Where Wellbeing Meets Community: Talking Yoga with Jenna Blair

Offering an incredible weekly timetable of twenty-five yoga classes to suit all abilities and needs, plus retreats, workshops, pilates, tai chi and a range of complementary therapies, Jenna Blair Yoga Wellbeing Centre has certainly grown since it opened its doors in 2021. A valued member of the Belle Vue community, the Centre is also an integral part of Belle Vue Arts Festival. As in previous years, 2026 will see it supporting the Festival by hosting a free 45-minute yoga taster session as well as showing off its green space for the Open Gardens event. The Festival Blog caught up with Jenna for a chat about the Centre, and what Belle Vue Arts Festival means to her.

Festival Blog: Hi Jenna! What inspired you to open the yoga studio?

Jenna: It all starts with my personal journey with yoga. I really got into yoga about eight years ago. Looking for a way of getting fit, I was trying different types of exercise, but the thing I kept coming back to was yoga. I realised that at the end of each yoga session I was feeling not just physically better, more mobile and stronger, but better in terms of mental health – lighter, brighter and more relaxed. So because I know the power of yoga, how transformative it can be and what incredible benefits it can offer, I wanted that for everybody. I trained to be a yoga teacher, and in 2019 I left my job to teach yoga full-time. I found the building that is now the Centre in 2020. After renovations, it opened in 2021.

FB: Tell us about the yoga session you are offering for the Festival.

Jenna: Guided by me in the peaceful atmosphere of our lovely yoga space, with Matt Sewell's beautiful art work on the wall, the emphasis will be on gentleness­: gentle movement, gentle breath work, gentle approach. It's aimed at adults and it's perfect for beginners – it's a great opportunity to come and try yoga! Because it's mat-based rather than chair-based, and includes lying-down, sitting and standing, participants do need some level of mobility. But it will be very relaxed: zero pressure, take as long as you like. I'm there to guide rather than to instruct. I will make suggestions – if those suggestions feel good, do it. If they don't, don't do it. It's down to the individual to decide what they do and don't do, which is empowering.

FB: Do participants need to bring anything or wear special clothing?

Jenna: Wear something loose that you can move in.  We'll provide mats, and participants will receive an email and text message before the session with directions, parking info etc. But please do book, because for the last few years the session has run at full capacity. If people just turn up, it's likely there won't be room for them.

FB: What's your favourite Festival event?

Jenna: Open Gardens! I've always been a fan of Open Gardens. Even before I lived in Belle Vue. I used to come every year because it's inspiring. I love plants – but also that sense of community. Community is what the Festival is all about I think, and it's what we've built at the Centre as well. Our small garden, which we open for the event, is called the Connection Garden. The word yoga means 'connection', and that's what we find yoga provides to people. For me the Belle Vue Arts Festival is a real highlight of the year and the fact that we can be involved in two different ways, with yoga and Open Gardens, is just lovely. Rather than over-stimulation, it's all about all the things that ground you. We're really delighted to be a part of it.

For a free festival Gentle Yoga session, book at www.jennablairyoga.co.uk