Opening in 2012, Yoga West is a community yoga studio serving the communities of Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Shepherds Bush. The studio offers yoga, meditation and Pilates classes and regular yoga and meditation beginners’ courses and workshops. As well as offering in studio classes, they also offer livestream classes and have a library of pre-recorded films for members to use.
We caught up with James Muthana, owner, Yoga West as part of our Welcome Back campaign to find out more about his businesses.
What makes your business unique?
We emphasise community more than anything. We know the names of all our members and always take the time to ask them how they and listen to what they say.
What made you choose Ealing?
It’s our home. It’s where we live so we wanted to support our local community
How has the pandemic impacted your business?
We’ve spent 10 of the last 13 months closed, which has been really hard. Community is at the heart of what we do, so not being able to physically see our members has been really hard.
How have you adapted during the pandemic?
We’ve moved our studio classes to livestream. We’ve started a pre-recorded library of classes and we’ve launched a yoga teacher training business to help people learn new skills and change their careers and lives.
What measures have you put in place to ensure the studio is COVID-secure?
We are the first studio in the UK to install Breathe Air Purification. It uses UVC light to kill bacteria, fungi, mould and viruses and has been shown to kill up to 99.9% of Covid-19. Its manufactured in Germany and has been tested by its leading technical university KIT. We have taken a number of other measures most notably we have reduced studio capacity in line with government guidelines, require students and staff to wear masks except when they are on their mats; have installed a glass pane at reception, check temperatures on arrival and have installed a number of hand sanitiser points around the studio and reception area.
How do you support the local Community?
Life has been so challenging over the last 12 months and our job is to give people the mental and emotional toolkit to better manage these challenges.
We’ve also increased the number of low-cost community classes we offer to ensure yoga is available to everyone.
What makes Ealing special?
We are fortunate enough to know so many lovely people who live in Ealing.
Why should people support local?
More than ever local organisations and businesses need your support. You really can make a difference to the sort of local community you want to live in.
What are your favourite places in Ealing?
Arthur Razor’s men’s barbers is fantastic and unique
Basil and Toms has the freshest fruit and vegetables
We love Walpole Park and Pitzhanger Manor
To find out more about Yoga West visit: https://yogawestlondon.com/
To find out more about supporting local businesses read Welcome Back to Ealing’s high streets.
