhere and learn something.
You might remember how good it feels to be a human rather than an audience.

PS. Look out for new WANDER events coming to our website / schedule soon. Walks, Mountain Meditations, Yoga in the Trees, Foraging, Acoustic music, Games on the beach and much more.