Yoga Borne in Stirchley named the region's best yoga studio again

On Stirchley's busy high street, a small studio has built a big reputation. Yoga Borne, at 1406-1408 Pershore Road, has been named Best Yoga & Pilates Studio for the West Midlands and Warwickshire in 2026, repeating the win it first celebrated in 2024 in awards run in collaboration with Muddy Stilettos.

The studio did not stop there. In 2025 it reached the national finals, finishing among the top five yoga and Pilates studios in the country. "We are so proud to be in the top 5 Yoga & Pilates Studios," the team wrote at the time.

Yoga Borne opened in November 2019 and, like so many small businesses, had to close its doors during the pandemic, moving its classes to Zoom. Karine Annick began teaching there in 2020, became studio manager in 2022 and, at the end of August that year, took over ownership with her partner Jay Coates.

Karine teaches slow flow, yin yoga and classes for new mums, and has worked with mental health charities including Birmingham Mind. Jay, a systems engineer by day, looks after front of house and IT. Together they describe the studio's three pillars as "Compassion, Connection, Community" and run it with what they call "an intentionally small team" of teachers.

The timetable mixes yoga and Pilates with pregnancy yoga, parent and baby classes, women's wellbeing sessions, community calm yoga, cacao ceremonies and student yoga, all described as accessible and inclusive. Free guided meditations and journaling resources are shared online too.

Community runs through everything Yoga Borne does. There are free Yoga in the Park sessions in local parks each summer, an outdoor swimming group, Running Buddies Birmingham and indie makers markets supporting local small businesses. The studio has even become a cosy cinema, lending its space free of charge to the volunteer-led Stirchley Community Cinema for a screening of Nomadland, with blankets, bolsters and herbal tea.

It is a fine example of how a neighbourhood studio can become a true community space, a place where, as its mission puts it, "everybody feels welcome".

Class schedules, memberships and upcoming events can be found on the Yoga Borne website.