east of eden is 10
East of Eden was 10 years old on March 2, 2025, and we celebrate on May 17, 1-6pm. I wanted to wait until Spring, and the Soho Theatre being finally open after a 5.5 year build before flinging open our doors for free classes and therapies, goodie bags, DJs, brand popups and general good times. Please check the timetable below for the free classes on offer. We have 50% of spots bookable in advance, the remainder drop in on the day, so if you can’t get a space, please come down anyway as you’ll be able to find a spot on the day.
We would love you to come help us celebrate making it through a whole decade. From a single 20-mat studio, to 4 studios - ride, reformer, yoga, strength, calisthenics, hot, barre - a cafe and 3 therapy rooms in 10 years.
It’s surreal thinking back to March 2015. Starting a business as a lone parent with a 2-year-old and a day job was very tough. In 2016, having expanded to launch reformer Pilates, and a bigger yoga space, my business partnership broke down, and the studio was very close to going under. It was, hands down, the hardest year of my life. I would wake up every day with dread in the pit of my stomach, physically shaking from stress. In 2017, the council’s agents threatened me with forfeiture of my lease if I didn’t vacate our reception, and we had to operate from the door to the mews.
I expanded to add the cafe and new studios in 2019, but we reopened in March 2020, and covid closed us within a week. The next expansion to add a bigger, better reformer studio in 2022, happened in between my parents dying in quick succession, and I certainly didn’t feel like partying. We’ve not had any sort of celebration of the growth of the studio since 2016. So, finally, we are having a party. I really hope you’ll be able to join us.
It’s been a tough decade for me personally. And I don’t need to tell anyone what’s happened to the world in that time. As we move into increasingly uncertain and dystopian times, I feel that community will be become more and more important – trying to have a positive impact on a local level.
I’m grateful for this journey and the resilience it’s given me. I’m proud of this amazing community of staff, teachers and students, and I can’t thank you all enough for sticking with me. 10 years. What a wild ride.
Abby xx