Deep Yoga opens the door to everyone from its studio off Mansfield Road

Some of Nottingham's best-loved places began without any fanfare, and Deep Yoga is a fine example. "We just opened one day," director Dr Steven Athwal told LeftLion in April 2026, recalling how the studio in the Oldknows Factory off Mansfield Road came to life.

Steven had practised yoga in the UK while working full time in scientific research. He spent more than a year researching yoga schools in India before training with teachers rooted in Rishikesh traditions, then taught alongside his day job back home. When his research and development division closed and he was made redundant, with COVID lockdowns limiting other options, he wrote a yoga teacher training manual and prepared to open a Yoga Alliance-accredited school.

A community connection led to a space during lockdown, and the team renovated it, doing much of the work themselves. Daneesha Dhillon and Dan Roper worked with Steven to get the studio open. According to Deep Yoga's website, in 2020 its school became the first in the UK to offer Yoga Alliance-accredited teacher training under the new enhanced standards.

Today the timetable is varied. Dr Hind Elhinnawy, also a director, leads Ashtanga sessions, Rachel Frodsham teaches restorative Yin, and there is a 90-minute hot class on Friday nights. Workshops cover skills such as inversions and breathwork, and the school runs a 200-hour teacher training course and an aerial yoga teacher training course.

What stands out most is the welcome. Community-priced classes are available for people who cannot afford to pay, with those who can pay more helping to subsidise supported sessions. "The studio is just a platform. It's there to help people experience yoga, for whatever that practice is for them," Steven said. Or, more simply: "We literally don't care who you are, just come."

That approach has won over newcomers. Rian Charles, who runs MOAI Gym in Bulwell, told LeftLion: "Coming to Deep made me actually start to understand it".

In January 2026 LeftLion also named Deep Yoga among ten Nottingham activities to improve wellbeing, with Dr Hind explaining that "every class is designed to help build strength, improve flexibility, and calm the mind".

Class timetables, introductory offers and teacher training details are on the Deep Yoga website.