Leeds yoga business offers online classes to frontline NHS workers free of charge

Chapel Allerton's Yoga Kula is now live-streaming 30 classes a week to its loyal customer base to try and keep the business afloat during the lockdown.

And its teachers have said they will also waive all class fees for frontline doctors and nurses working in critical care across Leeds and West Yorkshire as a thank you for their hard work.

Zoe Jones, Yoga Kula's marketing manager and trainee yoga teacher, said: "We want to give something back to the NHS workers that are working long hours, not having a break, to give them the space - if they have it - to do an online yoga class. To give something back for their mental health.

"I know not everyone does yoga and people think you need to be flexible but sometimes if you just feel a bit anxious or have a crazy job, it just lets you take a bit of time - 10, 15, 20 minutes - just to breathe. This might encourage them, during this crazy time, to have a go and do something for their own well-being and health."

Yoga Kula's self-employed teachers have been hosting their own live classes online, to allow them to keep earning money, from £8.50 for daytime session to £10.50 on an evening or weekend.

It is these that doctors and nurses in critical care will be able to watch free of charge, as well as accessing a bank of pre-recorded videos on the business' You Tube site.

Zoe said, because it's just a small team with limited resources, they are currently unable to offer the classes to all NHS workers but hope to be able to in the weeks ahead.

She said: "We understand all teams in the NHS are understaffed and working as hard as humanly possible in the fight against COVID-19, however, we simply do not have the capacity to respond to enquiries from every NHS worker across the UK. If we can extend the offer in the weeks ahead we certainly will."

She added that they had all been humbled by the support shown from customers as they moved to online streaming.

"We didn't have a plan to have an online yoga business - and there are some big online competitors out there - but the reason we pushed for it was to keep our teachers working and because we have an amazing community of students. The message of support we have had has been overwhelming - people are grateful that we are able to keep their classes going."

For more information on how to sign up, generally and for doctors and nurses, visit Yoga Kula's website at www.yogakulaleeds.co.uk.

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