Jenna Blair Yoga Community
Can you help us to create our Connection Garden?
We love it when people take some quiet time before and after their classes, to sit peacefully and connect just outside our front door. It's a tranquil spot here at Jenna Blair Yoga, and the birds are often singing loudly. Thanks to Veolia UK and Shropshire Council we are now able to make this lovely little area even more special. We have been awarded almost £1000 to create what we are calling our "Connection Garden".
We will be able to purchase seating, new bike racks, containers and bee and bird friendly plants to enhance our outside space enabling more people to connect to themselves, each other, and nature.
We need some help to do this and require a small number of volunteers to collect items of garden furniture, paint and repair existing furniture and plant up containers. If you feel you could spare some time, please get in touch at enquiries@jennablairyoga.co.uk
We would also be grateful for any plants you would like to donate and/or items of garden furniture that you are no longer using (please drop us line first to check we have enough space for them though! enquiries@jennablairyoga.co.uk)
Free Yoga Sessions For People Living With Cancer
People living locally with cancer can benefit from free classes to maintain flexibility and mobility, no matter what their stage of treatment.
The classes are being provided by qualified yoga teacher Jenna Blair and her team thanks to £1,780 funding from Lingen Davies Cancer Fund. Those taking part will be encouraged to do what they can, while listening to their body, as part of living well, with and beyond cancer.
The charity, which works to raise awareness about cancer throughout Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, and Mid Wales, supports a wide range of technology and services for those going through it. It has recently funded six weeks of cancer specific yoga and tai chi classes for anyone living with cancer, which will start this Spring.
The funding has been agreed through the charity’s small grants applications process – available for anyone looking to run services and support to benefit those impacted by cancer.
Jenna has run these kinds of sessions before and said they were a huge benefit to people, in more than just a physical way.
She said: “Some of the sessions we have previously offered have been specifically for people living with cancer, Gentle Yoga and Tai Chi classes that focussed on mindful movement, breath work, finding stillness and peace, and also offered a sense of community.
“What really struck me was that cancer wasn’t spoken about but there was a real understanding that people had a shared experience. I’m often asked about cancer specific sessions, people feel comfortable knowing others understand.
“It can be a little daunting trying something new but I would encourage people to give it a go - the team likes to have a conversation before any class to help build the confidence of those attending.”
Lingen Davies has funded 24 sessions in Shrewsbury to begin with, with a view to rolling them out further across the region. It will be a combination of Gentle Yoga and Tai Chi, open to everyone impacted by cancer.
Anna Williams from Lingen Davies said the charity was very pleased to be able to offer this different kind of support to those living with cancer in the region. She said: “This can be a huge benefit to anyone affected by cancer and I would encourage anyone who can access them to take up the offer. We are working with a wide range of organisations that deliver physical and mental wellbeing in the wider community. We want to ensure those impacted by cancer can access a wide variety of services to help them physically, emotionally, and mentally as they go through treatment and live beyond it."
“We are proud to be able to offer these yoga sessions and hope to be able to offer this further afield in the coming year.”
For more information about Lingen Davies and the life-saving work underway visit the website www.lingendavies.co.uk.
For more information about the sessions on offer at Jenna Blair Yoga, call 07812 596609, email enquiries@Jennablairyoga.co.uk or visit the website jennablairyoga.co.uk.
Jenna Blair Yoga secures generous Arts Council England Funding
We’re delighted that Jenna Blair Yoga has been awarded a £22,000 grant by Arts Council England (ACE) for the roll-out of a brand new community project that will offer extensive workshops and classes combining creativity and wellbeing for local communities. The money will enable local creatives to deliver new experiences that support community engagement, specifically for people who would otherwise not have access, including refugees, people experiencing physical and mental health challenges, as well as many other groups of people such as young carers and those experiencing homelessness.
The project, called Creative Awakening, will see Jenna and a team of local creatives and other yoga teachers offer introductions to journaling, painting, crafting, sound therapy, as well as further yoga sessions.
The grant follows Jenna Blair Yoga’s recent successful National Lottery Awards Community funded project where a £10,000 grant saw over 600 people access yoga classes and workshops, including sessions for people living with cancer, classes for people with dementia as well as classes for carers.
Jenna Blair said, “I’m blown away to have been awarded this grant by Arts Council England and it’s fantastic that we can build on the momentum we started last year on our community work. I am hugely passionate about the power that both creative practices and yoga can have on our lives - the two are so connected and help us to find opportunities for self-expression, relaxation and mindfulness, as well as being invaluable in supporting our wellbeing.
“The scale of the funding means we’ll be able to offer a breadth of enriching creative experiences that support people’s wellbeing, as well as helping to develop new skills. Through this generous funding, we’ll be able to reach more people than we’ve been able to reach before, specifically for those most in need or who wouldn’t ordinarily have access, thanks to Arts Council England.”
The funded workshops will take place at Jenna Blair Yoga and will also be offered across venues and communities in Shropshire. Initial workshops have been confirmed together with charities including Shropshire Mind as well as Headway, a charity supporting people living with brain injuries.
The full programme of activities will be shared soon. Stay tuned on our website and social media channels, including Facebook and Instagram.
Jenna Blair Yoga Community ~ All The Yoga For All The People
Jenna Blair Yoga Community is a community group. With support from funders, sponsors and volunteers, we strive to offer access to yoga (and other related wellbeing practices) to as many people as possible.
We provide access to yoga and wellbeing activity to help reduce isolation, encourage group activity, and aid physical and mental fitness. We offer inclusive and accessible meaningful activities to all, despite actual or perceived barriers (e.g. financial, physical/mental health, transport, family situation).
We endeavour to raise the profile of yoga as an essential tool for wellbeing both locally and further afield. We encourage environmentally friendly ways of working, provide appropriate, inclusive and accessible ways in which to practice yoga, and encourage collaboration with other organisations and individuals.
The yogic principle of ahimsa (kindness) is at the centre of all that we provide.
Want to know more? Get in touch > enquiries@jennablairyoga.co.uk / 07812 596609
We are delighted to have been awarded funding from The National Lottery to deliver a range of community yoga and wellbeing sessions facilitated by our team of fully qualified teachers at zero financial cost to participants. My mission has always been to offer as much yoga to as many people as possible to this opportunity has been received with huge gratitude.
Do you know of any groups or individuals who may benefit from accessing yoga and wellbeing sessions without financial implication, either here at our base in Belle Vue or in other locations locally?
Get in touch - I'd love to hear from you! 07812 596609 / enquiries@jennablairyoga.co.uk
More news coming soon!
Jenna