Cathy Underwood - Expanding the boundaries of yoga in Enfield and beyond

As regular readers will know, the We Love Enfield Photo Blog is constantly on the lookout for people who are just doing that little bit extra, and using their skills to put something into the mix that helps make Enfield such a great place to be.    One such person is the wonderful Cathy Underwood, who has expanded her yoga teaching business Yoga4Mums in a number of great directions.

Last night I went to Merryhills Primary School, one of a couple of venues that Cathy teaches from in order to help raise funds for local schools (the other being Forty Hill School), but what really inspired me to want to make a portrait of Cathy was the work she's doing under the "Yoga4Care" banner.

Cathy is committed to extending the reach of Yoga throughout the community and Yoga4Care provides classes for special needs and learning disabled, mental health and all other vulnerable groups.     Cathy says; "Yoga is an exercise that is suitable for all age groups and abilities.  Our teachers are trained in all areas of special needs and mental health with a sensitive and practical approach and we tailor classes to small groups and individual needs."

Equally importantly, Yoga4Care also provides classes for those caring for people with special needs.  Again, it's over to Cathy for an explanation;   "We appreciate the dedicated attention and care that carers, parents and families provide each day.  Therefore, we have devised a simple yoga programme that can help relieve physical and mental stress and replenish energy."

Cathy can be contacted on 07957 272066 or via her twitter feed @Yoga4Mums.    

We salute you!

Dan P.S. Do you know of anyone who we should be featuring on the We Love Enfield Photo Blog?   Fill out the comments form below if you know of anyone or anything deserving of a feature.

Karen & Gunther (and a famous friend) @MyCoffeeStopUK

 Karen & Gunther compete for attention with their extremely impressive coffee machine.
I decided to launch the "We Love Enfield Photo Blog" as there are so many great people in the borough doing so many great things and I wanted to do my bit to draw attention to a few of them.  Today I had a longstanding appointment with Karen Mercer & Gunther Hollenstein, owners of the amazing MyCoffeeStop, which resides on the London bound platform of Enfield Chase Station.

When I first "stumbled" upon their shop, I was immediately drawn in by the quality of their coffee, but as much as that has remained constant, what's kept me coming back is the unique atmosphere and ethos of MyCoffeeStop.

 Gunther the barista. He can make your coffee, from scratch, in less than 30 seconds?

The shop seems to draw in all of the most interesting people passing through Enfield, with the level of banter and goodwill something you'll never see replicated in a 'Costbucks' type chain store. It also acts as a conduit for Karen's amazing fundraising efforts for the Chickenshed theatre group, with a book swap being one easy way to raise funds for such a good cause.

As well as it all tasting great (especially this mornings freshly baked cakes), you can leave with an easy conscience as everything in the shop is Fair Trade.

Karen Mercer with Clive Bull and a lovely bit of Cake.

An unexpected bonus of my visit was the arrival of long time LBC presenter, and unchallenged king of relaxed talk broadcasting, Clive Bull.    Clive's taking a break from more than 15 years of overnight broadcasts, and using the time to catch up with old friends.   Karen is a former LBC travel presenter and so he arrived to show his support to MyCoffeeStop.

  Karen filming Clive tasting MyCoffeeStop's fabulous Chocolate Brownie for  an online video review.

Karen was kind enough to enthusiastically explain the concept of this blog and of the wider #WeLoveEnfield campaign, both of which Clive wholeheartedly backed.

You can find out so much more by following @MyCoffeeStopUK on twitter.  Come and take a look the next time you're passing Enfield Chase station.   You'll love the coffee, you'll love the people, and you'll realise that it's another reason why We Love Enfield!

Dan