Yoga and mindfulness
I remember my first encounter with yoga in a draughty village hall, way back in 1999. At the time my inner critic was running riot. My usual self-medication (smoking, partying and alcohol) wasn’t working anymore. I was falling apart at the seams.
That first class had a profound effect on me. I felt so well afterwards I just had to go back. And keep going back.
Over time I began to notice a massive improvement in my mental health. My physical body thanked me for it too.
I discovered Buddhism 3 years later, joining regular meditation sessions, and became part of a Zen Buddhist group in 2010, where I learnt the true origins of a mindfulness-based practice. I left the group recently after my teacher died, but Zen and mindfulness is with me constantly.
I embarked on further Yoga study and training in 2005. This gave me the tools to work safely and help the student have a deeper experience.
All my retreats and experiences offer a blend of different yoga styles I’ve studied and experienced over the years. I teach intuitively and start from where people are, considering what is going on for them that day. More recently I'm favouring gentle forms of yoga to soothe frazzled nerves since the Covid pandemic.
The Yoga I've studied and experienced includes:
- dynamic flow
- yin
- restorative
- therapeutic
- Iyengar
- Hatha
- somatic based practises.
Above and beyond these different 'brands', there is only one true Yoga. This is our journey back home - a place of inner calm - where we get to find out who we really are.
Please note, I don't teach headstands, handstands and stronger forearm balances. Advanced yoga is about calming your mind - not trying to achieve challenging yoga postures. If you want to find out more, please get in touch.
My Yoga study and training includes:
- British Wheel of Yoga Foundation – 1 year
- Yoga Alliance teacher training (200 hours) - Yogacampus
- Yoga Therapy – 30 hours (Doug Keller)
- Teaching yoga for trauma, stress, burnout, fatigue, CFS and ME – (30 hours) – Charlotte Watts and Leah Barnett
- Intensives with Donna Farhi (100+ hours)
- Intensive with AG and Indra Mohan (teachings of Krishnamacharya)
Meanwhile I give great thanks to my teachers new and old: Jane Craggs, Christine Howitt, Heidi Chadwick, Manjunaga, Nadia (Ananda Bliss). And I continue to learn and study as yoga is a never-ending journey!
