As part of our ongoing Mums in the ’Hood series, this month in honour of Father’s Day we talked to a dad in the ’hood. James Muthana, founder of Yoga West and YogaAt, lives in Acton with his wife and young son. We asked him what he likes best about his corner of west London.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am married to Anna, a journalist, and have one son, Johnny, who is three. I have lived in Acton for the past three years and before that lived in Hammersmith. I set up Yoga West three years ago and another yoga business, YogaAt, four years ago; before that I worked in the City for around ten years. I relax by practicing yoga and meditation and listening to a very silly but enjoyable radio football podcast called The Warm Up hosted by Johnny Vaughan and James Brown.
What do you love about your area?
I’m about five minutes’ cycle from my studio, which is lovely as my commute to work is great. We spend a lot of time in Acton Park—a bit of a hidden gem and very good terrain for my son to scare me nearly to death with his increasingly reckless scootering. We also spend a lot of time in Ravenscourt Park, which has a wonderful kids’ playground. I am sushi-mad so spend as much money as I can afford at Atariya in Ealing and increasingly at a new sushi restaurant called Hasu Sushi on Churchfield Road.
Where’s your favourite neighbourhood place to hang out as a family?
My wife was brought up in Hammersmith and went to school at St Peter’s and still has quite a few friends who live there. We love going to the absolutely beautiful and sort of hidden-away garden in St Peter’s Square and cycling or walking between Hammersmith Bridge and Chiswick Mall.
What local activities do you and your family take part in?
Well, we all do quite a few classes at Yoga West. I prefer to do early morning Ashtanga and Anna prefers sweaty power yoga or Jivamukti classes. Johnny goes along to play football with the Little Foxes in the holidays too. We have regular massage and acupuncture at The Massage Centre on Turnham Green Terrace—all the therapists there are absolutely fantastic.
Is there a little hidden gem in your area you’d be willing to share?
It’s a little out of our area but we love Retrouvius in Kensal Rise. We kept reading articles about houses that had been beautifully renovated with items from Retrouvius. We were slightly worried everything would be extortionately priced. When we eventually visited we found all the wonderful items but not the terribly expensive prices we had feared.
Want to share what’s great about your area? Get in touch!
