Delia Baker runs yoga classes under the moniker ‘Bunker’ in a variety of locations indoors and outdoors on the island of Jersey, Channel Islands. She is a 250hr Yoga Alliance qualified yoga teacher and is currently taking part in a year long Qigong mentorship with Mimi Kuo Deemer.

I approached Delia because I sensed she had something interesting to say. Her holistic approach to her practice revealed a desire to connect in a really tangible way to the natural world and to help others do the same. Not only through the physical act of being outdoors but a more mindful approach through yoga. It was one that aligned the body and mind with the natural world and through this approach changed the way we perceived it.

Can you introduce Bunker and how it came about?

I was living in London working as a freelance designer, doing my yoga teacher training on the weekends, plus going through some personal relationship turbulence when my dad came to visit me. We spent lots of time chatting over life and what not but in short, he said, ‘you’re knackered, come home.’ Soon after him and my mum, who run Le Braye Cafe, offered me the chance to lease the bunker by Le Braye slipway from them. I was nervous about returning to Jersey and I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it work or make a living teaching yoga, especially with no indoor space and it being so seasonal but turns out sometimes you can just trust in time and a little bit of commitment.  

The Jersey Surf School, who previously ran from the bunker, came to us and offered us to take on the business. This was quite terrifying, a lot to take on and I wasn’t sure if it was what I wanted but I’d spent my teens, some of my best years, teaching at the same surf school and my time in London managing my own business so I thought why not, I’m sure I can make this work and how wonderful it would be to share what gave me so many wonderful memories with others. The surf school was a ready formed business and its history gave my vision a solid foundation to grow from. Alongside this I began to run yoga classes on bunkers around the west and north coast of the island, on the terrace at Le Braye Cafe before it opened in the mornings and now, two years in, all year round at the Frances Le Sueur Centre in Jersey’s National Park. 

When did it start? And, what inspired it? 

When I returned to Jersey, having lived away from the island for 8/9 years or so I felt a deep need to reconnect to the land. I would walk or run the coast paths every day exploring different spots to practice yoga on and I came across a few different places that I would return to, most of which were German bunkers. Practically the bunkers are great, they have big flat concrete surfaces and being look out points, incredible views out to sea. But it was how they effected me emotionally that got me, something about this raw, brutalist architecture sat within the rugged natural coastline. This perfect marriage of nature and man, of history and place. And then being able to connect to this experience even deeper through movement, it always left me inspired and reminded me how much our landscape can give us, but also how much we can take it for granted. 

The name ‘Bunker’ and its link maybe gets more and more tedious as things develop however that feeling was my initial inspiration and I didn’t want what I was offering to be about me, my name or my face. I wanted it to be about the broader concept, about connecting to these unusual spaces through movement and about sharing yoga but also this bigger union of time, space, environment and all the values that lie between them.

What part does yoga play in Bunker? Is yoga something you had a passion for before starting the business?

Absolutely, it was yoga first, then the business… I mean I still don’t really feel like it’s a business. More a way of sharing what has helped me with others. I’ve always surfed and I’ve always practiced yoga but my time in London and studying to become a yoga teacher forced me to reevaluate my work / life balance and where I wanted to put my energy in life. 

What’s your aim with Bunker?

To keep learning, exploring and sharing. 

What part does the natural world play in your work? 

Everything. Yoga in Nature, the surf school, the bunker, subconsciously or not, has all developed from a personal passion to physically connect with the natural world around us.

As we continue to endure the rise of technology in modern society I feel a deep calling to check back in with what remains when everything else gets stripped away. Making the time to notice our breath, our bodies, our minds and harmonising them with the sun, the moon, the weather & the seasons as they change.

Follow Delia’s journey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bunkerjersey/