Tolerance: What gives.
Hello from Vibushan.
Last week, we had a visit from Architecture Today, which sparked some really interesting conversations. The idea of incorporating tolerance in every corner seemed to peak their interest the most - after all, how do you fit so many things into one building and still make it work? (Well, mostly.)
We’re used to tolerance at Oru. It extends to every part of what we do. We’re pretty comfortable with not having all the answers, there’s no fixed destination or identity - we just get excited about new ideas, and figure out how to make them work as we go along. But we always have one thing in mind, and that is to keep improving how we serve both you and the planet, in the kindest way possible. Whether it’s our optimism and ambitions outweighing our knowledge and resources, or the fact that we’re okay with not having all the answers, I’m not sure. But we thoroughly enjoy what comes of it.
Tolerance has taught us a lot here. Embracing that we are continually working with limitations pushes us to work more mindfully, and that’s where our approach to sustainability comes from.
I recently had the pleasure of undertaking a yoga teacher training with Erin Pritchard. Among the many secrets I learnt to make a good yoga class more impactful, was the idea of applying a theme to the class gently interwoven throughout. Inspired by this, we’re now attempting to apply this principle to our newsletter, and hopefully this will create a more meaningful experience for all of you.
Hey everyone! I’m Maria from Marketing.
I’d like to kick off this newsletter in a way that will, if not change the World, at least offer you some entertainment, inspiration and motivation to lead a healthier and more fulfilling life. Basically, to start living as if wellbeing were the norm, not just something you do when you walk into a place like Oru.
While we say this, we still want you all to come to us - how else would we meet so many lovely people? What we mean is that your life changes when you decide to incorporate balance and tolerance into it. Eating food you actually enjoy, but made with ingredients that haven’t traveled more than you in the last month. Going to a class you like, or being productive throughout the day, but taking some rest when your body is asking you to leave it alone. What’s important is that we try to make the most out of every little thing, and life will start looking if only just a little bit brighter.
Make a move and the rest will follow.
If there’s something we encourage at Oru, it’s to find a way to incorporate movement into your day, whatever that looks like. Maybe it’s a yoga class at Suryan, or a pilates lesson at Sanctuary, or a TRX class at Agni. Or maybe you could simply have “walking meetings” instead of seated ones, as our own team has started to do.
There’s also movement in a more existential sense. Like deciding to live abroad or switch career paths. Maybe moving your body on a smaller scale eventually leads to making bigger decisions. What we know is that in order to become a better version of yourself, you must challenge yourself daily. Learn a new discipline, take a class you haven’t tried before, see how your body tolerates different practices.
Hot Yoga: Always take the weather with you
Some of the new classes we’ve brought to Oru are Hot Yoga in Dulwich and Sutton. We always try our best to be knowledgeable about what we offer, making sure we respect the lessons our teachers thoughtfully share with their students. So we’ve done our research, and we’ve learnt something we think you might find interesting about the origins of Hot Yoga.
Though it was popularised in the 70s and 80s, it’s believed that the true origins of Hot Yoga come from “panchagni tapas”, an extreme example of a very common ritual in India known as “asagni hotra”, which means “fire sacrifice”. The heat is said to increase your willpower, so the original hot yoga was an ascetic practice to transcend suffering through intentional discomfort. This means that - coincidentally, and much to our amusement - Hot Yoga is a practice of tolerance, accepting the suffering that comes with trying to make things work.
Make room for new things to grow.
Getting attached to the past is no joke. Tolerating what can’t be undone, and facing the future with acceptance, is something we’ve come to know very well. From the second-hand furniture in both our sites, to the sustainable processes we have in place, almost everything you’ll see at Oru is a new version of something old.
“Energy is neither created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed”, says the famous law of conservation of energy. We live by this principle, and a clear example of that are our rooftop gardens and green spaces. Just this past month, a few members of our team got together to spruce up our Sutton rooftop garden, and they even shredded old Christmas trees to turn them into compost. Now that’s why we deserve our B Corp status.
Tolerance, thought and taste at Trinco.
Just like we said in the intro to this newsletter, we should always enjoy the food we eat. Everything we prepare at Trinco has an endless trial and error process behind it, making sure the food has the right amount of salt, spice, flavour, warmth, love. Because food truly makes us happy, and we want the same thing to happen to you.
This month, we’ve introduced so many new things that we just can’t help but talk about them all the time. If you book a table in February, you’ll be able to: eat plenty of new delicious menu items, introduced to Trinco Dulwich and Sutton, alongside our new selection of beers; enjoy a candlelit Valentine’s Dinner for two in Dulwich AND in Sutton (yes - Trinco by Night has made it to Sutton!); and dine at our renovated Trinco Dulwich, with new ambient lighting and displays worthy of an award (which we actually do have).
Trinco has a long history behind it. The name, colours, flavours, music and furniture at our restaurants are all intentional, making sure we offer you the best possible experience within our means. Tolerance isn’t the only thing at play here - it’s thought and taste which bring Trinco to life.
Retreat to recharge.
You’ve probably read a lot recently about something called the January Blues. This is a common experience that happens at the beginning of every year, marked by feelings of lethargy, low energy, and low motivation due to the cold weather and post-holiday slump.
We don’t believe in the January Blues - everything at Oru is orange, actually, so quite the opposite. But colours aside, our secret is to simply retreat and recharge when we need to, wherever we can. In both our sites, we can take a rest from work at our Members Lounge. On a bigger scale, we offer plenty of Yoga Retreats every year, travelling as far away as Sri Lanka (now sold out!), and as close as Portugal or even Canterbury. Take a look here at the retreats we have coming up in 2025…
Oru means for one.
We’ve never liked comparing a workplace to a “family”. For those who have gone through it, working in a place that auto proclaims its familiarity can get very tricky, and boundaries can be stepped on very quickly. That’s why we like the word “Coworking”.
Co-working implies working in the same place as other people, while still being able to do your own thing. But if you miss the classic water cooler banter, you can easily have a chat with someone. You can even become a part of a community like the one we’re lucky to have, where everyone is welcome but no one is required to join. We’re all in the same place to keep eachother company, while collectively getting our work done.
Because of this, we could say Coworking at Oru is also based on tolerance. It’s almost like a “love the one you’re with” sort of thing. Our Toastie Tuesdays, Chatty Wednesdays, Inspired Conversations, Members Lunches and all our events are designed to include you no matter who you are.
So we just wanted to close this newsletter by saying thank you to our lovely community. You all make ours and each other’s days so much better, that we cannot help but be excited by all the new things to come.