First purposely-built yoga studio comes to town

Sarah Honey-Knights cannot imagine her life without yoga in it. Decades of practising the physical, mental and spiritual discipline have taken her around the world learning and teaching the craft.After teaching at different locations across West Norfolk, she has now opened up her very own yoga studio – making it the first purposely built one in the area.Based on the grounds of the Grange Hotel in South Wootton, Sarah teaches an array of different yoga classes in her very own studio.

Sarah has named her studio Eden Yoga, offering an array of courses, classes and workshops as well as health and beauty treatments.There are plenty of benefits of practising yoga, with Sarah saying some of her clients have stated that doing it has helped alleviate symptoms of serious health conditions.But where did Sarah’s yoga journey start?

Watching famous singer Sting and his wife doing yoga on TV around 40 years ago was what first made Sarah want to try it. “I just thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen,” Sarah said.“That was obviously 40 years ago, so I looked everywhere for a teacher in this area and I couldn’t find anybody. “I was only 13, I decided the only way I was going to be able to do it was to teach myself.”

Sarah bought books and videos and taught herself yoga, she built up her own practice which she said got her through her teenage life.After finishing college, she went travelling around the world, which eventually took her to India.“I found my yoga guru there. I studied for a long time doing different practices on the beach while watching dolphins jump in the sea. While you were doing it you were seeing some beautiful things,” Sarah added.

“I eventually came back to England after a few years of travelling and I decided that I would like to start teaching because I absolutely loved it. “It was a big part of my life, and I wanted people to experience the lovely effects of yoga that I have had personally, physically, mentally and emotionally.”Since then, Sarah has taught in a number of different gyms and facilities across West Norfolk before opening her purposely built studio.She started teaching yoga less when she had children and was working in a school before taking a “leap of faith” by teaching yoga full time.

“It doesn’t matter how you’re feeling or what’s going on in your day. You could have had a great day, or you might not be feeling well”Sarah says no matter how you are feeling or what your physical ability is, there is a kind of yoga for everyone. “It enhances people’s lives,” she said.

She continued to teach during the Covid-19 pandemic by setting up online classes.“When everybody was struggling, I thought ‘I’m going to try and do something good’,” Sarah added.“I’m hoping to get people in here (her studio) who have never done it before. They might think that it is not for them, or they might come in wanting more of a workout.“Actually, yoga does give you that full-body workout. I absolutely love it, I don’t know how anyone ever doesn’t do yoga or have it in their lives. “It makes everything in your life better, I want to get as many people as possible to come.”What kind of classes does Sarah offer? The yoga instructor prides herself on offering a range of different classes to suit all abilities.This includes chair yoga, which keeps less able people seated, but gets them moving. “There is something to suit everybody,” Sarah said.“Seated yoga is incredibly healing, people who have injuries and things like that can come in and still get a full-on workout.“People may think that seated yoga is an easy option – but it’s not in my class.”Sarah has had clients come in who have broken their backs or had knee operations and have seen their health improve. “I’ve had people come in with high blood pressure who have said it is the only thing that keeps their blood pressure down,” she said.Sarah’s yoga classes can take you up in the air in aerial yoga to getting a sweat on in hot yoga.She offers a series of vinyasa flow sessions which are “beautifully crafted asanas in rhythm with the breath” – this is recommended for beginners and all different levels of yoga.Sarah said: “It is a really beautiful thing to do and you can see and accept that your body is really amazing too. “You should be focusing on your breath and your movements.”The studio has heaters inside, enabling the hot yoga.She described how hot yoga works and said: “You can get the temperatures in here really high, it’s like doing yoga in a hot country.“It gets the joints nice and warm, which is a really lovely benefit. A lot of people think it is just for weight loss, but there other health benefits to it as well.” Aerial yoga involves moving in silks attached to the ceiling.Do people see a difference in themselves after practising yoga? Sarah said: “People come in and say that their friends have noticed a difference in them, whether it is physically or that they are just so much more relaxed about life.”