The monk in a Cowshed

A pop-up shop in a Cowshed!  Not many people can say they’ve had an offer like that! But before you conjure up images of milk churns and wellies let’s be clear – this shed is where you’re more likely to find a downward facing dog than a cow.  For in April this year yoga guru, Niki Perry, opened the doors to her very own yoga studio and life for the hundred-year-old barn began anew.

The Cowshed now hosts regular sessions of power yoga designed to tone, energise and de-stress and it was here that Niki decided to hold a very special event in aid of Cancer Research UK.  Inspired by her close friends recover from bowel cancer she decided to run an 8hrYogathon!  Seven classes run by six teachers across one day. From hot yoga to classical, from power yoga to flow, there was something for everyone including a ‘men only’ class to end the day.

Having enjoyed our first summer on the festival circuit, we felt well equipped to accept the offer.  How hard could it be?  Harder than you realise apparently. Picture your summer suitcase bulging at its seams without any of your shoes packed and you’ll get the picture.  We learnt that scaling back your gig is harder than it looks.

We turned the office into a ‘bombsite’ as we packed and unpacked boxes deciding and then re-thinking what we’d need.   Eventually the ‘to go’ pile was ready for the wrap, pack and box it to began.  The boot of the car was so artfully packed the design team at Ikea would have awarded us a slot together medal.

Arriving the day before the event we descended on the Cowshed. Setting up was actually the easy bit as we knew roughly how we wanted the ‘shop’ to look.  A tweak here and a pin there and we quickly transformed our allocated brick and timber corner into the Earthmonk store.

The 8hrYogathon dawned with an unseasonably hot but very welcome Autumnal sunshine.  A steady succession of students streamed in, posed and stretched and streamed out again. Earthmonk was open for business, with 10% of that day’s sales going to Cancer Research UK instead of our normal charity in the Amazon. We sold t-shirts to exhausted first-timers and those who had been standing on their heads since they were three (not all the time, obviously).

And it wasn’t just us there – from yoga clothes and lavender eye masks to freshly made smoothies and super healthy snacks there was a feast of goodies on offer.  It was great fun.  One minute an intense quietness descended as the class got underway the next the shed came to life with a vibrant and busy cacophony of noise as the smiling, energised class emerged to cross paths with the new recruits arriving.

The event was a great success with 140 people turning up to support the cause – and between us all a whopping £3,000 pounds was raised for Cancer Research UK.

Every sweaty body made a sterling contribution to their own health and well being as well as a worthy cause. Earthmonk in a Cowshed was a winner.

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