August 2023

Yoga teacher Lucy Makin founded Stable Yoga in 2006, opening the studio in a converted brick stable in a quiet north Hampshire village before moving in 2016 a few miles further west to the beautiful village of Kintbury in West Berkshire. The peaceful haven it offers is home to a variety of styles of yoga such as Hatha yoga, Yin yoga, Chair yoga, Forrest Yoga, Pregnancy yoga, and its unique ‘Mostly for Men’ class. Practising yoga can provide a range of health benefits, for example strengthening the immune system, lowering blood pressure, alleviating common aches and pains, and enhancing mental alertness.

The beauty of practising yoga is its ability to centre you in the present moment, pushing aside any anxieties or worries you might be carrying in the wider world. Stable Yoga celebrates the concept of being “where you are, not where you think you should be”, using ancient practices that provide modern-day benefits. The yogic system of postures and movement, combined with breathing practices and meditation, has endured for many thousands of years, with many people drawn to yoga because of its reputation as a more holistic health and fitness option.

Stable Yoga operates 6 days a week, with classes of 12-15 students taking place in its warm and welcoming oak-floored studio with beams spanning the ceiling. The space boasts a log fire for cosy comfort during the winter and terrace doors that, on warm days, open up to glorious views of open countryside across the garden. It is a beautiful, tranquil place, with a stone path leading past a trickling fountain on the approach. Revelling in an atmosphere of equality and inclusivity, Stable Yoga welcomes students of all backgrounds and socio-economic groups to come and enjoy the benefits yoga provides. The majority of students are UK-based, but the studio has welcomed students to live-streamed classes from as far afield as Portugal, Switzerland, the USA, Dubai and New Zealand.

Stable Yoga also host visiting teachers who conduct weekend workshops, and holds popular monthly Gong Baths/sound meditation evenings. The quality of classes on offer is consistently high, but most of all the studio prides itself on offering teaching that is affordable to all, in a non-competitive, friendly environment that people love. Founder Lucy initially trained in the USA, and is registered by the Yoga Alliance. She has a strong belief that yoga is for everyone, regardless of age, income, or ability. This conviction is emphasized in her 2019 book, ‘Yoga off the Mat - Fitting Yoga Postures & Breathing into Everyday Life’.

She also holds a qualification with the Prison Phoenix Trust, and teaches yoga and meditation in prisons and other secure units, including weekly classes at a secure psychiatric hospital. Lucy appreciates that none of these students can make it to studio classes, but is heartened by the experience of teaching something so freeing to some of society’s least free individuals. Consequently, she has found these experiences have further enhanced her teaching methods in the studio, promoting greater empathy, patience and understanding of the challenges and burdens people shoulder in their lives on and off the yoga mat.

Stable Yoga has grown to a team of 7 expert teachers, all of whom live and breathe their yoga. They are authentic, kind, and supportive people, who always do their best to teach great classes. There is never any sense of competition between the teaching staff, which is hopefully reflected back to students, who are openly encouraged to try other yoga styles and classes whenever possible. Of course, during the recent COVID-19 pandemic everyone had to adapt to teaching classes via Zoom, but luckily both teachers and students rose to this challenge admirably. The result of which is that Stable Yoga still offers hybrid (both online and in person) classes a couple of times a week, for those who are further away and appreciate still being able to attend a live yoga class from home.

A few years ago, as the business grew, and being aware that the world has become much more tech savvy, Stable Yoga introduced an app-based booking system. This enables students to buy class credits and/or book into class from their laptops or smartphones. A new feature the studio is planning to introduce is Youth Yoga classes, which it feels will be hugely beneficial to the physical and mental health of secondary school-age students and other young people in the area. Having been awarded Local Yoga Studio of the Year 2023 – Berkshire, we have the greatest surety the fantastic Stable Yoga will achieve this ambition with ease, plus undoubtedly so much more.