I talked to Chris Abay, who runs the yoga studio ‘Abayoga’ in South Croydon, about how practising yoga can boost our mentality, and bring calmness and freedom to your everyday life.

Chris first showed me the studio, which is designed to create the most effective and calming atmosphere, and explained the vast influence that the experience can have.

‘A calming environment is everything in yoga. … But for most of us, it’s difficult to detach from your daily life and work and commitments, so I put a lot of energy and time into building this studio to make yoga everything for the sixty minutes they spend here.

Yoga can provide an affective, and sometimes much needed, source relaxation to break up your busy lifestyle, helping you approach your day with a much more positive and open-minded attitude.

‘Practising yoga has changed the way I behave when I’m not in the studio. I used to have a high pressure, corporate job, but then I found yoga and it completely transitioned my life. The person I used to be was far more hectic, uptight, stressed out. Yoga has slowly peeled back those layers.

Yoga then, is a powerful experience. Chris does his best to maintain the calming, freeing atmosphere that he creates in the studio, but how has he done it?

‘There are two ways of doing it. The easy way, or the techy way. I put a lot of energy and time into building this studio, so when we closed for lockdown I invested in some proper lights, wireless microphones and a full zoom account. I wanted to give the students that know me two things. One: The familiarity of the inside of that space that they’re used to using; it calms them down. And two: good audio and visual quality, to enhance the experience.’

But finding the time to fit yoga into your life is often a struggle; here are Chris’s 3 tips to help introduce yoga into a busy lifestyle, and for getting the best out of the practice:

  1. ‘Write it in your diary. Don’t say I’ll do some practice when I get time. I guarantee you’ll go to sleep and nothing will happen. Write it down.
  2. ‘Practice a bit of self-care. Buy some nice yoga clothes. Get all the kit. Invest in yourself and deliver the best that you have. Make it a real experience.
  3. ‘Remember to breathe. … Just stop, and breathe. We become more present, and step back from our thoughts.’

And a final message from Chris to readers:

‘There is a lovely phrase my teacher used to use: ‘freedom in action, rather than freedom from action’. The practice itself, the physical movement, creates a freedom within. So, you’re not practising to escape from the real world, that would be freedom from action. Practice yoga and create freedom in your life.’

So, how will you create freedom in your life?