Iyengar Yoga Studio West Bridgford Opens
Welcome to ‘Iyengar Yoga Studio West Bridgford’, the only dedicated Iyengar Yoga centre in the East Midlands (awarded by the Iyengar Yoga Association UK), directed by Nottinghamshire’s only senior Iyengar teacher, Isabel Jones Fielding, and Geoffrey Fielding an experienced Intermediate Iyengar Yoga teacher, Osteopath and therapeutic movement specialist. Husband and wife team: Isabel and Geoffrey established their first yoga studio at home in 1999: Studio 1 which enabled us to teach up to 6 students. Now in opening a new bigger studio: Studio 2 right next door and attached to the old Edwardian house we can teach classes of 14 – 17 people.
Interconnected and integral to our family home but with its own separate entrance, the studio you see today was designed by us and built by Geoffrey from Dec 2015 – August 2017 with a small team of crafts people including; Julian Marsh who designed the round window, Paul Fitzpatrick who plastered the entire building in breathable lime, John Clarke who built the beautiful oak staircase where we walk up barefoot to the studio, Phil Burlington who fabricated the steel that holds everything steady, and most importantly Geoffrey’s handbuilt oak roof which unites the 2 studios and 2 buildings, as well as the magnificent oak ply 14 person yoga rope wall in studio 2, and the 3 person yoga rope wall in studio 1. The new building was hand crafted and built with thoughtfulness, embedding the principles of sustainability, connectivity and well being, in terms of people, nature and materials.
It is also a place for singing and music with a remarkable acoustic and resonance. It has a particularly peaceful and harmonious quality overlooking the trees of Bridgford Park and is a perfect place to study yoga.
The first classes was conducted by Isabel in April 2017, then in May 2017 guest teacher’s and friends Sue Lovell and Darell Turney, came to run our first workshop. In June all our classes moved to the studio, which after 17 years of teaching out in community centres, church halls and schools was bliss.
After that we travelled to Pune India to study for a month and to purchase a special Patanjali statue, designed by BKS Iyengar. In November 2017, Jayne Orton our teacher, led a special Patanjali Puja and class to open the building officially, with light, incense, flowers, fruit, water and the special fragrant sandalwood paste, to give blessing to the space and invoke the presence of Patanjali to bring mark the official opening of our space.
Aum
Aum
Aum
Yogena cittasya padena vacam malam sarirasya ca vaidyakena yopakarottam pravaram muninam patanjalim pranajaliranato’smi abahu purusakaram sankha cakrasi dharinam sahasra sirasam svetam pranamami patanjalim
Hari Aum
After the puja Jayne led a wonderful class for our students, and the atmosphere was full of positive energy.
The autumn leaves were turning golden and we then ate special pistachio cheesecake baked by Geoffrey, and then an aura of sunlight filled the building as live devotional music was performed by Biant Singh (tabla) and Isabel (harmonium and Voice) pictured here.
The 2 studio’s now sit side by side at Iyengar Yoga Studio West Bridgford. Studio 1 is where we practice every day, with the lovely old Edwardian room and fireplace, alongside Indian blankets, bolsters and other yoga equipment, and a smaller rope wall, which provides a place for students who need more support, while Studio 2 is where all classes are held. To enter the studio, we have a lovely downstairs reception/seating area coming in from the garden. Walk through a light doorway or up to the studio from there.
Already, the round window, mono pitch, and glass and oak connecting roof have become a local landmark, and point of study for architecture and design students. But most importantly, this is the place to study the classical tradition of yoga, where we welcome beginners, teachers, trainees and intermediate students and study ourselves here every day.