Community. Connection. Communication.

Welcome to 2026. I hope this blog post finds you well! January is certainly keeping up her reputation for being a cold and dark month. I have long believed if you can find beauty in the month of January you can find it anywhere. Perhaps you can find it in a sunny frosty morning, or the glow of a candle when you are cosy inside on a dark cold night, or maybe in the beautiful bare bones of the trees...

As a yoga teacher one of my most favourite things is witnessing how calm and relaxed people are after our final relaxation in class. We life in such a frenetic world with so many things grabbing at our attention all of the time, that the moments where we can escape that chaos are becoming essential. I have always wanted Emma’s Yoga Hut to be a genuine community, a safe and welcoming space for people to practice yoga, to meditate, to take sound baths. A soft place to land in a chaotic world, a place where people can come for genuine rest, recuperation and restoration, and doing this requires the tools to communicate and connect.

I am finding recently that a lot of the essential tools for communicating in the 21^st century – the shiny electronic scrolling world of social media, and even email, have begun throwing up increasing numbers of blockers in hurdles. Having taken over and pretty much obliterated so many other means of communication and connection, they are now preventing the very thing they were developed for: Not sharing social media posts with the people who follow the page, or demanding payment with every social media post just so that people who like and follow the page actually see what is posted. Emails hidden in new folders or marked as spam when they clearly are not. These platforms are actively putting barriers in the way of genuine communication and connection.

If you find that you do not get my emails - as many of you have said is the case – then they are possibly in your Spam folder, or if you are on gmail maybe you will find them in the new folder no one asked for called “promotions” This week alone I have found no fewer than 3 direct enquiries about yoga classes that my email account decided were promotions and so removed from my inbox and into this random new folder!! I have no answers for this I am afraid, apart from you can mark things as not spam and they should then go to your inbox… for a while at least!

In light of this I feel increasingly drawn to returning to tangible, real life objects, to put value back on to the things we have been insidiously encouraged to dismiss in favour of the algorithms and artifice of electronic life. To return to things like (recycled!) paper and card, to spoken word and shared experiences, to the solid, the tangible. So in classes, sound baths and events I will soon have a little pile of what is on / what is coming up flyers. I will have business cards so you can check in directly with me, or my webpage to see what is what whenever you feel drawn to, I have even made little hand painted watercolour circles on pink ribbons with my contact details. A return to the curve of handwriting, the feel of paper, the sound of communication.

I will occasionally share verbally at the end of classes and events information about other things which are coming up which might interest you. And instead of relying on likes and shares on social media, if you know someone who might be interested in any of the things that Emma’s Yoga Hut offers, then please do pass on one of my cards, or a what’s on flyer.

And yes, I am very aware of the irony of posting this via email as a blog post!

If you are feeling the need for some respite through yoga, meditation or sound here are some ways you can join me - I hope to see you soon!

Friday morning Yoga: Gently stretch, strengthen and soothe the body, mind and soul with this calming end to the week 10am – 11am (pay termly via website or drop in for £12) Earley Crescent Resource Centre.

Spring Sound bath: Our seasonal sound bath series continues on the weekend of the Spring Equinox! Join us for singing bowls, chimes, rain sticks and other sound healing instruments for an immersive sound experience all linked to the season of spring. Enjoy homemade bliss balls and oracle cards to finish before heading out into the spring evening! Friday 20^th March, 630 – 745pm £22pp Earley Crescent Resource Centre

April Alternative Night Out: Just like our Christmas one (no mince pies though!) 105 minutes of meaningful rest and relaxation! We will start with gentle yoga to release tension from the body, move into a deeply soothing seasonal yoga nidra with sound and finish off with oracle cards and chocolate! Friday 17^th April 6-745pm Earley Crescent Resource Centre.

Oh, and 1 space has become free on 6th February for our In House February Rest event - yin, nidra, sound: Everything you need is provided. Hop on quickly if you are interested!

With love,

Emma xx

(Emma runs Emma’s Yoga Hut in Earley. A teeny garden studio for nurturing holistic small group yoga. She is a yoga student and yoga teacher and has practiced yoga for nearly 30 years. She trained with the Traditional Yoga Association right here in Reading between 2016 and 2018 to achieve her 500 hour yoga teaching accreditation. She has additional teaching qualifications in Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra. She is an Internationally Accredited Sound Bath Facilitator and specialises in singing bowls. She teaches Chair Yoga classes at local community centres where there is almost always a coffee and a chat after class. Emma is passionate about getting the beautiful benefits of yoga out to as many people as possible, and she tries her best to practice yoga every day, even if that is just taking legs against the wall for 15 minutes at bedtime!)