Taking Yoga Where It’s Needed Most
In recent years, yoga has become synonymous with sleek studios, boutique classes, and personal wellbeing. But for one pioneering organisation in Stockport, the practice is about something far bigger: community transformation.
Upward Frog Community Interest Company (CIC), founded in 2019, has just released its first Impact Report—a comprehensive 36-page account that reveals how yoga can be a lifeline, not just a lifestyle. The report captures a year of grassroots work that brought free or subsidised yoga to hundreds of residents, many of whom might never have stepped onto a mat otherwise.
Unlike a conventional studio, Upward Frog is built on a profit-for-purpose model. Every pound of surplus income is reinvested into accessible classes for disadvantaged groups, NHS patients, and older residents. The mission is simple yet radical: make yoga available to all, regardless of age, background, or financial means.
“Yoga can have a transformational effect on people’s health and wellbeing, and we believe it should be available and accessible to everyone,” says CEO Emma Gartside.
Yoga as a Prescription for Health
Over the past twelve months, Upward Frog delivered more than 1,100 yoga classes across nine locations, reaching 856 residents who together attended classes on over 9,500 occasions. The scale of activity is impressive, but the true story lies in the diversity of its programmes.
- Chronic Pain Relief – gentle, adaptive yoga for those living with fibromyalgia, arthritis, and neurological pain, where traditional healthcare interventions have often failed.
- Mental Health Support – trauma sensitive yoga offered at Stepping Hill Hospital and The Meadows hospital to help patients reconnect with their bodies in a safe, empowering way.
- AgeWell Yoga – a three-part course for older adults, focusing on balance, mobility, and vitality, alongside social connection to combat loneliness.
- NHS Staff & Veterans – free yoga sessions designed to support frontline workers and ex-service personnel, groups often at high risk of stress and burnout.
- Culturally Sensitive Yoga – weekly women-only classes in Gatley, co-designed with local Muslim communities to ensure accessibility and cultural inclusion.
The outcomes speak volumes Surveys revealed that nine out of ten participants reported improved sleep, reduced pain, enhanced balance, and greater social connection. Nearly all reported feeling less isolated—a reminder that yoga is as much about community as it is about postures.
A Story of Transformation: Paul’s Journey
The human stories in the report are where the impact truly comes alive.
Take Paul Lewis, a 50-year-old joiner
whose life was defined by chronic back
pain after a slipped disc. Despite years
of physiotherapy, heavy painkillers,
and even steroid injections, Paul found
himself unable to work, socialise, or
carry out simple daily tasks.
“I couldn’t even put on my socks or shoes,”
he recalls. “At one point I thought this
pain was just my life now.”
When Paul discovered an Upward Frog
community yoga class, he approached
it cautiously. But within six weeks
of regular attendance, his pain had
eased dramatically. Six years on, he is
medication-free and able to take part in
full Vinyasa classes.
“Yoga gave me my life back,” he says.
“It wasn’t just about stretching—it was
about breathing, moving, and learning to
trust my body again.”
His story is not an exception but part of a growing tapestry of lives changed by accessible yoga. For many, these classes are not about perfecting a posture but about reclaiming mobility, confidence, and hope.
More Than a Studio
Upward Frog’s success lies not only in the classes it offers but in the values it embodies. In addition to grant funding, the studio channels over £6,000 of its annual profits back into community classes—ensuring that even those with limited means can access the practice. Their donation based and “pay-what-you-can” sessions remove financial barriers while maintaining dignity and inclusivity.
“Creating social value is at the heart of everything we do,” says Gartside. “It’s about reducing inequalities and ensuring yoga is not the preserve of a privileged few, but a practice that truly belongs to everyone.”
This vision has attracted strong support from local health networks, including Stockport NHS and community prescribing schemes. By working closely with healthcare professionals, Upward Frog demonstrates that yoga is not an “alternative therapy” on the margins but a complementary tool firmly embedded in modern public health strategies.
A Model for the Future
What emerges from the Impact Report
is not just a record of numbers and
outcomes but a blueprint for how
yoga can evolve in the 21st century. In
a society grappling with rising rates
of chronic illness, loneliness, and
stress, yoga offers more than personal wellness—it offers connection, resilience, and healing at scale.
As one participant beautifully put it, “I came for the yoga, but I stayed because it gave me a place to belong.”
For YOGA Magazine readers, Upward Frog’s story is a reminder that our practice extends beyond our mats. It is a call to imagine yoga not only as something we do for ourselves, but as something we can share—with our neighbours, our communities, and those who need it most.
By placing accessibility, inclusivity, and compassion at the centre of their work, Upward Frog has shown that yoga can be more than a personal pursuit. It can be a social movement.
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