Tanya Fevzi on what she loves about yoga and her favourite local places to practice

Tanya Fevzi practising yoga in Town Park

I was eleven when I went to my first yoga class. I remember sitting in a circle, cross-legged,

palms open to receive. My eyes were squeezed shut, and I tried to hold in the laughter pumping from my belly as the teacher chanted ‘om’ and invited us to join in.

Ten years later, I’m qualified to teach yoga and understand the powerful frequency that fills the spaces where ‘om’ is chanted. It is the sound of creation and the highest state of spirituality in yogic philosophy.

My training was driven by a desire to deepen my practice and understanding, not necessarily to teach. For years, I showed up on the mat without fully grasping yoga’s roots – its history, philosophy, and cultural significance. I just knew it made me feel better, inviting stillness and giving me permission to pause, breathe, and move intuitively. I practised inconsistently, but returned to the mat when life felt like too much. At university, guided by the teaching of Vinnett Alvaranga at my local gym, I truly reconnected with yoga.

Then I graduated and packed up my life in Bristol to move back home. A series of events followed, leading me to a yoga school along Bali’s black sand beaches where I lived and breathed yoga for a month. I met people from different corners of the world, each of us sharing a love of yoga. For the next three weeks, we followed an intense schedule that began with pranayama at 6.30am and ended at 8pm with a vegetarian dinner. We learnt about Western (bones and muscles, etc.) and Eastern (chakras and energy, etc.) anatomy, yogic philosophy, and spent 4.5 hours each day practising different styles of yoga.

There were endless complaints of sore muscles and lack of sleep because of the croaking frogs on the balconies, but it was difficult not to notice the magical transformations we were making. Being taught by teachers from the world’s yoga capital, Rishikesh, made me reflect on how yoga is often divorced from its traditional roots in the West. I’m still learning what it means to honour the tradition respectfully.

When I returned from Asia, I worried there wouldn’t be much of a yoga scene in Enfield, but I found a vibrant and varied community. I’ve been trialling various studios and have been pleasantly surprised by the diverse range of classes and the quality of teaching. Yoga is expensive, but intro offers have been great for sampling studios for a fraction of the price.

Yoga Rocks in Palmers Green quickly became a favourite of mine for its intimate studio space and community feeling. The teachers are very attentive and the classes feel reflective, empowering and calming.

I’d also recommend the vinyasa flow classes at MoreYoga, an affordable option in Winchmore Hill. They’re great for building strength and getting used to flowing through sequences. Lea Oroz is a teacher whose classes I always return to for her focus on alignment and form.

A little beyond Enfield, The Good Rooms in Muswell Hill and HotPod in Tottenham Hale both offer immersive and dynamic hot yoga classes, especially enjoyable on the colder days.

However, I’ve realised that it’s the intention behind the practice, not the setting, that truly matters. Yoga begins wherever you are, with a willingness to pause and connect.

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