Oct 13, 20203 min read

Setting up my First Yoga Studio

Updated: Feb 21, 2021

I woke up one morning, shortly after arriving back from El Palmar where I received my Yoga Alliance Teacher Training Diploma. I realised that this was the day where I was going to make my future plans of my yoga journey of teaching other people the beautiful life changing benefits of yoga in their lives.

So I set to searching for places where I could teach and pass on my knowledge and experience to others, gyms, workshops, yoga studio’s, community halls and spaces, wellness centres, the list was endless but I ploughed through them making calls sending emails day after day after day.

Why had it never crossed my mind that once I had become qualified, I would not be able to find a space or a place available at that time to teach my yoga? It felt like I had just swallowed a ton weight as realization dawned on me but this would not discourage me. I was going to carry on searching for as long as it would take but I felt like I had come to a dead end and could not think of any other options. I had received so many enquiries from people that I knew asking when I was going to start holding my yoga classes and I couldn’t think of any other options.

I am a true believer of never giving up on anything no matter how impossible the situation presents itself, as life sometimes has this amazing way of rewarding you when you never give up, and it did. Out of the blue the offer of being able to convert a large unused space at my parents house was presented to me. This was going to take every bit of savings that I had left over from my redundancy but it meant that something that had become so important to me for my future would become possible, along with being able to spend more time with my family and this space would become my own. This was to become what is now Soul Yoga Studio.

My savings weren’t much so it meant that I had to do a lot of the renovations myself along with the help from some of my friends but I’ve never been afraid of hard work, in fact I often thrive off it.

The space was a double garage at the end of the house which would have it's own passage leading to a room at the back of the house that I could use as a reception entrance leading onto what was to become the studio.

There was so much that needed to be done to it to make it into a yoga studio and I had to start somewhere. Luckily the roof was already insulated but it was bare brick walls, typical garage floor, raw wooden roof joists and a whole lot of things stored in there in cupboards that were to be ripped out as well as a double garage door that blew cold air and rain in. Luckily I knew some people that were kind enough to do some of the work for me at a generous price but i was also recommended other workmen that turned out more trouble than it was worth, leaving me with a badly done job that drove me to tears on a number of days.

As finances were extremely tight, there was no other option than for me to get stuck in and make right as best as I could the the botched up job that I had been left with and that's what I did. Also adding new electrics and central heating.

Now for the decor and I opted to keep it as simple as possible, so as not to distract from the yoga and meditation classes. Adding a fabulous 2 1/2 inch Tatami floor as a luxury.

My yoga studio opened the at the end of that November 2019 and my classes were filled with beautiful beings, some that I already knew and some that I didn’t. All supporting and believing in me. I awakened to a new version of myself, realising how fortunate that I am to be able to do this.

I have grown and I am evolving which helps me to grow even more. Each person has a powerful message to share and I am truly grateful to be able to pass on my learnings.

Thank you

Leise