Southend Victoria Shopping Center Yoga opens its doors

Sacred Studios began accepting bookings in early January, and a full schedule of sessions and events will launch later this week.

The studio is the passion project of Leigh resident Grace Smallman, who was one of the winners of The Bridge, a competition in which seven independent businesses won six months’ free rent in Victoria Shopping Centre.

Various teachers and instructors will work in the new premises (Image: Grace Smallman)
Grace, 29, said: “My aim for this space is to make it a community hub for people from all backgrounds who are interested in wellness.

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“I think it’s important to make sure everything is affordable and I’ve tried to keep the prices low.

“We’ll have a number of teachers coming in to do workshops, including a really experienced instructor who will be doing donation-based classes in the community on Saturdays.”

Having qualified in Bali, Grace is committed to the authentic practice of yoga (Image: Grace Smallman)
Grace’s journey with yoga began when she decided to qualify as a yoga teacher during a trip to Bali in 2023.

The dedicated yogi said everything “fell into place” when she finished her training – and within weeks of returning home, Grace found a position as a yoga instructor at a London gym.

Grace spent months perfecting her Victoria Center space (Image: Grace Smallman)
Grace added that as a Westerner, she is very sensitive to making her yoga and wellness practice as authentic as possible, and hopes that inviting other teachers will help achieve that goal.

Grace is well aware of the continued rise in popularity of wellness-focused activities like yoga, which she attributes in part to the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns due to COVID-19.

Sacred Studios is open Tuesday through Saturday (Image: Grace Smallman)

“I really think the lockdown has played a big role in how things are going with health and fitness. People had time to think, they were also isolated and they craved community, and that’s what I hope to offer,” she said.

“Despite the fact that more and more yoga studios appear every day, I do not feel at all that we are competing with each other. We all communicate, communicate and share our knowledge.”

Sacred Studios is open Tuesday to Saturday and a variety of sessions can be booked at sacred-studios.co.uk.