A Glasgow woman is attempting to debunk stereotypical outlooks of yoga by creating a class with a twist for ‘weirdos like her’.
Steph Wall, founder of the Kali Collective yoga studio in Glasgow, says she wants to upend stereotypes about yoga by launching a ‘gothic’ experience of the activity.
Located on Washington Street, the new practice is an attempt to make yoga more inclusive by attracting a crowd who have never considered it before.
Steph says she noticed there was a certain type of stereotype that is associated with yoga, from the ‘chilled out tunes to £150 yoga pants and perfect bodies, and wanted to create the new class for ‘weirdos like me’.
The ‘Gothic Sound & Movement Immersion’ form Kali Collective will see attendees moving through restorative yoga postures to the moody and immersive sounds of Nine Inch Nails, Mogwai, and Mica Levi.
Steph, who moved to Scotland from Canada nine years ago, will swap her usual ‘downward dog’ for the decks as she DJs a setlist of her favourite tracks.
On the inspiration behind the unique event, Steph said: “When I hear about a “trend”, my immediate instinct is to challenge it.
READ MORE:
- From Student Union to The Burrell Collection: Glasgow Designer's joy at ‘homecoming’
- Free outdoor cinema in Edinburgh to screen family friendly classics
“Sound Baths were the “thing” and they were all the same, I wanted to do things differently because that’s what our community wants and expects. I think this will appeal to weirdos like me.
“A lot of yoga is about finding what works for you. When I’m practicing, I listen to the music I love, which is often intense and dark. Yoga shouldn’t be about expectations; it should be immersive and emotive – and that’s all about you doing you.
“Music is a big passion of mine, and I love that I’m able to bring my two big loves together with this event.
“I hope people will give this a try and give in to the yoga and the poses. This is an opportunity for you to be present with different layers of your body as the music guides you into new sensations and feelings. Even if you’ve not tried yoga before this could be a great way to explore.”
The event takes place Friday, August 2 from 7:30-8:45 PM at the Kali Collective Yoga Studio on Washington Street, Glasgow.
Attendees can also opt for the opportunity to experience an elongated savasana being held by an aerial silk hammock.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here