It would be difficult to open a magazine these days without being assailed by the new found virtues of yoga - new to some maybe, but around for over 5,000 years. Never far from the spotlight, this technique has survived the test of time and is enjoying a resurgence as more and more people attempt to seek unity of body, mind and spirit.
Hailed by many as a release from the gym, this form of exercise is currently embraced by many stars, including Madonna, Goldie Hawn and Sting to name but a few. Nevertheless its current claim to fame owes much to ex-Spice Girl Geri Haliwell, who attributes her dramatic body transformation to diet and yoga, which has everybody running to sign up for a course.
Hanne Gillespie has been practising and studying yoga since 1980. Born in Norway, she is married to the prominent Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie, whose haunting bronze sculpture group, Famine, is sited on the quays near the Custom House, Dublin, commemorating the Great Famine of the 1840s.
An artist in her own right, Hanne specialised in weaving wall hangings at the beginning of her career, but her focus changed when she got married and had a family. "Motherhood didn't combine well with weaving; it's a slow, labour-intensive process which took too much time," she says, and so her interest in yoga was born.
Having initially met in London, the Gillespies spent the first year of marriage living in Norway before returning to Ireland 25 years ago to set up home. Located just off Sydney Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin and tucked away in a cul-de-sac they found a property called Clonlea, a 1940s house on 1.75 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and mature trees, which was once part of the Frascati estate.
Here Hanne's interest in yoga developed and after years of training she became a teacher specialising in the vini-yoga discipline. She believes she is the only fully trained person in Ireland qualified to teach it. It wasn't long before space became an issue and so what was originally Rowan's workshop became Hanne's yoga studio instead, and they converted the old coach house in the grounds of the property to incorporate a new foundry and workshop for him.
However, as business grew, the original studio space also became too small and last year they decided to extend it to meet demand. "Today yoga is so much about the therapeutic side of life, as stress manifests itself in the physical body. It's a life attitude and approach and you find that a lot of people today are seeking an alternative to Eastern philosophies as they try to connect with the deeper aspect of self," she says.
Working on the design together, they decided to double the original floor space and knock out the back wall facing onto the magnificent gardens which come complete with a wood cabin. Here they created a glass vantage point from ceiling to floor. "It gives a sense of nature in that you can connect with outside whatever the weather and the glass itself acts as a solar panel. We tried to develop a calm space, a sense of beauty and of nature that had that `wow' effect on people," Hanne explains. The building itself took only eight weeks from start to finish as they were blessed with good weather, good craftsmen and Rowan's hands-on approach, which all combined to bring the project quickly to completion.
In an effort to create a sense of intimacy the ceiling is a vast rolling display of natural wood with not even a hint of Velux, yet the overall effect is bright and airy. "Coming from Norway, it's a natural choice to use a living material rather than plasterboard which I would find too sterile," she says.
Apart from the glass wall overlooking the grounds, the only other daylight comes from a tall slit window on one wall and a window alcove on the opposite side. This backs on to a children's swimming-pool, which reflects ripples of water back onto the studio walls, creating a very peaceful effect.
The final result is minimalist. Heating is under the maple floor so all lines in the design are clean and uncluttered with no unsightly radiators to distract from the calm space which was their ultimate aim.
A clever aspect of this particular design is that at no point can anybody overlook the adjoining family home, so the Hanne's privacy and home life are intact. A separate tree-lined driveway leads to the studio.
As yoga is about introspection your surroundings are basically unimportant but space is conducive to your enjoyment.
Hanne believes that building a yoga studio is all about choice and your own personal taste in developing an area that works well for you; use of materials, colour or lighting have no real impact on the final outcome. If, on the other hand, you are a novice why not try a mat first!
Hanne Gillespie can be contacted by e-mail at hannegillespie@eircom.net or www.viniyoga.co.uk
