Finding ease in your yoga home practice with Georgie Davies from Yogipod

Whether you know your crow from your hummingbird, or are a complete beginner, the way your yoga home practice takes shape will be personal to you. 

Whether you know your crow from your hummingbird, or are a complete beginner, the way you grow a yoga home practice will be personal to you and your chapter in life. I love how Georgie Davies leans into this, helping us create our own space to move with her ethical yoga brand Yogipod.

Back in January, I began using a bolster, handmade by Georgie, as I experimented with props on the mat. It made me curious about the story behind Yogipod. In our Q&A, Georgie shares behind the scenes blending ethical craft with fashion and her experience as a yoga teacher. She also offers up some great tips to help you find ease in your yoga home practice this autumn and winter.

1. I read your childhood nickname was Yogipod. Can you share the story of how you began doing yoga?

Well, my childhood nickname was actually Pod and it's kind of lost in the mists of time as to how that came about! As to how I started yoga, this was definitely something that came about in my teens, although we have found a photo since of 9 year old Georgie sat in lotus position with my hands in an om mudra so maybe it's always been around.

My first encounter that I can remember of yoga was a couple of classes that we did at secondary school in a PE lesson but what brought me in to a regular practice was joining the gym in my late teens and realising that yoga was an "exercise class" that I could do without being in pain which I was with a lot of other movement due to a knee condition I have. Like a lot of people I came to the practice from the physical but the longer I practiced I realised that there were huge mental and emotional benefits too and that is what has kept me practising since.

2. You've shared how Yogipod was born from a journey at a turning point in your life. Can you tell me about the experience and meeting the artisans you work with?

My first love and my background has always been fashion and I was very lucky to achieve my dream of working in luxury fashion straight out of university. The fashion world though is pretty intense and I found myself in a space mentally where I didn't always love the person I was. In 2017 I decided to step out for a while and go travelling to sort my brain out and it was during this journey that the kernels of Yogipod started to seed in my mind.

Part of my travels was journeying through Northern India and it was here that I rediscovered the beauty of block printing. Although I didn't meet the exact artisans that I now work with on that particular trip to Jaipur I definitely knew I wanted to do something with that incredible art and bringing the beauty of block printing into the world of yoga.

3. Yogipod stands out because your supply chain is so transparent. What are most proud of as an ethical brand, and are there challenges?

I'm incredibly hard on myself about being an ethical brand, I know I do my best but also know that ultimately I am creating product that doesn't need to be in the world and that is sometimes a little tricky in my brain.

For me, being ethical at the moment with Yogipod is always about being as transparent as possible because being ethical isn't only about picking organic or recyclable components for example, it is also about looking at the people doing the work too. Therefore by being transparent I am hopefully educating around the issues that can be faced in supply chains, the compromises that need to be made and explaining why we are where we are as a business.

Probably the biggest challenges on this journey is the time it takes to source components or look for alternatives and also the minimums involved in switching to different components as they are often just too high as a small business.

4. As a yoga teacher, what made you want to design yoga props and why do they matter in a yoga home practice?

I wanted to make yoga props because I was bored of yoga props being purely functional. I am way more likely to stop, stretch and breathe if I have a visual reminder to do so so I decided to make props that were beautiful as well as useful.

Props are great in a yoga practice because they can help you find ease. So often people assume that they are only useful for beginners but we all have different bodies that require support in different places and it doesn't matter how long you have been practising for. I think that a yoga practice should be something that feels good, even if it is challenging, and so if you can use a block to lengthen your arms in a fold or a bolster to make savasana more comfortable why wouldn't you?

5. Your bolsters and cushions create spaces at home for yoga and meditation. How do these practices fit within your own life?

In total honesty, sporadically and I'm ok with that. There is often an assumption that us yoga teachers are on our mats all the time and are super zen but we're human too (or at least I am) and so there are times when practice comes and goes.

I try to build some sort of movement into every day and depending on what this is it can also double up as meditation. For instance I love going for a walk outside or heading to the gym as well as flowing on my mat or sitting down for meditation or breathwork. Of course there are times where I do have a more consistent practice but it's definitely a variable thing.

6. What advice would you give someone wanting to start a regular meditation or yoga home practice?

Firstly to just start. There is no such thing as being good or bad at any of these practices. It is just about showing up in the way you do on that particular day. In a more practical sense I would suggest giving a few different teachers a go. We all tend to teach differently so you may not gel with the first person you come across whether in person or online. If that is the case, don't write the practices themselves off, give someone else a go because they may be the teacher for you.

7. Running Yogipod and as a yoga teacher, what have your experiences taught you about rest?

That it is productive. I think that we can write off rest as a waste of time, particularly when there is a lot on, but actually it is a necessity to keep functioning. Schedule it in, grant yourself the permission to stop sometimes, it's never a bad idea.

8. Yogipod is distinctive with your beautiful block printed fabric. Where would you like to grow your brand in future, and what will remain at your roots?

Handmade will always be part of the DNA of Yogipod. I truly believe that it brings a grounding energy to the products. When it comes to expansion I would love to step a little bit more back in to my fashion background and expand our clothing range as well as our homewares, making Yogipod a true lifestyle brand. Events are also something I would love to do more of, bringing Yogipod offline and creating special spaces to help you slow down.

9. What's your least favourite thing about running Yogipod?

Ooh that's so hard as I honestly love most of it. I would probably say the accounts but that's not because I hate doing them, just I don't prioritise it so it is always a little bit of a rush at end of year!

10. What's been your proudest moment so far?

Of course I am proud of being featured in publications like The Guardian and Grazia as well as being nominated for awards but probably the thing that makes me most proud is returning customers. That means what I'm doing is adding value to peoples lives and that is all I ever wanted Yogipod to be.

11. As recommended by Georgie

I asked Georgie to share 3 people, books or resources that have inspired her.

1. Kat Pither from Yogi Bare

The person who is a constant inspiration in business is Kat Pither who is the founder of Yogi Bare. Her strength, vision and kindness has made such a beautiful community around that brand.

2. Yoga Teachers Union

When it comes to yoga I am always inspired by the community of other teachers I have found myself in, particularly through the work of the Yoga Teachers Union.

3. How Yoga Works by Geshe Michael Roach

A book, in the world of yoga, that I'm inspired by is How Yoga Works by Geshe Michael Roach. This book distils the lessons of The Yoga Sutra into a beautiful story of how yoga travelled to Tibet from India thousands of years ago through the medium of one little girl and her tiny dog.

Georgie Davies is the founder of Yogipod and a yoga teacher based in Oxford. You can find props and classes for your yoga home practice on the Yogipod website. You can also keep up with Georgie and her ethical yoga brand on Instagram.

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