Chesterfield's couple's mission to make yoga and mindfulness classes accessible to all

Bronwyn Benstead, second left, and Kevin Karaca were helped by friends Ethan Cairns, Lizzie Henshaw, Martyn Stonehouse and Ed Pountney to get the premises ready for opening. (Photo: Submitted)

Bronwyn Benstead and Kevin Karaca have set up a Community Interest Company in which profits are reinvested towards subsidising classes for those who need it. Every class paid for at Kula helps to fund subsidised passes and helps teachers hold regular ‘pay what you can’ classes for all.

Kevin, who teaches mindfulness, said: “We have tiered pricing. Not everyone is in the economic position to pay for classes. Our Oak passes are the true prices at Kula, but we also have Elm passes which are our effort to make access to classes within reach.”

If you can’t commit to a membership, you can drop in to classes or attend Karma Classes that are pay-what-you-can, between £2 and £10. The next Karma class will be held on October 1.

Daniel Smith, Bronwyn Benstead, Elaine Rudge, Simon Paterson, Ana Ochoa-de-Eribe, Lizzie Henshaw, Martyn Stonehouse at a Slow Social meet-up for company founders and business owners which is held on the third Friday of the month at Kula. (Photo: Submitted)

Kula, which is based at 7 Mansfield Road, Hasland, will host an open weekend September 22 to 24 when visitors can try a class for £5. These 45-minute taster classes including mindful flow, chair yoga, introduction to yoga, restorative flow, Vinyasa flow and embodied yin. Space is limited so places must be booked in advance on www.wearekula.co.uk

A six-week Introduction to Yoga class will start on October 3, running on Tuesdays at 8pm.

Kevin, a copywriter and marketing strategist, said: “We’re firstly trying to establish Kula in Hasland and then we hope to expand our work into other local communities in the area. We’re not wanting to be huge, but we recognise that smaller, intimate spaces where people can come together has huge value. Whether that’s to practice yoga, learn mindfulness, or run a community event. Being able to speak and meet everyone present matters. It’s also less intimidating.”

Yoga teacher Bronwyn, who hails from Doncaster, and Kevin, who grew up in Brighton, met four years ago while working at Rab which manufactures clothing and equipment for climbers and mountaineers. Kevin said: “We were both new to the area and enjoyed hiking and climbing and it all went from there. In October 2019 we bought our first house in Spital.”

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Bronwyn Benstead is a registered yoga teacher (photo: Lizzie Henshaw Photography)

Bronwyn, a forecasting and analytics manager at Equip, said: “We moved to Chesterfield just before lockdown. Those two years were hard not knowing anyone and as we’ve gotten to know more poeple, we’ve heard the same story repeating itself. People saying they want to meet others and saying they want to look after themselves.”

The couple took over the former party shop in Hasland which they transformed in just 10 days into the space now occupied by Kula. Kevin said: “The landlord had done the hard work of white-boxing the property. We got keys on August 4 and started scraping plaster off the floor to make it even that afternoon.” A paint party followed the next day and five days after that Bronwyn’s dad Steve and Kevin worked for 14 hours to lay laminate flooring.

A recent Crowdfunder appeal has raised £1,740 towards making the space more warm and welcoming and providing yoga chairs.

Since August 14 Kula has hosted 14 group classes, facilitated eight private classes and been visited by 39 students.