The sessions only started a month ago but have been attracting crowds
Lucy Woods has started hosting outdoor sessions(Image: Lucy Woods)
Meet-ups of a large group have been intriguing passers-by for a month on a Merseyside beach. Lucy Woods, 22, is leading the sessions on the beach in her hometown of Crosby.
Lucy runs Yoga By Lu and started doing outdoor yoga sessions a month ago to make the most of the good weather. There wasn’t a huge turnout to their first session but after her sister shared a TikTok about the classes, numbers increased massively.
Holding the classes outdoors is attracting a lot of attention from local residents and people outside of Merseyside alike. Speaking to the ECHO, Lucy said: “In the first week, only two people came, which was fine because I didn’t really anticipate much.
“Then my sister posted a TikTok video of that first class and it just blew up. I went from 200 followers to over 2,000 and in the second week I had 70 people there. I think a lot of people have been enjoying it. I had four women from Manchester in the class. Not everyone is from Crosby – they like it because being by the sea is a novelty for them.
“Quite a lot of people have been seeing it, taking photos and messaging people afterwards about it. Sometimes my dad has been nearby and they’ve asked him what’s going on. From the outside you’d think, ‘what is this group doing?’ You’re seeing people lying down and relaxing but don’t know why.”
The Yoga by Lu classes started four weeks ago(Image: Lucy Woods)
Lucy had the idea for outdoor sessions while she was thousands of miles from home. She said: “I went to Dubai to live with my boyfriend and while I was there I did yoga teacher training.
“I really got to know the authentic side of yoga. We ended up moving back at Christmas and I knew I wanted to teach classes as I’ve practiced yoga since I was about 12 myself. I just started doing it in a studio on Saturdays in Crosby.
“Because I live by the beach and I go most days, I find it a very safe space for me. If I’ve got a lot on my mind, going to the beach clears my head. I just thought I should try and share that love and the passion and create a space for everyone to enjoy.”
Numbers for sessions since have ranged from 20 to 40, but this could increase if the sunny weather continues. Lucy enjoys seeing people’s physical and mental health improve from her yoga sessions given her own experience.
Lucy was inspired to start the outdoor yoga classes after living in Dubai(Image: Lucy Woods)
She said: “It’s been nice because I suffered with anorexia between from 11 until I was about 16, which is when I started doing yoga “It wasn’t intense, my mum tried to do it to help me.
“Now I’m on the other side and a little bit older, I want to be able to help people who might be struggling mentally or physically. Even if you’re not struggling and you just want to do it, you can adapt it into your day to day routine. It helps you take a moment away from whatever’s going on in your life.”
Lucy is planning to stick to sessions on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings, depending on the weather. People attending the sessions are required to pay £10 on the day in cash, although Lucy held a free class on Easter Sunday with donations going towards a local charity who helped her when she was going through anorexia.
Lucy said: “They’ve only been going for four weeks, so it’s been just so amazing to get this response. I just hope we can keep just building a community and sharing my passion. Anyone’s welcome.” You can find out more about the sessions here.