Mike Arnold

Norwich Yoga Festival

Norwich Yoga Festival · August 2026

Two years at the Norwich Yoga Festival — sun-warmed grass at Whitlingham Country Park, hundreds of people moving together, and the kind of open, unselfconscious joy that's a gift to photograph.

Whitlingham Country Park in the sun, two years running. A field full of people, a main stage where the instructors led and the entire crowd mirrored them back, and a site that spreads out into the woods behind.

This is the shoot where reading the room matters most. During the sessions I'll work for a bit and then ease off, because the energy of a movement class is different from the energy of a dancefloor and the photographs should feel like the class did. Around the edges it opens right up.

Acroyoga on the mats with a flyer balanced against a clear sky, aerial hammocks strung between the trees, a sound bath with the whole tent lying back on their mats, treatments in the wellness gazebo, and by late afternoon a field of people dancing with their hands in the air.

Coming back a second year makes a difference. You know where the light goes, which sessions build to something, and enough faces recognise you that nobody stiffens up when you get close.

A woman in red heart-shaped sunglasses dancing with both hands in the air near the stage.
An acroyoga flyer balanced high above her base, arms and legs outstretched against a blue sky.
A woman in a yellow cap dancing with one arm pointed at the sky, the whole field moving behind her.
Two people hanging upside down in aerial yoga hammocks among the trees.
A man in a white cap pulling a friend into a hug by the food trucks, both of them laughing.
A woman dancing with both arms in the air in the middle of a packed movement class.
A festivalgoer stretched out on a blanket in the dry grass, chin resting on her hands, grinning at the camera.
A group holding hands aloft in a circle under a bright blue sky, festival bunting and bell tents behind them.
A woman in a brown wide-brimmed hat and earth-toned dress smiling in the evening sun, festival stalls behind her.
Women dancing in a circle with their hands held high, sunglasses on and a stretch tent behind them.
A young woman in a patterned halterneck dancing with her eyes closed and arms spread wide.
A woman laughing as she holds onto an aerial rope in the sunshine, canopy overhead.
A red-haired man punching the air and cheering in a crowd of dancers at the festival.
Two women laughing and clapping along together during a class under the canopy.
People with their arms raised mid-flow during an outdoor movement class in the sun.
A woman grinning as she works through an acroyoga move under the big stretch tent, the class spread out behind her.
A woman in a white t-shirt throwing her arms wide with a joyful grin in the crowd.
A woman laughing upside down mid-stretch, glitter on her face, her partner supporting her.
Instructors in white leading a flowing side-stretch from the stage, the whole crowd mirroring them.
An acroyoga pair mid-pose on the mat while the rest of the class watches from around the tent.
Women in pink cowboy hats laughing and dancing together outdoors.
A woman leaning in to take her partner's hands at the start of a pose, the field busy behind her.
Women dancing in front of the main stage, arms up mid-song.
A therapist laughing as she stretches a client's arm during a treatment in the wellness gazebo.
A couple partner-dancing among others in a grassy field.
Two women clasping hands and laughing together during a partner exercise.
A curly-haired woman sitting cross-legged among the group, smiling up at the speaker.
A row of festivalgoers clapping along mid-laugh under the marquee.
People sitting on yoga mats outdoors, one man laughing as he looks up.
A field of people with their hands raised, following the class together in the evening light.
A man and a woman sitting back to back on the grass, both laughing during a partner exercise.
A sound bath under the big tent, the practitioner sat with her singing bowls while the class lies back on their mats.
A performer on stage with the crowd dancing in front, one arm raised in the foreground.
Women seated on mats, one resting her hands over her heart during a quiet moment.
A man balancing mid-sit-up with his palms pressed together during a core class on the grass.
A woman in a white t-shirt clapping with her eyes closed under a canopy.
Two women sharing a warm hug in the middle of the crowd.
Two women dancing together on the grass, relaxed and smiling.
A woman in a green crop top clapping and dancing, a field of people behind her.
Two women with long dark hair dancing close together in the crowd.
Dancers in motion outdoors, a smiling woman at the centre of the blur.
People in sunglasses with their arms raised, dancing in front of a banner.
A bearded man in a black vest standing among people warming up on the grass.
A man dancing with his arms raised under a canopy at the festival.
A couple lying on the grass, a red-haired woman leaning over a bearded man as they laugh together.
A group of women smiling together on the grass at the festival.