“Some people call it a breakdown but we say breakthrough” – Transcend Studios keeps up the fight on mental health

An Eccles wellbeing studio is on a mission to provide a safe and secure space where people in the community can go to relax and deal with anxiety problems.

Transcend Studios has launched a community project to help improve residents’ mental and physical wellbeing.

Founder Paulo Still said the studio aims to provide a “home from home” where clients can turn up and be supported in becoming the best version of themselves.

The scheme relies on takings from the studio’s on-site cafe which is a community interest company, meaning that profits can be used to support care sessions including for doctor referrals.

Paulo continued: “From those referrals, Transcend gives people of Salford classes, workshops and therapies, which are all in collaboration with other therapists and teachers.”

Transcend Studios opened in Monton in 2015 then moved to Eccles in 2019 to accommodate Covid social distancing rules.

Paulo added: “It was a good thing really. We knew we wanted to keep our classes accessible, so more people can keep coming back.”

The cost of living crisis did not prevent Transcend from reaching out to the community and making people feel like they had a space to go and be safe.

“We aren’t high priced. You can get a great class for £6-£8,” he said.

“We knew we needed to bring people back together and that’s what we have done.”

The space Transcend has created is full to the brim of love and positive energy.

More than 30 different classes are offered to the community, such as sound journeys, yoga, ’80s aerobics and a morning ritual class.

He said: “We’ve got something for everyone. You don’t have to be spiritual to come here, you just need to have an interest in looking after yourself.”

Paulo has struggled with his own anxiety in the past. An illness stopped him from driving, or getting out of the house which cost him his independence.

He added: “I wasn’t depressed but I could understand how if it went on then that could’ve been a thing.”

Paulo and his team use the phrase ‘breakthrough instead of breakdown’ because visitors come out the other side of their experience knowing what they want to do.

He said: “We are all struggling just on different levels. If we can build community and come together when we are feeling less than, we can move, heal and feel together.”

Visit Transcend Studios here.