Wellbeing on your doorstep
Local resident Kasia Blackwell founded her dream business, Yoga House, in 2018. Fast forward six years and her studio is a much-loved oasis in the heart of Catford.
“I am very proud of the fact that we are an independent business. The borough really supports independent businesses by giving us a voice.”
Yoga House was the deserving winner of the Best Independent Business at the 2023 Mayor of Lewisham Business Awards, receiving 2,700 votes - representing almost a third of all public votes. Kasia is now one of the five award-winning business owners that are the faces of the Council’s ‘Discover Lewisham this Summer’ campaign.
Initially Kasia was drawn to practicing yoga because of how it supported her mental wellbeing following having children. She wanted to share the benefits of practicing yoga with others and there, Yoga House was born.
“I live here, my kids were born here, my business is here. So, it feels amazing to have the business here.”
With Yoga House, Kasia has created a place where local people can take a moment out of their busy lives to focus on themselves.
“When people come in for their classes, you can tell they instantly relax when they walk through the door. We think it’s the presence of the plants, the incense, the music. The whole atmosphere."
With a seven-day a week programme for all abilities, it offers restorative and dynamic classes, meditation and sound practice. It’s clear that Yoga House has fostered a loyal community and created a space where everyone is welcome.
Kasia says having her own business has taught her that even if you have the wildest dream, and it feels impossible, with enough effort, determination, and a good team behind you, you can make it a reality. She hopes to see more small businesses open in the borough, so they can collaborate with one another.
As the Yoga House team looks to the future, they are excited about expanding the educational side of the business with their teaching training programme.
Visit Yoga House:
- Catford: 2-3 Winslade Way, Catford, SE6 4JU
- Lee: 31-33 Leegate, SE12 8SS, London
- Visit Yoga House’s website
This hidden gem is one of the many proudly independent small businesses that Lewisham has to offer. Here's our guide for a great summer in Lewisham: lewisham.gov.uk/discover
Photography by Lewisham-based Gentle Studios
Film by Abi Moore
Discover Lewisham
We are proud to launch Discover Lewisham this Summer. Since 2022, this is the fourth time we have run a Discover Lewisham campaign, and this time round we are featuring local business as the face of Discover Lewisham this Summer. These local businesses were all winners at the 2023 Mayor’s Business Awards, as voted by the local community.
It originally started out as a six-week campaign over the 2022 summer that positioned Lewisham as an events destination, using the London Borough of Culture programme as an anchor to attract local people to stay in the borough and spend locally, and visitors to come and discover what Lewisham has to offer.
Did you know, in London, VISA/CBRE have also calculated that for every £10 spent locally, £3.80 remains in the local economy. This could double if people actively choose to spend more locally. So, we are encouraging people through this campaign to stay local and spend local, because if our Lewisham businesses thrive, so does the community. Whether it’s relaxing in our award-winning parks, attending an outdoor festival, or exploring the local cafes and arts scene, there’s plenty to enjoy - and it's only an 11-minute direct train journey from London Bridge station.
So visit your local, explore a part of the borough you might not have ventured to before, make recommendations to friends, comment on social media, share your experiences, it all goes a long way to making sure our local business community are supported, and shining a light on Lewisham as a vibrant, diverse and exciting borough.
Lewisham Council has utilised it's UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation to support the Discover Lewisham this Summer campaign.