Over the next few weeks, we’ll be pulling up carpets, peeling back layers of paint, and gently dismantling a room that’s about to become something completely new. But before any of that starts — before the dust and drills and paint charts - I wanted to share why we’re doing this in the first place.
The Breathing Space isn’t just a name. It’s a feeling I’ve carried for years - a quiet vision of what might exist if we were able to carve out a place focused not on productivity, but on pause, introspection and attunement (auto-correct is keen to change that word for attainment, how ironic!). A home for slowness, softness, and connection. Somewhere to breathe and simply be.
I’ve taught yoga in all sorts of places: college chapels with amazing ceilings and freezing stone slab floors, fields where thistles poke through our mats but the leaves ripple around us, multi-purpose spaces where lingering scents, debris and decor confuse the senses, spaces that we borrow and return within the hour. I am grateful for the practice being so portable, so flexible that it can be enjoyed almost anywhere...but I’ve long since dreamed of creating a space that holds people - one that invites them in, just as they are, and offers them the opportunity to exhale. Pause. Inhale.
The sturdy, double fronted Victorian building on Grange Road has served many purposes and is ready for this next transformation. And it is so fitting that this place was once a house, a home. Therefore rather than feeling commercial or purpose built, there's a sense of familiarity, of being welcomed back to the hearth, back to oneself. With light that changes throughout the day, green summer leaves that shade the first floor windows on three sides, and light from above - this space has held many moments already, and is now ready for new ones.
This place in Newnham came to me with such a sense of generous ease and with perfect imperfection. It is full of potential, with an encouraging dose of chaos. Despite the inner nags, worriers and doubters, a strong sense of yes came from this invitation- it felt right. Matt, who carries the lease on the property, is generously stepping into this as a quiet partner, thankfully grasps the vision too. Together, we’re building something gently, room by room. Our sense of urgency is measured around our responsibilities; this project must grow with us not against us. Time is measured in the gaps between what we already hold, so that we nurture this space with capacity, rather than pressure. We hope this is infused in the space for all who engage with it and that the project is only ever a gift, not a burden.
We’re starting with just one studio space. Nothing too big. Just enough for a group to move together, breathe together, and feel held. Over time, there’ll be more - treatment rooms, events, even a cup of tea in a quiet corner. But for now, it begins with one room, and a very simple idea:
What if we created a place where slowing down wasn’t a luxury - but the point?
I’ll be sharing the behind-the-scenes as we get started. The mess, the magic, and everything in between.
With love,
Emily x