Vic
Sadhana Cheshire Founder
My Founder Story
I have always enjoyed and keeping my body strong. Whether that was walking, running, going to the gym or dancing,
But my relationship with my body hasn’t always been a positive one. Through my teenage years and into early adulthood, I struggled with body image and eating disorders, which created a very different relationship with exercise and food. Movement wasn’t always about feeling good or taking care of myself.
Then, in 2017, I was lucky enough to have my one and only daughter, Frankie. Becoming a mum gave me a completely different perspective on my body and, over time, on how I wanted to take care of myself. both physically and mentally.
Like lots of people, I had first discovered yoga through being a gym member in my twenties. I dipped my toe in and out of classes because I had this nagging feeling that yoga was probably the counterbalance I needed to the long runs and hard gym workouts. There was something telling me I needed to slow down.
I tried different classes and different styles, but yoga didn’t really find me until much later. While I was on maternity leave, I went to a local studio, owned by a friend and deeply experienced teacher, I joined to take Frankie to baby yoga and baby massage.
For the first time, I experienced what it felt like to be part of a yoga studio that was also a community. It felt safe, open, welcoming and supportive, everything I now believe a studio should feel like. This is where it all began and I will always be grateful for those tender moments with this community and studio owner at the Yoga Tree.
I began practising there and this is where it all began. I became curious. I was excited by this whole world that I felt I’d finally found.
From there I began practising in Manchester, Macclesfield and in Alderley Edge with a variety of teachers who unlocked so many different experiences for me. For the first time, I started learning how to observe myself. To notice my thoughts, my reactions and my patterns, rather than simply being carried along by them.
I was around 40 by then and I remember thinking that I wished I had known this in my 20’s and 30’s – how different might some of those years have felt if I’d had these practices then? But I also really believe that yoga finds you when you need it most.
Losing Mum & going deeper
Sadly, I lost my mum in 2021. Losing her changed me and made me question so much about life, what mattered and how I wanted to spend mine.
Three months after Mum died, I travelled to Sierra Leone on a retreat with John Brown and Rania Fawaz, two people who will forever be so important to me, they have both helped me in the development of Sadhana through their love, support & encouragement. That trip changed something in me.
I began taking myself on retreats, going deeper into my practice and becoming much more interested in everything beyond the physical practice of yoga.
Then I met Claire Missingham. Claire became an incredible teacher and guide to me.
She led a workshop at my local studio and I was completely captivated. The philosophy, the depth of knowledge, the intellect behind the practice – and particularly her ability to share ancient teachings in a way that felt magical, but still completely accessible.
I wanted to understand more, so I booked a trip to India with her and that trip became a pilgrimage.
Seva
One of the things we explored in India was Seva – selfless service. The idea of giving your time, energy and skills in service to others, without needing anything in return.
As part of that journey, we spent time with children at a children’s School and Children’s home in Rishikesh.
That experience planted the seed for Sadhana. There was something about being with those children that felt completely natural to me. I felt alive in their company. Watching them dance, play, learn, develop and grow brought together so many different parts of who I am.
And somewhere in that experience I began to understand my own Dharma – my sense of purpose. I knew I wanted to work with children through yoga.
Not simply teaching them yoga poses but giving them access to some of these practices much earlier in life. The ability to breathe when things feel overwhelming.
To understand what they’re feeling, notice what’s happening in their minds and bodies. Building confidence and resilience and so importantly to know that rest is important.
I just know that if this had been accessible to me, in my childhood and as a young adult I know I would have had the important toolkit I needed to navigate the twists and turns of life.
A different kind of leadership
At the same time, there was another part of my life that I was beginning to look at differently.
I had spent my whole career in corporate roles, working hard and climbing the career ladder. For years I had a very clear North Star: I wanted to become a COO.
I spent around 15 years in professional services, much of that in leadership roles, and eventually achieved the senior career I had worked incredibly hard for.
But somewhere along the way I realised something, the destination wasn’t actually where the joy was, it had always been in the journey and particularly in the people.
I’ve led many people throughout my career and one of the things that has always fulfilled me most is watching people develop and grow into themselves.
I’ve always tried to lead with empathy, support and love. I’ve never believed that being a strong leader means being the loudest or most powerful person in the room.
I believe people become their best selves when they feel supported and understood – when they’re given guidance, honest and empathetic feedback, and someone genuinely believes in what they can become. When I really started to look at it, I realised that this same thread had been running through my life for years.
Children, teaching & Sadhana
I went on to study with Fiona Sherwood to become a children’s yoga teacher and very quickly knew I had found my place. It allowed me to bring together the nurturing and leadership side of me with everything yoga had taught me.
To guide children rather than instruct them and to give them space to be curious. To help them understand that there’s nothing they need to achieve or prove and to give them tools to help navigate life and growing up.
I continued my own studies in Yin and Yoga Nidra with Rise Academy, which opened another door for me – understanding the importance of rest and stillness, and becoming curious about my own mind, body, feelings and reactions.
That’s a forever journey. I don’t think any of us ever arrive. That’s really where the name Sadhana comes from. Sadhana is a Sanskrit word meaning a dedicated practice or path.
For me, it’s the understanding that meaningful change doesn’t happen because we suddenly become a different person. It happens through the small things we return to, again and again. Something that Claire taught me and I apply to my every day is that something is always better than nothing.
Why Sadhana exists
Sadhana brings together so many threads of my life that, for years, I hadn’t realised were connected – Movement, motherhood, leadership, development, loss, yoga, children and most importantly – Community.
Seva – being in service to others.
I didn’t want to create just another yoga and Pilates studio. I wanted to create the kind of place I had experienced when I first walked into a yoga studio with Frankie all those years ago. Somewhere that feels safe, open, supportive and welcoming.
Somewhere complete beginners feel as comfortable walking through the door as people who have practised for years. Where movement is less about how your body looks and more about how it feels.
A place for children to develop confidence, resilience and self-belief. A home adults of all ages to have time to themselves to breathe, move and just for them. A genuine community.
When we feel better in ourselves, we’re better able to show up for our children, our families, our friends, our colleagues and our communities.
And this brings me back to Seva. For me, being in service to others doesn’t mean constantly giving until there’s nothing left. We have to begin with ourselves.
Our own Sadhana, our own practice gives us the space and strength to then give something back. And that is what I want Sadhana to become.
Not simply somewhere you come to do yoga, Pilates or Reformer but a place that feels like home, to move, connect and rest. And then take a little bit of that back out into your own life.
If a child leaves us feeling more confident…
If a parent walks out feeling like they’ve had space to breathe…
If somebody discovers yoga at 20 rather than waiting until they’re 40…
If someone walks through the doors nervous and, a few weeks later, feels like they’re part of a community…Then Sadhana is doing what I created it to do.
That is my Sadhana.
And, in many ways, creating it is my Seva.