A heiter approach to movement with Studio 70 founder Laura Rice

heiter contributor Anna Considine sat down with Laura Rice, founder of Glasgow yoga and pilates studio, Studio 70. Laura shared how she follows a joy-led approach to movement, both personally and in the studio’s new reformer pilates space.

Hi there Laura! First of all, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and Studio 70?

Hi Anna! I’m Laura Rice and I’m the founder of Studio 70 in Glasgow. We offer yoga, mat pilates, and now reformer pilates too. We are a purpose-driven studio on a mission to make yoga accessible and inclusive for all.

Studio 70 founder Laura Rice

Amazing, I can so see that in everything you do. Getting more personal, I’d love to hear how has your idea of “joyful movement” evolved over time?

Well, I didn't actually have any particular sports or movement practice as a young person or as a child. I gradually got into running and found yoga complemented that, and I got into rowing as well. From speaking to our clients, I think not finding movement that resonates is so common at school, especially for women.

But, over the years, yoga has been my consistent practice while other things have come and gone. The most recent example has been getting into strength training since having my last baby 18 months ago. I've been wanting to refocus on regaining the strength I lost through pregnancy and focusing on other things over the last few years!

I’ve definitely found that exercise has also been about finding that social hub; it was one of the ways I made friends when I moved to Canada, and we've seen the studio become that for folks here, too.

I love that so much. I'd love to hear what your vision was when you first imagined Studio 70 and how it has shifted since opening?

Well, before opening Studio 70 I was teaching from different community venues and it left me wanting a space to teach and that I was able to shape… a bricks and mortar business where people could gather. It was normal to be in a room with a dance class next door!

Over the years, we’ve evolved a lot, expanding multiple times to create the space Studio 70 is now. We've brought in an amazing team of teachers, as I'm sure you'll know, and they’re sharing so many beautiful offerings. It’s let me step back a little, which has suited me for the last couple of years especially, but I’m always listening to the community to see what they want. 

We’re definitely more values-led now: we’re really clear on what our values are and they impact every business decision we make. I love that we’re making choices like offering a scholarship space for our teacher training, because we know that the wellness space can be quite whitewashed, and we want to bring people of colour into the seat of the teacher. Nowadays, I think that when folks come to our studio, it’s quite clear what we stand for.

That’s beautiful… I think a lot of fitness spaces can feel really intimidating! How do you ensure that Studio 70 is welcoming to all bodies and all abilities?

One of the things that we were really clear on with our teachers is that it’s really important that our classes feel welcoming and accessible. This means we encourage them to suggest a range of options for poses, and we have plenty of props too. It’s about ensuring everyone can decide what’s the right version of a pose for them on that day, and there’s no pressure for that pose to look a certain way. We also educate our teachers on asking for pronouns, to ensure that nobody will be misgendered while they are here.

And of course, we are very intentional about our marketing too. We try to make sure we are showing bodies of varied sizes and shapes, and also different ethnicities too.

Brilliant. heiter is all about joyfulness; how does that philosophy resonate with your approach to movement?

I think my approach to movement is that it should come from a place of self-love rather than punishment. So, I'm going to go to Pilates tonight because I know that that is a way of nourishing myself on so many levels: not just a physical level, but also for my mental being. For me, it's really about finding a sense of joy and nourishment. 

I love that too. Lastly, I'd love to know: where do you see Studio 70 in five years?

Ooh gosh, that’s a question! We’ve expanded a lot over the last few years, so on the one hand I can see that continuing. On the other, we might decide we are really happy at the size we are now. We have a project in the pipeline that we haven't announced yet, where we’re working on a bigger reception area, which is exciting. I could see us focusing on events, retreats, and workshops, that kind of thing. We shall see.

You can find Studio 70 on Instagram, TikTok, and on their website here.