Helping People Find Balance Through Free Yoga Sessions

The free online learning programme from Libraries NI supports people across Northern Ireland to learn something new whilst looking after their wellbeing in ways that fit easily into everyday life.

As part of this offer, Libraries NI delivered a series of free online yoga sessions between April 2025 and March 2026, attracting 1,468 participants across 24 sessions. The classes were led by experienced yoga and wellbeing practitioner Siri Meylahn, who brings more than a decade of experience working in the community and voluntary sector and specialises in yoga, mindfulness and holistic approaches to wellbeing.

Speaking about the sessions, Siri highlighted how working with Libraries NI helps open up wellbeing opportunities to a wide range of people. Libraries already play a trusted role in communities as places where people can learn, connect and take part in activities, and offering yoga online builds naturally on that role.

Photo: Siri Meylahn, Health and Wellbeing Practitioner

The sessions were designed to be gentle, adaptable and easy to follow, focusing on simple movement, breath awareness and relaxation. Participants could take part in a way that suited their own abilities and circumstances, whether they were trying yoga for the first time or returning to the practice.

Delivering the classes online also meant people could join in a way that worked around their daily routines. During conversations about the programme, Siri explained that participants included parents with young children at home, people with caring responsibilities, individuals managing mobility restrictions and those joining during their lunch break to take a moment for themselves.

Customer feedback from the sessions has been extremely positive, with participants highlighting the welcoming teaching style, the confidence they gained and the sense of calm and wellbeing they experienced after each class — showing how these simple sessions can make a difference to people’s everyday wellbeing.

Programmes like this show how libraries support much more than reading and information. By creating opportunities to learn new skills and focus on personal wellbeing, libraries help people across Northern Ireland take time for themselves and feel connected to positive experiences in their daily lives. This benefits people in their own communities, providing much needed support which many would not have been able to avail of if not for library programmes.

Hear from instructor Siri in the video as she explains how these sessions are making a real difference to people’s everyday wellbeing.