found in: london, england
Ten minutes from Clapham Common, an oasis in the middle of busy South West London, is Union Station Yoga, the city’s newest addition to the growing yoga community. With natural light pouring through floor-to-ceiling windows, a juice bar (coming soon!) and a staff that knows everyone’s name, the all-levels Vinyasa studio on Lavender Hill was born from a goal to offer more opportunity for Londoners to be still, slow down, and connect with each other and themselves.
Two years ago, former lululemon employee Paula Le Dao set a 10-year goal to open a yoga studio in the UK. “When I moved to London I realized how tightly knit the yoga community in Vancouver is and thought, London needs more of that connection,” says Le Dao. “It’s such a big, bustling city and I really noticed that people don’t look each other in the eye on the tube and how fast-paced everyone is.”
She realized the only thing holding her back from achieving her goal was her finances. “Once I started connecting with people, finding investors and saving, I managed to pool enough money together and was like okay this can actually happen now, I don’t have to wait 10 years, and I started making little steps over the last two years to make my goal a reality.”
What was an old, dingy pub was turned into a yoga studio in just two weeks. “We were on such a tight timeline to get the studio ready because we were preparing to host a teacher training here,” says Le Dao. “The universe kind of came together. It was a lot of work, we were here scrubbing and painting for 15-hour days, but it was so worth it.”
Just over a month since opening, Le Dao says she already feels a stronger sense of community. “Pretty much every person that walks in the door lives within a 15-minute radius. It feels like a community; everyone is neighbours and knows each other,” she says. “Most people who are coming in the door have never done yoga before, so it’s been really fun watching people who’ve never done a downward facing dog improve so much over the last few weeks.”
Find some time for yourself and check out a Vinyasa or Rocket class at Union Station Yoga, or get a glimpse into the community on Instagram.
