Charity Open Days and Taster Sessions at Bristol Yoga Centre

To raise money for local charities, Bristol Yoga Centre have organised taster sessions on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th June.

There will be 12 varied Yoga and Pilates classes which people can attend online or in-person. All proceeds will go to Bristol Mind and Refugee Women of Bristol.

There are 6 teachers involved and the class styles vary from Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow to Women’s Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation. Women’s yoga is suitable for prenatal and postnatal women. Some of the classes are more dynamic and challenging than others but they are all suitable for beginners, as well as more experienced students. If you’re not sure which class to choose, please don’t hesitate to contact BYC or you can check their class guide. You can also let the teachers know prior to the class if you have any medical or physical issues, so that they can offer you modification or an alternative way of practicing.

Many of their teachers have additional full-time work but have offered their time for free, to run these affordable taster classes and donate the funds to local charities.

Bristol Yoga Centre is an independent local business, run by Naomi Hayama. Naomi has been teaching yoga in Bristol since 2004. She established the centre to create an inclusive and supportive community for both teachers and students. They aim to bring the mental and health benefits of Yoga and Pilates to the widest range of people.

This ethos has led to their long-term support for Bristol Mind who offer mental health resources for people in Bristol and surrounding areas. They offer a helpline, counselling and support, including assistance with hate crimes. They also have an initiative called ‘Mind Without Borders’ which provides mental health and well-being services to refugees.

June is the World Refugee Awareness Month which acknowledges the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees who live around the globe. Bristol Yoga Centre are supporting Refugee Women of Bristol which is the only multi-ethnic and multi-faith organisation that support refugee women in Bristol. They are directly governed by women of the refugee and asylum seeking community.

International Yoga Day is also in June so BYC wanted to showcase their excellent classes to the people of Bristol.

You can book to join a taster session, or if you’d just like to make a donation there is a Just Giving page for Bristol Mind and you can directly donate to Refugee Women of Bristol. They also have a donation box in the studio.