WHAT IS SHOGA?
SHOGA is…
Yoga for ALL theatre folk.
An opportunity to come together from different theatres and departments and connect as a supportive community to…
MEDITATE - calm your nervous system, reduce your stress hormones, increase your mental energy.
BREATHE – Boost your immune system, enhance your sleep quality, improve your lung function and heart health.
MOVE – Improve your strength, balance and flexibility, prevent injury, decrease anxiety and depression, elevate and brighten your mood.
RELAX – Support your creativity, release your tension, feel profoundly rested and rejuvenated.
You don’t need any previous yoga experience or impressive flexibility to attend a SHOGA class. We won’t be tying ourselves up like pretzels!
We’re going to focus on mind-body connection improving stress management, emotional regulation, sleep, digestion, intuition and self-awareness.
Sounds good right? SHOGA does! Come and experience it…
WHERE & WHEN SHOGA?
WHERE: All SHOGA classes are held in the central and conveniently located STUDIO WEST END, 4a Streatham Street, WC1A 1JB which is 5 mins from Tottenham Court Road Station with Holborn, Russell Square & Goodge Street all nearby - making taking a class before work easy.
WHEN: Classes run Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 4-5pm.
The times of SHOGA classes have also been chosen to enable the theatre workforce to take class before their call time.
I am keen to serve ALL theatre workers, so if you are someone who would be interested in an earlier 2-3pm class - you can register your interest for this class here and you’ll be the first to know when it starts. Please also let me know if you would like earlier matinee day classes.
WHO SHOGA?
Hello, I’m Sophie and at the time of writing this I’m 48yrs old.
Almost exactly 32yrs ago, at the impressionable age of sweet 16, I moved to London to train in Musical Theatre. 3yrs later I stepped out onto the bumpy road of ‘Life in the creative industries’.
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” And quite a few times that I’ve absolutely no recollection of at all! It was an emotional and physical rollercoaster and I struggled.
I’d been introduced to yoga by a college friend in 1997 and was always keen to attend classes whenever and wherever I could. It was at one of these classes, whilst on tour in 2008, that the seed of ‘becoming a teacher’ was first planted. Fast forward to 2014 and I’m in an employment ‘lull’. I decide I’m going to attend a 9wk teacher training in Thailand; I hatch a plan to make it happen (I’ll tell you about that another time) and I’m off. Long story short, on my return, I start to combine teaching with performing. Then in 2020 COVID breaks. Theatres close, contracts get terminated over ZOOM calls… and we’re in LOCKDOWN.
Time to think. Assess. Make choices. In May 2021, I emerge from my cocoon and begin my quest to become a full time yoga teacher. For the next 4 years and to this day I attend trainings, I learn, I practice, I teach - REPEAT. Most importantly for me, I learn that yoga is so much more than the aesthetic shapes we make with our bodies. Yoga and all its teachings have given me a new way and lease of life. I continue to adore the theatre and LOVE sitting in the audience never wishing it was me up there. Genuinely.
For me, SHOGA is the merging of my two great loves. For you, I hope it will become your space to reset and regroup; providing you with tools and practices to better navigate the bumps and inevitable pot holes along the road of life.
HOW TO SHOGA?
1. BUY yourself a class or discounted class bundle in our online SHOGA SHOP.
2. BOOK YOUR SPOT in an upcoming SHOGA Class. Places are limited.
3. COMPLETE our NEW STUDENT FORM
4. Purchase a yoga mat if you fancy but we have lots at the studio.
5. Wear comfortable clothes. Layers and easy to move in clothing will serve you best. Bare feet (Socks can be worn for breath work).
6. Arrive early with time to spare. You’re about to invest in yourself so avoid rushing in at the last minute.
7. Keep coming back and invite your theatre friends and colleagues too. Consistent practise in community brings greater and more lasting benefits. Happy you, happy them, happy days! ☺