At the point of writing (afternoon of Tuesday 30th June 2020) I am sitting in my living room in Dalston, writing this blog post. My living room has become a yoga studio. I’ve gone from zero to an operational virtual yoga studio focused on yoga-therapy for anxiety, stress, and trauma in THREE months.
In this time I have:
Set up a virtual yoga studio that specialises in yoga-therapy for anxiety, stress, and trauma.
Set up and run weekly drop-in yoga-therapy-for-anxiety classes open to all four times a week. These are free for those that can’t afford to pay, and I have set up a Patron membership for those that can. I’ve got people dropping in from all over the world, and my Thursday evening class has a couple of regulars from the USA.
Designed a six week yoga-therapy-for-anxiety course and delivered it twice, online, during lockdown. The second cohort will close tonight and I’ve had some truly heartwarming testimonials about how the practices have helped with anxiety and panic disorder.
Created a selection of practice-at-home videos that are all hosted on YouTube. This part was actually one of the most challenging parts, I think I’m slowly getting the hang of it!
Recap: On March 23rd as the UK went into lockdown, my consultant contract ended and I went to work on my side hustle, Mindwalk Yoga.
On March 25th Mindwalk Yoga opened its virtual doors. In three months it has grown to have drop-in class sizes ranging from 10-25 people, and now has over 60 members in the Mindwalk Yoga WhatsApp drop-in class channel.
My partner, Paul, also a consultant, went into lockdown with no new contracts on the horizon and nowhere to hide from me! He quickly became my right-hand man; strategy, class admin, cameraman, you name it, he did it, and still does! Paul is now an official part of Mindwalk Yoga! My sister, Tamsin, a mindfulness teacher amongst other things, has also been an incredible mentor and offered so many wise and encouraging words during these insane 3 months. Plus she is now a yogi and a member of Mindwalk Yoga’s regular attendees! There are loads of other people with whom I've had brilliant conversations, who have connected me to organisations and opportunities - too many to name all of them. Huge thank you.
I’m also building a team of volunteers via We Make Change. A brilliant organisation that approached me asking if I need help to grow.
I’m now planning what next. Here’s some of the stuff I am working on:
Course development: I’ve built on the six-week yoga-therapy-for-anxiety course and added in two additional modules taking it up to eight weeks - it now includes modules that specifically treat trauma and PTSD symptoms, a very common cause for anxiety and stress, and due to recent events something many more people are experiencing.
On-demand online course: I’m taking the eight-week course to an on-demand service and it will be delivered via pre-recorded video and audio sessions. This is a work-in-progress.
Yoga-therapy and race-based trauma: I’m actively researching and exploring the role of restorative yoga to heal the mind and body from the effects of race-based trauma. This is an area I am hugely invested in, both personally and professionally. Stay tuned for how this manifests.
Developing a corporate offering: I’m developing a corporate package in response to COVID-19, firstly because a lot of employees could benefit from this, and secondly, it will help fund my social impact work. If you’re from a corporate and want to hear more please get in touch.
Social impact work: I’m in research and development mode identifying people, charities, and organisations to partner up with.
Funding and the future: Funders, grants, and all revenue streams being explored.
That’s it for now.
If you’d like to drop into a FREE yoga-therapy-for-anxiety class please sign up here.
If you’re from a corporate and you’re interested in the online on-demand course for your employees please get in touch.
And if you’d like to chat about the start-up social enterprise world or mental health, or something related, then I would love to hear from you. I’ve realised how important it is to connect, chat, and share over the past few months, so I'm eager to keep doing this.
