Wigan township yoga studio ready to celebrate 10th birthday

Studio One Yoga, run by new-mum Michelle Almond and her team of instructors, turns 10 this month and is hosting a taster day to celebrate. Michelle hopes the special events on Saturday March 30 will give more people the opportunity to try out her classes at her Standish studio.

Michelle has been practising yoga since she was 16 and has instructed since she was 19 and opened her premises after five years of teaching from community centres and village halls.

She said: “I taught yoga from the age of 19 as a side-gig when I was at uni. I’d been teaching in Standish for five years before I opened the studio, and it just got to the point where I outgrew the space I was in.”

Michelle studied Exercise and Health Science at university and was planning to be a university lecturer.

She said: “I never intended to be a yoga instructor for my career, but the pieces just fell into place. I did martial arts from being nine years old, so I think I was good at yoga because of my background.

"And when you’re good at something you want to keep doing it!”

Studio One Yoga specialises in Vinyasa Flow among other disciplines such as Aerial Yoga. Speaking on the benefits of yoga - including flexibility, strength, balance and coordination Michelle said: “We focus on progression, we want yoga to be a lifelong practice.

“We like to think: how can this functionally affect your ability to play with the grandkids until you’re in your 80s, and give you the ability to get up in the morning and put your socks on without getting out of breath?

“Longevity is key - how can we make people feel the best they can feel for as long as they can.“

The demand and public interest in yoga has changed a lot in the 10 years since Michelle opened Studio One Yoga.

“Demand definitely increased up until Covid which was a bit of a set back. The growth after the pandemic has been a lot slower. People tended to come back into things a little tentatively, but luckily the last 12 months have been normal.”

Despite being a small, local studio, she wants to have as much impact in the community as she can, and be accessible for as many people as possible. Michelle also runs six-month teacher training courses every 18 months which have up to 10 spaces.

They also run regular socials including walks, which can all be found on their website.

Taster Day - Saturday 30 March:

8.30am Mandala Flow

10am Absolute Beginners

11.15am Flow

Try any of these classes from as little as £5 with the money supporting a local child in need.