Jaime Hepburn on The Yoga Library
All images courtesy of Jaime Hepburn.
Since the final days of Indian summer, we’ve been chatting with yoga instructor Jaime Hepburn by e-mail. Jaime is the founder of The Yoga Library, and this autumn she has been busy opening her own studio, Basic Space, in London’s Stockwell neighbourhood. But it was during the pandemic she founded her online community.
Ambi: First of all, I hope you had a lovely summer. How did you spend it?
Jamie: Ah, thank you. My husband and I moved back to the UK in March, but made a promise to keep up with local outdoor adventures. We spent time in Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and the Lake District, where we went hiking and camping; and stayed in places with minimal wifi – which is a must for me, to be able to switch off fully from my job.
Do you find that people tend to do more yoga or less yoga in summer? On the one hand, there are so many beautiful retreats, but on the other ... time just seems to fly by so quickly ...
I find people tend to do less yoga in summer, and honestly, I also feel less inclined to teach in the summertime. For me, summertime is about getting outside, spending time in nature and really taking our yoga practice off the mat. My private clients all simultaneously take time to go abroad, and I definitely noticed a certain quietness to The Yoga Library as well. I think this summer felt especially pertinent in terms of spending time in the company of others catching up on all the things we love that we’ve been held back from.
How did you get into yoga originally? Can you tell us a bit about your story – and how that led to The Yoga Library?
My story before yoga was quite tumultuous. I left home at 15, and struggled through a lot of my adolescence. It was in both parts exciting, and shaped me into the independent woman I’ve become, and heartbreaking – as it led me into some dark corners, unable to see that I deserved more. It was how I ended up in a dark relationship, and at the time yoga felt like my escape. I remember thinking: This makes me feel so good, so I know I’m capable of it.
This, in turn, led me on a journey of maintaining a state of happiness for myself. I left university, started travelling, moved abroad – and when I couldn’t afford to go to classes, I started directing myself.
I always had a six sense about sequencing, it came very naturally to me.When I went on holiday with my partner’s family, I was self-practising, but then they started to want to join me, and one day I had 14 of them practising yoga with me and that was it I quit my job, and went to India to do my first teacher training.
In just 6 months I was a full time teacher, eventually being promoted to Head of Yoga at the studio I worked for. I continued my studies; started selling out retreats, and then moved to Los Angeles for my husband’s job – and during the pandemic, and when my online classes became very successful, I started The Yoga Library. It was always a very organic process.
What's the philosophy or grounding idea behind The Yoga Library?
I always say The Yoga Library was created by our community for our community. That’s really what drives it. Living in California, but developing my career in the UK, meant that I had guests from all over the world taking part in my live classes, and so I began recording them so they’d be available for everyone who couldn’t make the time.
When I was unable to host live classes for a month, I put the old recordings onto my website and it was really amazing to see everyone practising without me. It was quite surreal actually, to see people sharing snippets of their practice to some of my sequences, and that really prompted the birth of The Yoga Library. I wanted a home for the classes, I wanted a home for our community, and it’s been a labour of love ever since.
Where do people find about you, do you think? How important is social media in these times?
I think word of mouth has been my biggest advertiser, but social media does help me. I have a love/hate relationship with it, I really do. I get caught sometimes between posting what I want to and what I think I should, and I’m really not that into the ‘yoga accounts’, they often create the illusion that yoga is just a physical practice.
I try my best to convey that yoga happens both on and off the mat, that it’s beyond the visual asana that we see, and so I try to share that. The algorithm definitely hates me, but I don’t mind. I think we can get too caught up in what we should post, let the algorithm drive us, but that’s when it becomes problematic, inauthentic, sometimes quite toxic. I’ve also noticed recently the unkindness of strangers on the internet, it’s definitely held me back even more from spending too much time online.
When I've done some of your online classes, I've been really amazed by your curated playlists. How to you compile them to suit each practice, you must spend a lot of time on this?
I probably spend more time making playlists than I do creating sequences. It really is a big part of who I am, and therefore an extension of how I teach. I feel naked without it. I curate each playlist so it has a general arch, similarly to how teachers create a flow, it’s always the music that guides the movement for me.
Another thing I appreciate with your way of teaching, is avoiding Sanskrit ... a lot of yoga teachers uses lingo that feels really alienating to me. What's your thoughts on that?
Part of the reason I avoid Sanskrit is simply because it’s not a language I fully understand, and I thoroughly believe you should never try and teach something you yourself don’t know. Yoga philosophy, History and Sanskrit has so much text, I’ve simply delved into a few chapters. If you try to regurgitate a poem you don’t know you’re going to ruin it – you know? I think if a teacher has the credentials to teach with Sanskrit then it can be very powerful. I try to learn from and leave it to the pros.
Having said that, despite being sceptical to some of the lingo, yoga has helped me deal with both anxiety and stress. It has both a soothing quality and an energetic quality. Why is that, and how do you balance this duality in your practice?
The soothing and energetic quality is the nature of yang and yin. Both energies exist inside us, and a good class, for me, finds that balance. Too much yang and we are often overly energetic, anxious. Too much yin – and we risk becoming lethargic, depressed.
Of course many people got into yoga because of the pandemic. As a yoga teacher, how did you experience that? And what is about yoga that people gravitate to during difficult times, do you think?
It was great to see everyone taking care of their minds throughout the pandemic, and starting a yoga practice. It gave me a real sense of purpose, I felt like I was really making a difference. I showed up every day, minus Sundays, because quite honestly, I needed it just as much. That sense of community really saved me from becoming crippled by it all.
You recently had Covid yourself (or so I gather from your Instagram?), how did you experience it? Was it a scary experience, and were you able to do any yoga at all?
Yes, I got Covid between my first and second vaccination. I got it during the ‘football wave’, came in contact with someone who had it, so I started isolating and then 5 days later I tested positive. But I was really fortunate. I lost my taste and smell for a few weeks and strangely had really bad back pain, I couldn’t manage any yoga, not even a Child’s pose… Other than that I felt okay. The first vaccination really helped, because some of my peers who hadn’t been vaccinated got it much worse.
The Yoga Library is about more than a library of videos, it's also about community as your latest series Daily Tonic is a testament to. How important is community to you? And why is community beneficial for those practicing online yoga?
Community is everything. Life can be really lonely without it. The nature of practising at home means you are often practising alone, so it’s really important to keep the feeling of togetherness in the online format. Community is what connects us. I’ve moved abroad twice now to a city where I knew maybe one or two people, and finding/making connections was vital. I think it’s because of my vagabond nature that I feel comfortable nurturing community.
Beside yoga, what's the essential components to a healthy and balanced life, in your opinion?
Drinking enough water. Water fixes everything. That, and being outside, taking time off, going offline, saying yes to things and more importantly saying no to things. It’s also about letting yourself get a little too drunk every once in a while without judgement for yourself; and pursuing your passions as well as a career.
When you were based in LA, what was your favourite thing to do on a day off?
Although I’m based in London now, but I do miss LA. On days off I try to spend the majority of the day outside, walking around, window shopping perhaps, sitting in the park or go to the beach. I’m both an introvert and an extrovert, so when I need to recharge my energy, I love a night in alone; to read or watch an entire series and then maybe attempt a mask, paint my nails, have a bath; things I rarely have the time to do week to week.
Is LA really as health obsessed as Instagram makes us belive? Or is it okay to grab a burrito too? What's your favourite place to eat out?
LA is pretty health obsessed. I lived in Venice and loved seeing everyone out and about walking/exercising/brunching at 8am on a Saturday morning. In London, however, Saturdays tend to start a little later, and brunch sometimes includes booze. That being said, big cities tend to all types of people, you just need to find the ones that resonate with you. I’m the type to spend £9 on a MoonJuice and feel super healthy only to drink 1/2 bottle of wine with French fries and mayo 3 hours later. I miss Gjusta the most, but I find the food in London way more exciting.
It’s been such a joy chatting with you, but finally – where do you want The Yoga Library to go in the next 12 months? Are you planning to grow, or content with where things stand?
I would love to see the Yoga Library grow even more. I actually recently signed the papers on a multi-purpose studio, which is going to be its own separate concept, but will allow me the scope to film more teachers and have more in real life meet-ups for the community. I’m excited to see where both projects take me.
Basic Space
Jaime recently opened up a brand new studio in Stockwell.
Check out Basic Studio here > or sign up for one of Jaime’s online classes at the Yoga Library here >
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Words: Lene Haugerud.