My Scarborough Day - with Frances Kitson, Scarborough Yoga Space

It was full-on and after having children I realised it wasn’t going to work with family life.

I’d always done yoga – my mum and I used to go to Sarah Priestley in Burniston.

I enrolled on a 16-month training course with Yogacampus in York, which was rigorous but non-dogmatic.

Just as I qualified, we moved to Austria with my husband’s work as a software engineer for Red Bull Media (he now works for Sky).

When we came back, I found a peaceful, serene space with room for 15 people above Desapline Martial Arts on Barry’s Lane.

I wanted to build a community around the studio and in the past 18 months it has come alive.

Each morning I take my girls to school at 8.15am then go to the studio to give it a clean, adjust the heating if needed and check bookings.

There’s usually a 9.30am class – a popular time; many of our daytime students work part-time or are retired.

Yoga has an image of fancy poses, which is a shame as it puts people off, but it’s not about being flexible and anybody can do yoga – man or woman, young or old.

It’s about connecting to yourself and pulling away the layers.

Some people want a dynamic workout, some want slow and soft and almost half our clients start as beginners.

We have several teachers, including Sefton Freeman-Bahn, from Badgers of Bohemia, who recently qualified in India.

As of this month, he is sharing the space with me as co-owner.

We have a class on Fridays specifically for men, and another only for women.

We also host workshops, such as sound and movement or somatic breathwork.

Most of our students are 30s to 70s, though we sometimes run sessions for kids, with Nicole, a brilliant primary school teacher.

I make my schedule work around what I and my family need so each afternoon I pick up my girls from school.

I pop home for food as I live close by, near Oliver’s Mount – I’m not ultra-healthy or super-skinny but what you put into your body is important.

I love to see yoga improving lives.

One of our students was walking with a frame after being paralysed by accident.

After taking up yoga she progressed to walking with two sticks, then one, and now she walks on her own.

She embodies what yoga is about – determination but also softness.

Sticking at yoga can be transformational in terms of how you face other people, or approach stress or anxiety.

It can help you lose weight, but that’s a by-product.

As a business we have the same pressures as any in terms of bills and rent, plus we can have waiting lists one week, then a sudden drop.

A single class is £8.50 and monthly passes are £30-£38.

We feel so lucky living here and we love the sea and beach.

I’m optimistic that money is coming in.

Each evening we run two classes, then I’m home by 8.45pm – we are an early-to-sleep family, in bed by 10pm and up by 7am.

Info: scarboroughyoga.space

Interview: Yolanda Carslaw