Studio Spotlight: Yoga X Life, Newcastle

Tell us a bit about your background and your yoga journey…

The very first time I heard about yoga was at a music festival in Northumberland. At the time I was living in a fairly rural part of Yorkshire and so the only class I could find was an hour long bus trip away… but I made the trip every week after that. A few years later when I moved to Newcastle the yoga world really opened up for me. It was a far cry from what it is now with just a handful of teachers but for the first time there was a choice of classes that I could go to almost every day of the week if I wanted to (which I did!). In Newcastle I met my first real teachers with whom I worked closely in a mentorship style before completing the first of many certified trainings in London. I had originally planned to continue into creative psychotherapies but the more Yoga I did the more I realised it was the path for me. In 2014 the time felt right to make the leap from teaching classes to something more structured, and more committed. Cue, the first Studio! 

What inspired you to open Yoga X Life and when did you open the studio?

The original motivator to open our first studio was  consistency. Across three different collectives and a whole heap of church halls we were already teaching full time – the only problem was we were all travelling between classes full time too! And on top of that we were subject to the venue’s existing schedules. We wanted to be able to open up our schedule for early morning classes and weekend events and trainings, and also, expand our capacity to work amongst various community and charity groups in the afternoons with the reflexivity that having our own front door keys would allow.  

What is your mission with Yoga X Life?

Our mission has been much the same from day one – to create a real resource where people can go to practice, find connection and foster community. We’ve evolved our name from YogaTherapies to Yoga x Life to reflect that belief that rather than some topical application that can be applied when things get stressful and then forgotten about afterward Yoga really is at its most powerful when it is integrated fully into our lives and core.

How is Yoga X Life different from other studios?

In a lot of ways I don’t think Yoga x Life is that different from other studios; we are all working to help people connect to the transformative practices of yoga and meditation. We care about creating safe spaces, making the practices accessible and building real community. We are often complimented on the diversity of our community and the welcoming people receive so perhaps that’s one area that we stand out in. People are encouraged to have a ‘point of difference’ as a business but so often that’s achieved by narrowing scope rather than truly offering something that stands out. 

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of opening their own studio?

In the current climate I would advise someone to make sure they have really done the math first! Beyond that though, I think I would ask them if they were sure a studio is what they wanted. I think a lot of venues open because a teacher wants to create their own ideal environment to teach from, rather than they actually want to open up a studio. Running a Studio is really a totally separate thing to teaching yoga classes and there are a lot of really amazing spaces around already that are under-utilised. I guess my ultimate question would be, ‘If you weren’t going to teach in the space yourself would you still want to open it?”

Do you have a quote or mantra that you live by?

Ah! So many come to mind! One that always stands out though is a quote I’ve loved for years from Merleu-Ponty, “The body is our general medium for having a world.”

Find out more about Yoga X Life:

Website: https://yogaxlifestudios.com/

Instagram: @yogaxlifestudios

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