Scarborough yoga company, The Frog Project, bring the benefits of yoga to your living room

Carrie Froggett, 35, is co- owner of the Frog Project, with her husband Martin. They founded the company in 2015 and are passionate about encouraging people of all ages and fitness levels to get involved and enjoy the physical and mental benefits that yoga can bring.

Carrie started practicing yoga at university by following a DVD in her dorm room, she said: “I was looking to get a bit of headspace away from uni life so I thought I would try yoga.

"I didn’t really understand it but after a little while I started to notice benefits of mind.

“I knew it was helping me in some way, so then I started to do an hour before I had an exam.”

When Carrie finished university she moved to Asia to teach English. She lived in China, Pakistan and Malaysia and spent quite a lot of the time living in remote places with no access to yoga studios, so once again she found herself practicing with DVDs.

Carrie said: “By this time I was very much hooked on to the benefits of yoga and I would get groups of my friends together and anyone else who wanted to join in and we would all practice together.

“This is how I continued for years until I met my partner and we got married and moved to Colombo.

“Colombo has incredible and affordable yoga and it was then that I decided that I wanted to train to become a yoga teacher.”

Carrie went on to do a month’s teacher training in in Thailand and with the support Martin became a fully-qualified yoga instructor.

The couple have two children, Roxy, nine and Sid, three, and Carrie said that she really feels yoga helped her mind and body transition into motherhood.

Before taking the business online Carrie taught three times a week at the Buddhist Centre in Scarborough with instructor Orly, one of the Frog Project’s Scarborough-based teachers and they managed to build up a very strong and loyal client base.

Carrie said: “We have people of all ages and abilities join us.

“It starts as a physical thing but when people learn to co-ordinate movements with breath it becomes more of a meditative experience.

“The mental and emotional benefits start to spill over into everyday life and, as you start to feel better connected with your body, it impacts the decisions you make.

“Yoga helps you to be more present.”

The Frog Project moved to online teaching in March last year when lockdown started and has had a great response, she said: “We have had a big take up online and I think that is because people find it much easier to find the time to join in when they can do it from home.

“They do not need to plan and add extra time out to get to a session.

“We also get so many great comments about the community side of things too.

“People who come regularly get to know each other, and some join the class five or 10 minutes before just to have a chat.

“We hold cup of tea socials every two weeks where we just come together online for a cup of tea and a chat.”

If you would like to try yoga with the Frog Project you can do so by signing up on its website to the 15-day free trial.

Carrie said: “We want to reach out to as many people as possible, you can even join in with your camera off if you feel more comfortable.”

To find out more you can visit their website at www.thefrogproject.org or click HERE to be directed. You can also find them on facebook as The Frog Project.