Breath is an integral part of the practice, in yoga the pose and the breath work in union to offer you the most out of your practice. One is activated by the other, they cannot work alone.

Yoga is a moving meditation, we are practicing stilling and controlling the mind through the body. Poses/asanas were traditionally created to be held for long periods of time during meditation, it is the reason we do the pose.

Everything in class is optional, if it’s not for you, just take rest or chose another pose to practice 🙂

Vinyasa yoga comes from Ashtanga yoga, Ashtanga is a set sequence the poses can be made more advance but the sequence never changes. It is a about mastery and patience. Baptiste does offer more variation as the sequence has been westernised but the roots of the practice encourage repetition and mastery, focus and dedication rather than mixing things up.

Om is a mantra, or vibration, that is traditionally chanted at the beginning and end of yoga sessions. Coming from Hinduism and Yoga, the mantra is considered to have high spiritual and creative power but despite this, it is a mantra that can be recited by anyone. It’s both a sound and a symbol rich in meaning and depth and when pronounced correctly it is actually AUM. Symbolically the three letters embody the divine energy (Shakti) and it’s 3 main characteristics: (1) creation, (2) preservation and (3) liberation. As such AUM is the basic sound of the universe; so by chanting it we are symbolically and physically tuning in to that sound and acknowledging our connection to all other living beings, nature and the universe.

In addition the vibrations and rhythmic pronunciation also have a physical affect on the body by slowing down the nervous system and calming the mind similar to meditation. When the mind is relaxed, your blood pressure decreases and ultimately the health of your heart improves.

Finally it is also a way to delineate the time of our practice from the rest of our day and signify that this is a special time in which to care for ourselves and practice being mindful. All in all, beginning and/or ending your yoga practicing with AUM helps to connects us to our practice in a deeper way than just with physical postures. Reference: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7565/om-what-is-it...

Of course you can drink water whenever you would like to. As with any action, we look at all the signals in our practice to learn about ourselves, some teachers believe drinking is a means of distraction from self, especially as we won't feel any benefits for several hours later.

This is very common and not something to worry about! It’s a good opportunity to watch what is coming up for you and let it out, if you feel uncomfortable of course you can leave class. Feeling emotional is often a great sign that you are connecting with the practice.

We would always encourage reading any of Baron Baptistes books (Journey into Power and Perfectly Imperfect are brilliant) as the founder of our practice. The history of yoga is the source of the practice, including the Yoga Sutras and The Bhagavad Gita.

Yoga is a science, the sequence has been specifically designed for hundreds of years to replenish the body. Direction of blood flow has a bit part to play in that, which is why we move in the way we do.

The more the better. You will notice physical progression and shifts in your way of being if you can cultivate a regular practice, including a regular self practice. We would recommend twice a week or more, twice daily would be wonderful if we can make time! It is all part of the practice.

Please seek advice from your doctor to see whether you should be practicing yoga. If you are told that it will be helpful for your injury by a medical professional we can help you modify in class.

We do ask that if you are sick you take rest. It is usually your bodies way of asking you to rest, and we want to avoid making other students ill in the studio.

Please seek advice from your doctor to see whether you should be practicing yoga. If you have any current or history of heart or cardiovascular conditions it is your responsibility to let us know, and to share a letter of consent to practice yoga signed by your doctor, as stated in T&C’s.

Please see our Class Styles page for information on each class.

We do have kids classes in the holidays and will soon be adding a regular kids class to the schedule. Kids are allowed to come to class with you as long as you have signed the kids waiver. However, we do ask you to try the class before you bring your child and knowing your child best, make a decision whether the class content is appropriate and whether they will be able to stay focussed for the duration of the class.

Our T&C’s state that we 'do not allow children to wait unsupervised outside of class or in the cafe’.

Reasons being - If the child needs anything, they are unable to come into class and fetch you / this is disruptive. If anything was to happen to the child they are unsupervised in our premisses which puts us in a difficult position. If we allow one person to bring their child, it’s unfair for others who arrange child care, or if others see kids waiting outside it will be assumed that they can do the same. Considering the space in class/environment we are trying to create, we cannot have kids sitting in the studio. If you feel your son/daughter would be able to cope/concentrate in class, you can sign the under 18’s waiver. If she/he is not in the class, she will need to be with a supervising adult.

Yes please - Please use the shoe racks and space outside the studio to take your shoes off before coming into class. Please also take your socks of whilst you are practicing yoga, whilst we know no one likes their own feet 😀 you you need to be able to grip your feet on the mat during the sequence, safety first!

As stated in our T&C’s, we ask that students arrive 5-10 minutes before class start time. If you arrive after the class start time please do not come into the classroom. The cafe is closed for pre and post work classes so the front door will be locked at the class start time. We aim to promote respect for our students by starting and ending class on time and respect for teacher by arriving in time. Lateness results in the a late cancel charge.

See our 'Learn the Basics' page for more information.

This is very common and not something to worry about! It’s a good opportunity to watch what is coming up for you and let it out, if you feel uncomfortable of course you can leave class. Feeling emotional is often a great sign that you are connecting with the practice.

Our founder, Laura was trained at The House of Yoga in Putney, which is a hot yoga studio. Hot Yoga is not the same as Bikram yoga - a Bikram studio is heated to 40 degrees, Hot Power Yoga is 28 degrees. Often the Soul Sanctuary studio is warm, this is not because we have forgotten to turn off the radiators or that we haven't noticed, in our training we are taught that ‘Tapas’ is 1 of the 5 pillars of the practice - it is an essential part of the sequence; without the heat you don’t get the full benefit of the practice, your muscles are cold, you are more liable to injury and it’s not creating the natural environment from where yoga originated, India!

You only need the size of your mat for your yoga practice, in many city studios the rule is ‘finger tips between mats’! Yoga means to yoke, the bringing together of body mind spirit, and community! A lot of the yoga poses are designed for you to make contact with your neighbour. Although we want you to feel comfortable on your mat and of course have the space to explore new moves, we do also encourage you to not worry if you are sitting close to your neighbour 🙂

We have an amazing community at Soul Sanctuary and a large part of that is based on the interaction you have with your neighbours before and after class. It creates a wonderfully warm and welcoming environment. We have a thriving membership and want as many people as possible to get the chance to be on their mat. We have a smaller, more intimate city centre studio at Wayland's Yard and an out of town studio, with more space, at Spetchley Gardens.

We have mats for you to use if you don’t fancy carrying yours into town, but if you prefer to use your own mat then please feel free to!

Yes please! We now have hygiene wipe dispenser to keep our mats as sparkly clean as possible.

Please don’t bring food/drink into the studio - as our work is floor based, we make special effort to keep the studio as clean as possible.

Please see our Directions & Parking page for more information.

Yes please, classes are full so you need to book in using the steps below rather than just turn up.

Download our app - https://mndbdy.ly/e/761819:

1) Go to App Store or Google Play, search ‘Soul Sanctuary’ and download our app!

2) Open the tab on the top left hand corner

3) Create your account and log in

4) Go to Menu and '+ Buy'

5) Select the category '*Memberships & Class Passes'

6) Select the Membership or Pass of your choice, then 'Next'

7) Agree and sign to the terms and conditions

8) Add Payment Details and click 'Buy'

9) Enjoy your yoga classes!

90 minute classes are more challenging, its totally dependant on your fitness levels and personal preference, there are always ways to modify and make poses easy or just take rest whenever you need to 🙂

If you go into your app and click on the class you are on the waiting list for it will tell you what position you are on the waiting list. As soon as you move from the waiting list into class, you will receive an automatic email, updating you that you are in class. We have recently activated automatic texts as well as emails for those who provide their mobile number and 'opt-in' to text on their desktop profile. If you don’t receive texts, please check your account settings to ensure this is enabled. It is not possible for teachers to text clients personally to let them know they are in class.

We have great success rates from our waiting list, students often tell us they have got into class after being 5th on the waiting list. It is impossible for us to predict how many people will cancel out of class on any day, but you can follow the steps above to check your position on the waitlist and you will be notified by text and email if you do get moved into class from the waiting list. If you are not receiving these updates, please tick the box on your profile to allow these notifications to get to you.

You can now book both private classes and check ins online! If you go to book into class as you usually would you will see ‘Appointments’ next to ‘Classes’ you can pick if it is a Check-in or Private appointments. Check in’s are for Gold Founder / Platinum members only. Privates are for anyone who would like 45 minutes of private tuition, pricing options will become available once you have chosen an available time slot.

As stated in our T&C’s, if you cancel your space within 12 hours of the class start time, or you don’t turn up for class, is considered a 'late cancel'. Late cancels incur a cancellation fee of £5.00 to your account, this can take up to 72-hours to be processed after class. This is to ensure that students who are on the waiting list have a chance to get to class and to prevent block booking without attendance. If you have put yourself on the waiting list, it is your responsibility to check if you are added into class.

Yes, we need to make space available for paying members.

Fill in, sign and return the youth waiver please 🙂

Please follow the steps to add your child to your account so that you can pay for them below:

1. Log into your Mindbody account online (not using app)

2. Click on MY INFO tab along the top

3. Under FAMILY MEMBERS, click ADD FAMILY MEMBER

4. Fill in their details and press SAVE.

5. If adding your child to our account, please remember to tick the box that enables you to pay for their classes.

6. Go to Retail, select who you are buying for, purchase kids class pass on your child’s account.

Intro Offers are for NEW students only, to help them see how much yoga they can fit into their week - this will then inform which membership suits them best! Intro Offers vary in length according to the offer at the time, access to the studio starts from the moment you purchase the pass, so if you purchase a 20 day Intro Offer on the 3rd of the month, you have access to unlimited classes until the 23rd of the month. If you purchase your offer at the end of the month, the days of your access run into the following month. You are only permitted to purchase 1x Intro Offer per person, if you purchase a second offer it will be revoked from your account and your payment will go towards a platinum membership which offers the same access (unlimited classes).

Any authentic documentation which is evidential of you being categorised as one of the above.

Please see our Pricing page for details.

No, Silver membership entitles you to 2 classes/week which cannot be carried over (this may appear as 10 passes maximum for the 5 week months but is not indicative of a 10 class pass). This is a membership not a class pass, we do offer a class pass of 5 classes which can be used over 6 months.

Usually this is because you have exceeded the amount of classes that your membership allows that week - this includes waitlists. It could also be because you have debt on your account above £20 and so your account may be blocked. See steps below to pay off account debt.

As stated in the T&C's we cannot 'pause' memberships for any other reason than medical reasons. Memberships are 3-month contracts, you would need to wait until the 3rd month after your most recent payment and then request to cancel your contract. You cannot simply remove your card from the account as the charge will accumulate as debt on your account. If you do not want to be tied into a 3-monthly contract (which offers the discounted class rate), a class pass is available at a slightly higher class rate.

If you have a signed doctors note that you can share with us you can cancel your membership and restart the membership when you are ready to come back to class. Memberships can only be renewed 3-monthly, you will not be refunded mid month as stated in T&C’s online and at point of purchase. You cannot ‘pause’ your membership for illness, injury, holiday or any other reason without medical signature.

1. Log into your Mindbody account online (not using app)

2. Click on MY INFO tab along the top

3. Click on ACCOUNT button on far right

4. Check ACCOUNT BALANCE in the bottom right-hand corner

1. Click on ONLINE STORE

2. Click on ACCOUNT PAYMENTS

3. Choose ACCOUNT PAYMENT from the drop down menu

4. Enter account balance and click MAKE PAYMENT

5. Follow steps to complete the sale

No, you will only be charged for a late cancel, not lose a pass.

The charge will be added to your account and you will need to pay off the charge before your next class.

10 points earned = £1 credit onto account

£1 spend = 0.5 points

£2 spend = 1 point onto account

E.g

£75 autopay = 37.5 points = £3.75 credit onto account

£50 autopay = 25 points = £2.50 credit onto account

£20 workshop = 10 points= £1 credit onto account

And

Booking classes = 1 points, 10 classes = £1 credit onto account

Referring a client = 100 points = £10 credit onto account

Booking appointments = 100 points = £10 credit onto account

• Once the software know which client is logged in, it will ask the client if they want’s to use the points to pay for the purchase.
• Purchases made with reward points cannot be discounted.
• Clients do not earn rewards points for non-cash equivalent transactions.
• Points are not doubled when two or more activities are joined together. For example, if a client books and pays for an appointment online, they will receive points for either booking online or for making a purchase—not both
• Clients can view reward points totals while checking out in consumer mode, or by clicking the My Info tab and selecting Account. Currently, consumer mode is the only platform available for checking rewards balances.

Rewards are earned on:

• Account payments (paying off debt)
• When purchasing account credit
• Purchasing a gift card
• Autopays
• Purchasing items (hoodies / water bottles / towels etc)

Points are rewarded based on a single task in a workflow. For example, if a client books and pays for an appointment online, they will receive points for either booking online or for making a purchase—not both.

Rewards are not earned on:

• Any kind of comped account credit purchases
• Any payment method not marked as "cash equivalent"
• Requested appointments—they must be confirmed to receive point