Is Yoga a place of sanctuary?
/Dear Yogis,
I have trained with some magical teachers at Triyoga. One I am most grateful for is Ashtanga master David Swenson. I remember in a workshop in Triyoga Soho, he talked about how he rolled up his sleeves to help get the studio ready for its opening date. Toilet doors still had to be hung, and I remember he said something about putting up the ceiling beams, pointing skyward! Every time I went to Triyoga classes and workshops to meet famous and celebrated teachers, my connection to and love of Triyoga grew.
The shut-down of Triyoga was brutal. People have lost their place of sanctuary and are hurting. But the private equity company that owned Triyoga followed the same corporate playbook that the private equity owners of Boots followed. TG Jones/WH Smiths/The Post Office is the same thing (closing in Ealing in January 2027). The model is the ‘roll up’ - to buy several similar brands to scale up, cut costs, and increase profits. For Triyoga and other private equity victims (remember Debenhams, Maplin, Toys 'R' Us, BHS?), this playbook gives a cold approach but a hot exit. If you look across the way from where Triyoga Ealing was operating you can see the carcass of Brewdog, destroyed with the help of the same private equity logic to take the profit and run.
Ealing Council is inviting the same predatory model, the Troubadour project, into Ealing! Another favourite teacher Stewart Gilchrist, he of the scary adjustments and the OM that awakens the devil, constantly reminds his students that in his day in the 1960s, yogis weren’t hiding from the world looking for a place of peace and sanctuary. They were deeply political, highly informed, and actively campaigning for social and environmental change. To them, ahimsa (non-harming) wasn’t a quiet feeling at all. It was political activism.
Classes
I’ve renamed the Wednesday class ‘The Midweek Pause’. That’s because, just for next week, I’ve moved it to Thursday. (I’ve been invited to the theatre on Wednesday).
Also, this Friday is our fortnightly Yin/Restorative/Myofascial Release class. Come and have a lie down! Come and iron out the wrinkles of the working week.
Mon, Tues & Wed evenings = Stretchy yoga at 7.00-8.00pm – this is the popular one with a bit of Yin.
Friday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30-9.30am – this is the more ‘dynamic’ one.
Friday evening = Yin and Restorative Yoga – 6.30-8.00pm – A proper unwind – fortnightly – THIS FRIDAY!
Saturday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30 – 10.00am – this is the longer ‘dynamic’ one.
And, by the way, you can post a google review of my classes here.
Retreat
Anyone looking for a retreat this year? A lot of you will already know Ladan Soltani from her Ealing Town Hall classes. She’s has wondrous Canary Islands offerings this Christmas and New Year: https://linktr.ee/yoga.meditation.retreats
Train with me!
David Swenson is in London right now, teaching at HOME Wellness in Primrose Hill. I’m doing Asanas, Alternatives & Attitude, Saturday 1.00 and Fear, Focus & Fulfilment, which is a discussion, at 4.00pm. There are a couple of places left.
Yoga in the News
The Telegraph has: How Britain fell out of love with yoga. “On the fitness booking platform ClassPass, yoga fell from the second most popular class category in 2019 to third place last year. (Pilates was the most popular class type on ClassPass in 2025). Figures from Sport England indicate that yoga participation has gone from 4.2 per cent of adults in 2019-2020 to 3.8 per cent, a loss of around 115,000 people.
Yoga Journal says: The Atlantic Says Yoga "Lost Its Cool." I Think It's About Time. “Just ask the ER nurse who remembers to take a long, slow breath to regain her focus. Or the 20-something reeling from a break-up who practices along with a yin yoga video to help sort some emotions and feel less alone. Or the student who ditched high school gym class every chance they got yet attempts an arm balance years later and begins to redefine what they think is possible for themselves.”
The Babylon Bee has: Husband In Critical Condition After Attempting Two Minutes Of Beginner's Yoga. “"He lasted about forty-five seconds," Sarah recalled. “The instructor asked him to transition into something called 'Downward Dog.' Matt let out a sound like a deflating balloon, collapsed onto the rug, and stopped moving." "We see this all the time," Chief Paramedic Dan Higgins said. "Men think 'beginner' means easy. But standard yoga poses require flexibility that no man who plays recreational softball possesses. He's lucky to be alive." (If ever there were a story that Steve Wright would have adored…).
