yoke – the union of jade and ollie

Jade and Ollie make up the power behind Yoke. Ollie has spent his working life in hospitality, coming to Folkestone for Rocksalt, and then on to starting up Lucky Chip.  Jade is originally from Kent, having spent time away in Bali and travelling.  Coming home, knowing that returning to Primary School teaching was not what she wanted to do, and having dreamed of Yoke, the two got together and worked on a plan.  Folkelife went along to find out more.

Jade: “We’re in what was the Harry Potter shop, and to begin with, when we looked around, I found it hard to visualise the space for what we wanted to use it for.  But, when we finally got it, we turned the space around in a month in order to get up and running.”

Ollie: “We met each other during Covid and once I had set up Lucky Chip, and we had worked out our life plan, we wanted to get started immediately.  I found this floor from an old school in Margate.  And the furniture came from antiques fairs.  The wooden counter top is an old science lab desk from a school.”

Jade: “We wanted to put our energy into this space. And every item we chose adds to the feeling that this is our place that we have built ourselves.  Yoke is a Sanskrit word that means union, to bind, to come back to.  And this is what Yoga is, it’s a union.”

what’s in a name

Jade: “People talk about Yoke and think that we’ve named it as a compound word of Yoga and Folkestone – Yo-Ke.  Which works, but that wasn’t it!  Others say it’s like an egg yolk, and we do brunch here, but that wasn’t it either.  An egg also binds things, so that’s part of that union element.”

Ollie: “It’s also your nickname – Eggy!  Her dad still calls Jade that, and so that seemed to be the perfect name for us – Yoke.”

Jade: “We both believed in this concept, of a yoga studio and café working together.  It was a brave leap to start up a business on Guildhall Street.  But our concept relies on being part of the community, and the neighbourhood is our community here.  Yoke is about a sense of belonging, everyone is welcome and anyone can access us.  If you like what you see, and feel the same, this is the place for us all.”

belonging

Ollie: “Jade has had the same approach to finding the right Yoga teachers.  They are excellent teachers, and make what we’re offering a really strong programme across the week.  We’re as clear on that as we are on the coffee we serve.”

Jade: “It was funny as we came out of Covid, as we had met and had a baby, and then we were coming out of our little unit, and joining in with…what?  We didn’t have a group of friends here before Covid as we’d only just arrived.  So we needed to create something for us that helped us belong, but we also appreciate that everyone belongs in their own space.  If we can be truly us, then we can welcome everyone who finds they belong here too.”

the yoga

Jade: “It’s important that anyone who finds yoga, finds the right yoga for them.  That’s why we offer a 10 days of unlimited yoga for £21.  You can come along to any of the classes, to find the right one for you.  

“Yoga is about teaching you to be present. Westernised Yoga has latched onto different words – Vinyasa for example.  Vinyasa actually means ‘movement, breath, movement, breath’. So we have classes where you are getting more energy, you get a bit hotter, and work hard.

“Then there are classes with a lot more stillness and grounding, restorative yoga.  It’s whatever suits you at the time. And Hatha Yoga where you hold the poses for longer…”

Ollie: “Those ones hurt a bit!”

Jade: “I call our classes ‘energising’ as all teachers teach in different ways.  Jonny, one of our teachers has done Ashtanga Yoga, and I haven’t, so you’ll feel energised and warm in his class, but it will be in his style.  Then I teach Vinyasa, but that’s what I learnt to do first.  Then there’s Yin Yin where you hold the poses for 3 to 8 minutes.  It’s not about stretching, it’s about releasing.  Your body can get really stiff if you don’t use it.  So this is about using that fascia of your body, moving into it, and loosening up and making more space to use your body. “

the food

Ollie: “The food is really important, and that’s my bit.  I make a really good sausage roll.  And so there was always going to be a sausage roll on the menu.  But our salads are all vegan.  I think you have to provide a selection so that everyone is catered for.  And to be exclusively one thing isn’t cost effective. 

“We do Sunday Roasts too, as a special event so that we can get people excited and a full house.”

7 days a week

Ollie: “We’re open 7 days a week, which is important in town for people to know that we’ll always be here and open.  It is also good for us to have a day off so we can spend time as a family.  We’re training up a new chef, and he’s doing a brilliant job, so that’s a new step for us.”

Jade: “We also have special events too, such as the carol singing at Christmas.  It’s not just Good King Wenceslas, but a bit of Last Christmas too.  And it’s great to see all the mums and dads, and kids joining in.  Jonny, our yoga teacher, is also a musician too, so he gets on the piano and we all sing along.”

family at yoke

Jade: “The family aspect is so important as we are a family business.  We need time together, and we want people to feel that they can meet and connect with others here too.”

Ollie: “We’ve had loads of lovely stories about people moving here and creating friendship groups from their connections with Yoke.  There’s a Yoke Family Whatsapp group, apparently, we’re not in it, but it’s families that have connected through us, which is lovely to hear!”

Jade: “It’s important that you find the right class for you, so come along and see what suits, and save room for one of Ollie’s sausage rolls for afters!”