Preston's Mandala Yoga And Wellbeing on physical and mental health in lockdown

But her black yoga mat was not showing up properly on Zoom.

The owner of Mandala Yoga And Wellbeing - a holistic hub offering yoga, Pilates, massages, meditation, relaxation, soundbaths, and sound therapy - Emma adapted to the coronavirus quickly, using a Sport England grant to purchase the equipment to allow them to go digital and scheduling five weekly online sessions.

"[In lockdown], we had to figure out how we were going to deliver classes because we didn't want to abandon people and it's an important part of their lives," explains Emma, who is from Leeds but who has lived in Preston for 20 years. "Students have been patient with us as we've adapted and there have been a lot of very late nights figuring out the technology!

"It's been a huge adaption, because in person you can tune into the energy when people walk into the room and I'm a very one-to-one teacher," adds Emma, 41. "But it's about being flexible, and I get messages after every class from people saying they feel so much better. It's about connecting and being part of a community, feeling grounded, releasing tension."

A not-for-profit, Mandala's mantra is to allow people to tap into the more tangible mental and physical benefits from exercise. Quitting her job as a commercial director for a gardening company to run the studio full-time last September, Emma wanted to create a more holistic all-round well-being experience at the hub, promoting not only physical classes but mental pursuits as well as the importance of community and friendship.

"Our studio isn't about pretending the world is all rainbows and unicorns and doing headstands on clifftops, it's about how we can support you in your well-being," says Emma, who also has a British Academy of Sound Therapy qualification and has taught yoga with deaf charity Deafway using rhythm and vibration, describing sound as 'primal' and sound therapy as 'a very rich vein to connect with individuals'.

"It's a real space of well-being, which was something we wanted from the start," she adds. "We focus both on the physical and mental because they're so interlinked."

With 10 people usually working at the studio, which is undergoing a renovation during lockdown, two Mandala tutors are currently running the five weekly sessions for around six to 15 people each. Emma has also added new types of classes as lockdown has progressed and is working with the NHS to deliver Yoga for Anxiety courses, which booked up in just four hours.

For Emma, yoga is a social good. "When I was a teenager, I got really interested in the philosophy of yoga and the practice of meditation, so it's been a long journey with a lot of self-fulfilment," she says, with having been been involved in various fundraising efforts for local causes including the Red Box Project fighting period poverty and the Friends of the Earth.

At a time of such heightened stress - her own father died just two days before the UK went into lockdown, leading her to start a crowdfunder for bereaved people or those concerned by unemployment - Emma is also keenly aware of the potential benefits yoga can offer and want to make it more widely available. "If anybody is facing financial hardship or who has lost their job, they can get in touch," she says. "We can look to sort something out."

Describing running Mandala as 'wonderful', Emma has relished the centre's collaborative mantra. "When I took over, a lot of the students came round and helped me paint it all so we could really make the space our own," she says. "It's very different from just teaching, but I feel like I can get more involved, which makes it more of a shared experience. Only with more admin!"