Stay Open Yoga — Native Ivy

Stay Open Yoga is a great yoga team made up of two lovely friends of mine. Kellie & Josh.

Kellie moved to N.I in 2018 and in 2019 started teaching her own yoga classes in Bangor.

Bringing her Californian vibe to her classes, Kellie has such a calm, controlled and fun way of teaching that leaves you feeling 100% fresh after each class! Have a little read below about how Stay Open Yoga began and learn some more about the faces behind the name.

Let’s begin with telling us about the faces behind Stay Open Yoga.. Tell us a little bit about yourselves…

I’m Kellie! I grew up in Southern California with a big love for sunshine, the outdoors, yoga, and a good cup of coffee. I got my Bachelors in Psychology as I am passionate about people. I have always loved to travel and explore new places. With my love for travel I have been able to live in Nashville, Argentina, Colorado, and Northern Ireland. I met my husband while living in Northern Ireland and we got married in June 2018. I have been living in Bangor since then and have been teaching Yoga and working in Cargo Coffee since then.

Josh is born and raised in Bangor, and is similar to most guys here- he likes soccer and Guinness. He does a lot of the behind the scenes stuff like admin, accounting and supports me with the social media. You will also find him signing people in at the welcome desk before class.

What was the inspiration behind the name Stay Open Yoga?

It sounds obvious, but we want to help people Stay Open throughout their whole lives. There is so much that happens to people throughout life that the tendency can be to close off. This can be through trauma, disappointments, fatigue- all legitimate reasons but we end up playing safe and the world gets smaller. We think that by practicing Yoga and living in a healthy community people can continue to live the lives they would have wanted for themselves before it got heavy. That's the shortened answer, I would have to sit down over a coffee with someone to give more detail!

Do you think there are differences to yoga practice in Cali compared to N.I?

There is more of a culture of outdoor Yoga in California because of the sunny and warm climate. It is also just a bit more embedded into the culture, so there are more people who have either tried Yoga or have a regular practice. As far as how it is taught, or the feelings in the Studio things are very similar. There are a lot of great Studios and teachers in Northern Ireland.

What are some positives have you found since starting your own classes?

I love meeting new people and I love the community that SOY has started to become. It’s amazing seeing people be so brave stepping into their first ever yoga class. It's great to hear feedback after class like “I actually sleep through the whole night!”, “I can touch my toes now after coming to classes!” or “I have never focused on breathing ever, and it is life changing to me!” It’s those small victories that make my job so rewarding and fun.

Who are some local businesses/products you are loving at the moment?

We love Copeland Distillery because they have chosen Donaghadee as a home and are doing all they can to make the town a better place to work, live, and socialize. We believe that healthy businesses help create healthy towns and the guys at Copeland are our role models in that!

Keeping in the theme of food and drink I want to give a mention to the Guillemot in Bangor. Every time we go in there we feel loved by the staff (shout out to our man Mark!). This has been so important to me as I have moved to Bangor and I love the community feel. Their food and drinks are always perfect. I would eat 10 vegan rolls and cinnamon scones every day if my budget would allow me to.

Since lockdown, we have been getting all of our produce from Home Grown in Newtownards. We have been so pleased with their produce and how tasty all their fruit and veggies are. The staff are always so friendly and it has that local feel.

What do you see for Stay Open Yoga in the future..Any exciting plans?

Business is unpredictable and you never know where you could be in five years. But if I could have my own studio, that would be my big dream. But in the meantime, we would love to collaborate with more local businesses, offer more classes, and do what we can to help the town of Bangor thrive.

During this uncertain time is there anything your followers/ fellow yogis can do to help you and Stay open Yoga?

I have been amazed by all the love and support from our followers and fellow yogis. We have had to bring everything online and the truth is that most yogis love being with people so that has been a big shift and it can feel quite vulnerable. So through comments, views, and shares you can encourage us to keep going with it. When people decide to do paid online classes, obviously that helps financially which then allows us to plan ahead for when we can all get together again!

Stay Open Yoga are still running online Zoom classes and you can also subscribe their Youtube Channel for more Yoga videos.

Follow them on Instagram for regular updates.

Yoga Mats from Zenbear Yoga