Former Strictly star shares exciting developments for yoga studio, almost four years on from opening

A Northampton yoga studio, set up by former Strictly Come Dancing professional Kristina Rihanoff and rugby star Ben Cohen in June 2019, has recently undergone some exciting developments.

Soo Yoga, in Sol Central, is coming up to its fourth anniversary and is proud to now offer training courses for people to turn their “passion to profession”.

After taking home the top spot in the ‘best yoga and pilates’ category at the Muddy Stilettos Awards 2022, Kristina had ambitious plans for this year and has put them into action.

Kristina has been working hard on her wellness academy, which she previously shared plans for with the Chronicle & Echo.

Four months on, Kristina is now proud to offer an affordable and high quality teacher training course in yoga.

“It’s a really exciting time,” she said. “Offering teacher training gives people the same opportunities as me, which led to me qualifying as a yoga teacher and opening my studios.

“Seven years on and hundreds of hours of teaching later, I’m able to help local people become qualified yoga teachers – which you don’t tend to find outside of big cities like London.”

The number of years and hours you have taught equates to the level you can reach, and Kristina is now recognised as a senior yoga teacher under Yoga Alliance – the association that represents the yoga community.

The 200 hours foundation teacher training course Kristina now offers in yoga is endorsed by Yoga Alliance.

The former Strictly Come Dancing star says most of the individuals who want to be trained in teaching yoga are clients that have stuck by her since the launch of the studios in June 2019.

As Kristina had been doing yoga for more than 20 years before training to become a teacher, she knows what it is like and wants to be part of other people’s journeys to do the same.

She said: “Some people want to turn their passion into a profession – but it’s tough as there’s no step-by-step guide.

“Training to teach yoga is the best thing I’ve done. It’s been eye-opening about my own life and vision, and gave me the opportunity to open Soo Yoga.”

Kristina described herself as a “perfectionist and a lover of studying for more qualifications”.

“The more knowledge, the better,” she said.

As this month draws to a close, Soo Yoga is also introducing new classes and welcoming back previous ones – from antigravity yoga and adult ballroom dancing, to baby massage and baby yoga.

Kristina said: “We’ve always wanted to be a wellness centre for everyone, no matter your age or ability. We’re inclusive of all.”

The co-founder particularly enjoys welcoming new mothers with their babies to the studios, as it reminds her of her journey as a first-time mum.

“It can be a lonely time,” she said. “But we nurture mothers and it is a space for them to stay for a while, enjoy and make friends.”

With the introduction of adult ballroom classes, which attendees were calling for, Kristina now believes Soo Yoga has “everything under one roof”.

Though it has been a long road to begin offering teacher training courses, Kristina is excited for what the future holds at the wellness academy.

To find out more about the teacher training opportunities available through Soo Yoga, click here.