About The Open Yoga Project

The Open Yoga Project grew out of Ruby’s personal journey. During the pandemic, she discovered yoga and experienced its powerful impact on her mental health. With several years of experience in inclusive multi-sport coaching, she saw how yoga could act as a holistic tool for wellbeing, offering benefits that reach beyond the physical into confidence, resilience, and connection.

A group yoga or meditation session taking place in a bright room with large windows overlooking a cityscape. Participants are sitting on yoga mats in a semi-circle, listening to an instructor in a green shirt who is seated on the floor at the front.

In 2022, Ruby completed her 200-hour teacher training and began teaching in settings that often go overlooked - from food banks and children’s centres to schools and hospitals. Alongside her teaching, she studied Sport, Exercise and Health Science at the University of Birmingham, graduating with First Class Honours. Her research explored how movement interventions can support children with disabilities, deepening her belief in yoga as a tool to tackle health inequalities and nurture development. She also trained in children’s, chair and SEND yoga, building the skills to work with diverse groups.

A woman in a blue shirt and black pants standing next to a research poster at a conference or presentation event, with trees and a building exterior visible through a glass window behind her.

The Open Yoga Project exists to carry this vision forward: creating safe, adaptable, and welcoming spaces where people of all ages and abilities can experience the benefits of yoga. With a particular focus on young people with SEND and underserved communities, our work is rooted in inclusion, empowerment, and the belief that everyone deserves access to practices that support health and wellbeing.

A large room set up for a yoga class with purple mats on the wooden floor, beige chairs along the walls, and a view of a garden outside through glass doors.