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Big Lottery funding!

Hackney Yoga Project is delighted to announce we have funding from Big Lottery's 'Awards for All' grant scheme.  The funding will cover all costs for the first quarter of 2013 and we look forward to working with Big Lottery very much. 

Want to volunteer

Just a typically Tuesday morning at the office

We are looking for a volunteer to help out at Hackney Yoga Project on Tuesdays, at Hackney City Farm, 9am-1:30pm. 

Interested? Drop us a line to hackneyyogaproject at gmail dot com with 'Volunteer' as the subject. 

We're looking for friendly, w

elcoming, organised, practical people who think on their feet and aren't easily fazed. Experience working with the refugee/asylum-seeking community (or vulnerable people) a bonus, though not essential. Minimum commitment of six Tuesdays. 

Travel paid and training provided.

Tamsin's Pedal to Paris!

Where's my cheese?

Early this morning our very own English teacher, Tamsin Robertson, set off on a 150 mile cycle to Paris to raise funds for Hackney Yoga Project.

Setting off from Brighton, she cycled to Newhaven and onto a ferry to Dieppe and will be tackling a further 30 miles this evening before resting.

Fuelled by wheels of brie, she'll be clocking up another 75 miles on Friday, as she pedals towards the Eiffel Tower. Aiming to arrive in Paris mid-day Saturday, Tamsin will face a final 50 mile early morning cycle – wish her luck!

To donate to Tamsin's Pedal to Paris challenge: click the secure PayPal ‘Donate’ button (top right of this blog).  100% of donations go directly towards making yoga accessible to survivors of human rights abuse and torture.

Keep up to date with Tamsin’s challenge by following HackneyYoga Project on Twitter and liking our Facebook page.

Tamsin is also joined by four other intrepid cyclists, in memory of a great friend Paulo Brr, raising money for the PauloMemorial Fund.

At last... how you can get involved!

When did you last arrange a pin the tail on the donkey competition?

Whether you’re short on time, a Yoga teacher or have decades you’d like to devote to getting involved with us, we would love your fundraising help!

Get your copy of Hackney Yoga Project’s How you can join in... 

This new publication is packed with fundraising ideas, from hosting an 80s dance-off to a ‘guess the baby’ competition. 

Of course if you have a fundraising idea you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear it – the door’s always open.

We’re a very small organisation and currently don't have any volunteering opportunities. However, if any opportunities do come up we’ll be sure to update this Blog and our Twitter.

Learning is easier when you're relaxed

Raising aspirations: one-to-one learning advice

On May 22nd an adviser from Hackney’s not-for-profit education service provider The Learning Trust held a series of fantastic one-to-one advice sessions about learning options and courses for the refugee and asylum-seeking women at Hackney Yoga Project.  The sessions were held in Hackney City Farm’s ‘magic hut’ – a wooden hut painted in bright colours at the end of the farmyard, with splashing ducks and chickens visible from the window.

“The women seemed to enjoy the sessions greatly,” said Khadijah Amani, Community ESOL Advice Co-ordinator at The Learning Trust.  “Thank you for a wonderful afternoon. I don’t think I can ever venture into the area again without dropping in to Hackney City Farm. You’re doing a very impressive job and long may it continue.”

“We are now following-up the advice given and helping the women enroll on literacy, numeracy, IT and fashion design courses amongst others,” said Tamsin Robertson, the project’s English teacher.  “This is a great step forward for many at the project who are keen to learn new skills but haven’t previously been able to access this information.”

Hackney Yoga Project is delighted to be working with The Learning Trust.  The concept of Yoga, lunch and English is simple but effective: learning is easier when you’re relaxed.  It’s also a good example of Yoga off the mat – which is what it’s all about...

Vodafone funds make a world of difference

Vodafone Foundation, thank you.  We salute you.

We’re delighted to announce that our English teacher Tamsin Robertson has won funding from the Vodafone Foundation's World of Difference UK programme to work at Hackney Yoga Project until the end of July. 

Tamsin has been developing a curriculum for our English support classes, which run after yoga and lunch.  She has also been conducting research into services we can signpost to, and helping to create learning and training routes for the refugee and asylum-seeking women attendees.

“The impact of being able to speak, read and write in the language of the community you live in cannot be underestimated,” says Tamsin.  “Fluency in English is a gateway for the women, and hugely empowering.  

“The Hackney Yoga Project model is unique in that English class follows yoga and lunch so the women are relaxed and receptive.  We also use the theme of the yoga class in English support to deepen the women’s understanding of how yoga whilst improving their English vocab and other skills.”

Some of the women attending Hackney Yoga Project are highly educated and accomplished in their first language.  Others are illiterate due to little or no education in their countries of origin – simply for the reason that they are women, and therefore not entitled.

And whilst there are many English classes in London, strict eligibility requirements apply for funded places, and many are male dominated and crowded (think 30 in a class).  

Hackney Yoga Project's English support classes are small, women only, and are targeted at strengthening the students’ language weak spots to help them integration into the community in which they now live.

Read Tamsin's blog.


Read all about the brilliant Hackney City Farm, the home of Hackney Yoga Project.

International Women’s Day at Hackney City Farm, March 6th

Spring is in the air, the blossom's out, and our door's open... 

This Tuesday, 6th March, we’d love you to join us as we celebrate women, men, donkeys, vegetables, trees, et al. for International Women’s Day.

Hackney Yoga Project is opening our doors to the local community.  The line-up includes yoga, a textile-printing challenge, and delicious afternoon tea with cake with reggae.

Yoga (women only).  The rest of the day, men, children and all are welcome.

As spaces are limited for yoga, please let Emily know in advance if you’d like to come along (hackneyyogaproject at gmail.com / 07964 551 090).  Beginners welcome.

Line-up, at Hackney City Farm, the best farm in the whole world

• Yoga with spring in its step, 10 -12, in the strawbale building
• Lunch, 12-1, Caffe-In, just across the road from the farm (with the Hackney Yoga Project crew) or at the farm’s very own Frizzante Cafe.  Delicious, either way.
• Textile challenge with reggae, with Songololo Feet on the Mat

In a three hour challenge, from 1-3, we’ll be making ‘patchwork print’ curtains for the strawbale room, including a well-earned International Women’s Day extremely delicious afternoon tea, and reggae.

Thank you to everyone helping Hackney Yoga Project's story get stronger. In a nutshell...

Call to Arms: creative people, use your energy to make some seriously positive social change happen

Hackney Yoga Project is about to go on a major fundraising push and need a powerful visual identity and story-telling strategy.  Next Wednesday November 30^th (1-5pm, in London’s Great Titchfield Street W1), social mission and change agent Good for Nothing has organised a four hour intensive creative session.  Some of the women will be there, too.

Get involved now

We are looking for designers and creative people across all platforms from the creative industries to help us.  The aim of Wednesday’s session is to produce a more clear-cut and concise visual brand identity, which will enable us to push forward our vital fundraising proposals.


If you would like to take part, please join the ning group and RSVP here: http://tiny.cc/bzhxi


Full creative brief here
Hackney Yoga Project exists to enable refugee and asylum-seeking women to practice yoga.  Yoga is a powerful and transformative practice and these women are having a rough time. 

The women we work with are determined to make life better for themselves, despite the little control they have due to circumstances beyond their control like war and human rights abuse.

Good for Nothing and Eye magazine support Hackney Yoga Project's search for visual identity

Hackney Yoga Project is delighted to announce that the brief to create our visual identity is now live. 

We’re about to go on a major fundraising push and a super visual ID is essential to power the effort.

If you’re interested in getting involved in creating this visual ID and doing some good for nothing, please join this ning group for the next steps.

The brief was launched as a ‘live challenge’ as part of a presentation by the brilliant ‘Good for Nothing’, the social mission of The Pipeline Project, that gives time, money and energy to do stuff that supports people trying to make positive impact and change happen.

The presentation took place at the tenth annual St Bride's Library conference, ‘Critical Tensions’, hosted by Eye magazine, the international review of graphic art Eye magazine. 

We thank Good for Nothing and Eye magazine for their generous support.

Watch this space

In graphic design the phrase ‘critical tensions’ is frequently described as a positive in design, with designers balancing opposing constraints and visual ideas in often ‘perfect tension’.

We think critical tension is a good way to describe Yoga practice.  While 'perfect' does not apply to the situations of the refugee and asylum-seeking women we work with, 'critical' and 'tension' certainly do.

Big thanks also to the best inner city farm in the world, Hackney City Farm, Yogamatters and the British Wheel of Yoga, the UK’s official governing body of Yoga, for their ongoing support.

Read the full report here.

Super English classes and textile printing joins Hackney Yoga Project

You are your own best teacher: Yoga's premise.

Hackney Yoga Project is delighted to announce we are now running English classes and Songololo Feet on the Mat – a vibrant new textile project delivered by community textile printing project Songololo Feet. 


The refugee and asylum-seeking women who come to Hackney Yoga Project said that English classes and creative workshops, especially working with textiles, would be a welcome addition to the project.  So we've taken them up on it.

We think that running English classes for the refugee community after yoga is an ideal combination as people learn better when they are relaxed.

Songololo Feet on the Mat not only provides opportunity for learning and practicing English, but it teaches transferable and marketable skills – not to mention the fun element.  (Printing textiles and sewing to reggae!)

Design and print by Mani.

English classes are led by experienced ESL teacher Tamsin Robertson, on a voluntary basis.  Tamsin works as an English language teacher in London and has taught English to Tibetan monks through the The Office of the Tibetan Government in Exile in India and at the Gatwick Detainee Welfare Group in Sussex, including other projects. 

Songololo Feet on the Mat is led by Maia Kruger and funded by Corner Space, a not-for-profit organisation that provides creative workshops for grass roots organisations.  Maia is has over 20 years’ experience in producing and marketing her garments and has a B.A. in Art in the Community.  She is currently working towards an MA in Art Therapy.

For more information about Hackney Yoga Project and how to make referrals, contact hackneyyogaproject@gmail.com

Yoga matters – on and off the mat



Huge thanks and a deep bow to Yogamatters, the brilliant supplier of everything you'd ever want to do with yoga. 

Last week Yogamatters made an extremely generous donation of mats, blocks and belts to Hackney Yoga Project – a very happy surprise for participants on their first day back after the summer break and a shining example of yoga practice off the mat. 

One the main aims of this pilot project is to make yoga accessible to one of the most marginalised and under-represented groups in the UK – refugee and asylum-seeking women.  We want to see what the barriers are to individuals participating and what can be done practically to address them.  We are also carefully monitoring the effects of yoga on the group.

Blocks and straps: big help

The individuals we work with have all experienced violations of their human rights and profound trauma, which generally make the body very stiff. 

Blocks to sit on and straps to help stretch the limbs can really help ease pain and tension.  The new turquoise mats raise the spirit, especially when the dappled light falls in through the glass doors of Hackney City Farm’s straw bale building, making the colour glow.

So from everyone at Hackney Yoga Project, thank you so much!

And for anyone that doesn’t yet know Yogamatters – brilliant shop, excellent and ethical products and very lovely people.  The team comprises yogis from all walks of yoga life, all committed to providing the best customer service possible and to trying their best to protect the planet.