A Letter from Emily: 2 Years of Open House.

Yoga found me at a time in my life when I was completely lost and directionless. I stumbled upon an ashtanga yoga class in the dusty old dojo of an almost-abandoned building on my university campus. The teacher was a small man of Indian heritage. He swore a lot, told rambling stories and didn’t hesitate to tell us how useless we were. I thought he was brilliant. 

‘Come back next week’ He said to me after class, ‘You could be good at this’ 

And that was it, I was hooked.  

Fast forward to a world still finding its feet again after covid, when I first met Regine, Andre and Pip. They appeared one day at one of my yoga classes in Sheffield and from that day on Regine and Andre were there every week. I remember from that first moment having a real curiosity about them. These were people with a story to tell. 

Over time they started to share this story with me, and one day they invited me to come and see the building site that would one day become a place for community to gather. Did I want to be involved? Hell yes. 

I remember teaching the first class in this beautiful space. A room full of strangers. A wondering about what this place could become. I had no idea how central a part of my life it would become, how held I would feel by this place.

As we celebrate two years of Open House, I’m celebrating my own anniversary - ten years of teaching yoga. It’s got me reflecting on where it all began, how yoga has shaped my life and why it all matters. 

Yoga started for me back in that university dojo as a physical practice. There was something about the repetition that I loved. My body felt good, I felt strong. I noticed that the way I moved in daily life slowly changed.

But yoga’s great lessons for me are not to do with my body, they are to do with my mind. Yoga has taught me how to move through the world. It’s taught me how to breathe, how to deal with crises. I’ve learnt to trust myself, to listen to my gut. I’ve learnt to be more aware. I see my habits, my snap reactions. Over years I have trained my gratitude muscle and wow, how much more beautiful the world is because of it. 

Yoga can change the world, and Open House is changing the world too.

One breath at a time, together, in community.